Need Liquid Filter...Help!

[Derek Arita]

I use an ultrasonic cleaner to clean dirty or greasy parts. The cleaning solution I use isn't cheap, so I was hoping that someone here could turn me on to a good way to filter the solution before I reuse it? I thought about a coffee filter. Anything better?

[Brett Luna]

I use an ultrasonic cleaner on some brass shell casings. A coffee filter should work well for all but the finer contaminants. You can also pour the dirty cleaner into a jug, let the gunk settle, and gently decant as much as you can through the filter, pouring as little of the sentiment as possible. That should get you faster flow through the filter.

[Keith Westfall]

OK, let's see.

You use the liquid (from new) until you think you need to clean it. I would guess (don't use the Ultrasonic cleaner) it may be fairly dirty by then.

So just pour it through the coffee filter and what you end up with is probably a lot cleaner than what you were just using to clean with. Won't be new clean, but cleaner than well used...

A chamois cloth will probably filter real good, but might be slow.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Oil contaminants should be skimmed off the top. Particulates, you can filter or let settle out. Sometimes, soap is added to the cleaning solution and you did not mention if you use it or not. Not sure if it matters, but, some items may not easily filter out, and, I have heard it stated that soap works by attaching to certain particles (really small ones). I doubt if those will filter out.

Filtration is a standard addition to larger tanks, so it obviously helps (well, I assume so). If you want to filter, your only options are probably things such as a coffee filter, paint strainer, or search for "filter paper".

I have never used an ultrasonic cleaner. I know how they work, but I do not know what will filter it best. I expect that it is a very "watery" fluid so it should strain well so i expect that a paint strainer is not the best solution.

[John Stankus]

I use an ultrasonic cleaner to clean dirty or greasy parts. The cleaning solution I use isn't cheap, so I was hoping that someone here could turn me on to a good way to filter the solution before I reuse it? I thought about a coffee filter. Anything better?

As a chemist there are a lot of filtration options, but they can be dependent on what the solvent system is and what the contaminates are. What is the cleaning solution? Is it just grease/oil and solid matter? Some expensive cleaning solutions can be pretty cheap to mix up. You can figure out the main components from the MSDS (now SDS) for the product. For a lot of consumer products the bottle and label are more expensive to produce than the contents (and that cost is swamped by marketing and advertising).

John

[Derek Arita]

Oil and dirt/dust debri is what needs to be filtered out. The cleaner is a Mr Clean type solution with ammonia. Right now I'm cleaning clock parts, but do clean plane and other small hand tool parts. The cleaning solution isn't cheap, so I reuse what can.