Cleaning and Dilution
The optimal dilution depends on several factors, such as the hardness of the water, the degree and type of contamination, the temperature, etc. The use of demineralised water improves the cleaning characteristics.
The following treatments have proved useful in practice:
| Concentration % by vol. | Temperature °C | Time minutes |
| 0.5-2 0.5-2 0.5-2 0.5-2 | 25-30 30-35 50-60 (quarz only) 70-80 (quarz only) | 20-180 30-40 10-15 2-5 |
An increase in temperature speeds up the cleaning process. However, at high temperatures it is necessary to avoid thermal shock. The cells should be pre-warmed before being submerged into hot cleaning solutions.
Care should be taken when using ultrasound to clean cells.
Ultrasound improves the cleaning process noticeably, especially at higher temperatures. However, commercially available ultrasonic baths do not lend themselves to the cleaning of cells. Powers that are too high or cleaning durations that are too long can result in damages by cavitation, especially if the cell is placed on the bottom of the cleaning bath. Compact cells and all other cells which are made of several materials (glass, metal, plastic) must never be placed in an ultrasonic cleaning bath.
