Most hard, non-absorbent materials (metals, plastics, etc.) not chemically attacked by the cleaning fluid are suitable for ultrasonic cleaning. Ideal materials for ultrasonic cleaning include small electronic parts, cables, rods, wires, and detailed items, as well as objects made of glass, plastic, aluminium, or ceramic.[11]
Ultrasonic cleaning does not sterilize the objects being cleaned, because spores and viruses will remain on the objects after cleaning. In medical applications, sterilization normally follows ultrasonic cleaning as a separate step.[12]
Industrial ultrasonic cleaners are used in the automotive, sporting, printing, marine, medical, pharmaceutical, electroplating, disk drive components, engineering and weapons industries.
Ultrasonic cleaning is used to remove contamination from industrial process equipment such as pipes and heat exchangers