White vinegar is fine...but must be rinsed away immediately otherwise the brass tarnishes rapidly. Best to use a water rinse, Bicarbonate of soda dousing and then final water rinse.
Citric acid works well if the solution is kept warm...vinegar works more aggressively whether warm or cold.
In a 1lb honey jar I use a level teaspoonful of citric acid powder, a drip or three of washing up liquid and fill up with hot water.
I keep the same clean water in the Ultrasonic Cleaner bath and put my mix and twenty or so cases in the 1lb honey jar in the U/S for ten minutes, it is a 240W machine...giving them a swirl at half time. I reckon to get the liquid levels in honey jar and U/S bath to roughly match.
When cleaned...Pour cases and mix into a fine sieve over another honey jar in the sink and then splash under the tap and into the soda bicarb solution, pour out into sieve again and sploosh well under the hot tap, into a tea towel and swing it round a bit, then onto a foil lined baking tray sitting on a night store heater for a while.
At the end throw away the cleaning liquid...one mix will do 40 cases...rinse out the honey jar....no need to drain or clean up the U/S bath.
I put a teaspoonful and a bit of vinegar per honey jar when I have tried it.
Alan
