Do you really change DW everyday?

[johnny676767]

I've only been at this for 2-3 months and have really just been soaking in DW and using a toothbrush with mild soap. I also mechanically clean with a microscope. A lot I have read here says to chage DW everyday. Is that really necessary? I have seen that allowing the coins to soak in DW does in fact work but I have gotten away from changing the water everyday. Does that matter? I also wonder if the volume of water being used affects frequency of changes. What is your opinion? Thanks!

[Matthew C5]

Funny, but I asked myself these same questions not all that long a go.  I found that the most effective thing with that step is to wet/dry/wet/dry.... continually to allow the expansion and contraction to happen to all of the crust.  I do this inbetween manually cleaning and it seems to help.  The distilled water helps  to remove the dissolved minerals/metals that the coin is leaching-out.

Hope this helps
Matt

[Lee S]

The theory is that as DW has no minerals dissolved in it, it will more aggressively dissolve any soluble minerals on the coin. This extra disolveabilty stops working when the water is saturated with minerals, so as a rule of thumb I change the water every day for the first week or so, then leave for longer and longer periods.... You can generally judge how often you need to change the water by the condition of the coin....
  If the crud is softening up overnight you probably want to change the water... If its remaining rock hard, not so much.

[Ghengis_Jon]

When I was cleaning uncleaneds, I found best results to change the DW whenever you removed the coin for manual cleaning.  Otherwise, change every 2-3 days - but swirl the water daily.

[Joe Sermarini]

Change the water daily if it is blue.

[Roman_Egypt]

I only change it when it is cloudy if it stays clear I do nothing. I have had great results, you must be patient of course! 

[CrustyBronze]

with dirty coins change the water when there is a film forming on top of the water or when there is some residue or stains  forming under the coin

I generally leave the coins for about 3-4 weeks before looking at them to see if the water needs changed

more importantly -  in my opinion-  is to clean the container after every other water change because they can get real dirty and the process is much more effective if you do so

[daverino]

I would definitely change the water promptly if it turns blue. The blue comes from dissolved copper ions and suggests that the water has become acidic. Changing the water will tend to leach out the acid.