Abstract: Wire is passed through apparatus having two treatment zones, the first treatment zone containing six wire cleaning heads and the second treatment zone containing two wire cleaning heads. Each cleaning head consists of a primary cylindrical chamber flanked by two secondary cylindrical chambers of substantially smaller diameter, the wire passing axially through the cylinders. A working fluid such as dilute alkali, water or an organic solvent is pumped into the primary cylindrical chamber via a tangentially aligned inlet, it circulates in the primary chamber, and leaves via the secondary chamber with a very high annular velocity due to the reduction in the diameter of circulation. The high circulation speed causes vibration in and around the wire in the secondary chambers with resultant abrasion of the surface of the wire. In an alternative embodiment up to all but one of the cleaning heads may be replaced by dies.