How to Clean Vintage Electronic Circuits

Many of us hold on to vintage electronic devices, often because they still work perfectly well, and are still useful despite being rather behind the times. However, a great deal of dirt and dust can accumulate on electronic circuits during their useful lifecycle. It's important to clean them properly to avoid shorting them out. Before you get started cleaning your vintage electronic circuits, be sure that the device is something which you can open yourself, and then reclose the way it was originally assembled in the factory.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Denatured alcohol
• Cotton Swabs
• Compressed air or vacuum cleaner

1. Unplug the electronic device from the electrical outlet, and remove any auxiliary power sources such as removable batteries. Do not attempt to remove an internally installed power supply unit.

2. You will need to open the case of the electronic device. In most cases you will need a Phillips screwdriver. Make sure that you have some small cups handy for holding the screws.

3. Ground yourself on an unpainted portion of the metal chassis of the electronic device. This will discharge any static electricity which is flowing across your skin. If you touch any electronic component while your body has a static electric charge, you can short out the circuitry even if you don't feel the discharge. So proceed with caution.

4. Get a can of compressed air or a vacuum cleaner. Either use the compressed air to blow the dust out, or use the vacuum cleaner to suck it out. Either way, do not touch the electronic circuits with any cleaning device. If there's thick dust that can't be removed with the canned air or vacuum cleaner, use a soft brush to brush it away, then vacuum up the particles the brush has removed. Pay special attention to any fans which are blocked with dust, such as the fans which cool the CPU, the power supply and the motherboard. If these fans aren't working properly, the heat can fry your device.

5. Use a cotton swab saturated with a small amount of denatured alcohol to clean away any grime which has accumulated on the circuits. If you use this method, it's important to give the device plenty of time to dry before closing it up and reconnecting it to the power source. If your device has suffered a liquid spill, you can probably clean up the spill using distilled water or denatured alcohol. However, it's a good idea to have the device checked out by an authorized service professional after a liquid spill. If it's a cheap device like a keyboard, you may want to simply replace it.

6. After you've given the device plenty of time to dry out, reassemble the casing with the original screws. Be careful not to drop the screws or screwdriver onto the electronic circuit boards, as these are often magnetic and can damage your unit. Once your unit is completely reassembled, try reconnecting it to the power and turning it back on. If it exhibits any symptoms of a malfunction, turn it off immediately and contact a professional.

Tips & Warnings

• Put the vacuum cleaner attachment directly on the back of the computer power supply where you can see the fan to suck the dust out of the unit.
• Certain buttons and keys can be cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner.
• If your device is particularly dusty, and it's not raining, you can take it outside to clean it out.
• Never attempt to open up a computer monitor or power supply. These devices store electricity, and can electrocute you.
• Never immerse a circuit board in water or any other liquid medium.

[lifeengineer]

on 3/23/2009 Good article. I recommend removing the internal battery if you are cleaning near this area. You could cause damage otherwise.