How to Clean Sound Equipment

Like all electronics, audio equipment must be kept clean to keep it in top working order. It can be expensive to have a professional clean it, and it can take several days or more to get the equipment back after sending it out to be cleaned. For those who are pretty handy, it is not an overly difficult task to clean audio equipment and save the time and expense of using a professional.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Air compressor or can of compressed air Vacuum with soft bristle brush attachment Paintbrush (1 inch) Soft cloth Dish detergent Rubbing alcohol or Kontak Small standard screwdriver

1. Unplug any audio equipment you plan for at least 24 hours. The power supplies of audio equipment can build up a lot of energy and must be allowed to discharge this energy before the equipment is safe to clean.

2. Dust off the flat surfaces on the exterior of the equipment with the soft cloth. For the surfaces with knobs, crevices, you can use the paintbrush to dust it or remove it using the brush attachment with the vacuum.

3. Use a mild dish detergent solution to clean the exterior surfaces, being careful not to get the solution inside the equipment.

4. Carefully open the equipment using the screwdriver. Make sure to keep the small screws in a safe place where you can find them when you want to put the equipment back together.

5. Use the air compressor or the can of compressed air to carefully blow out any dust.

6. Use the cloth soaked with alcohol or Kontak, a cleaning solution that does not leave behind any residue, to clean tube sockets, input/output connectors and any other electrical connections that are easily accessible. The cloth should be completely wet but not so much that it drips. If there are any RCA or XLR connectors on the back panel, they should also be cleaned in this way.

7. After the equipment is completely dry, put it back together.

Tips & Warnings

• Audio equipment should have its interior cleaned at least once a year and more often in dustier area. If the equipment has not been cleaned for more than a year, the interior can be extremely dusty. It would be a good idea to take it into a garage, workshop or outside to blow out the dust with the air compressor or can of compressed air.

References

• Galen Carol Audio

Resources

• Hilton Audio Products