destinking the computers.

From: Russ Blakeman <rhblake_at_bigfoot.com>
Date: Tue May 15 08:09:20 2001

Plain rubbing alcohol is excellent for removal of the gung of both mildewed
or tar/nicotined equipment and it's cheap. Walmart and other chains carry
quart bottles, I buy them at a local pharmacy by the case at a 5% markoff).
Use it liberally but with the unit powered down, since you still have to be
concerned with shock/short since there's 30% water in it. Don't buy the
useless alcohol that's less than 70%, it doesn't work well at all. It also
freshens the smell of machines once the tar/nicotine or mildew/mold is gone.
If you have vents, circuit boards, etc you can get a good horsehair or parts
cleaning brush soaked with it and scrub them (try first on an area to insure
it won't hurt anything) and that removes stuck gunk off the components.

If you're cleaning a cdrom that was used in a smoking area, use lens tissue
(photo grade) to final polish the laser so that it has all of the stuff off
and the alcohol doesn't leave a streak/haze on the lens. I continually clean
cd players for people's stereos as a side job and they are an easy fix. This
is a heavy tobacco use area (Ky, why of course) and also very moist/prone to
mold/mildew. I get both mildewed/musty items and tar/nicotined items all of
the time - and the contaminent is usually the cause for the item's failure.

Denatured alcohol can be used many times too but be careful of how it reacts
as it's not water based and can remove stickers, decals, etc. I also use
green Scotch scrub pads many times with isopropyl to scrub the units or use
a vegetable/nail brush with iso to scrub the outer cabinets that have the
mottled finish. They generally come out looking near new, if not like new.
409 also works well on outer cabinets but isn't much on certain stains such
as tar/nic or toner stains. Citrus cleaners are good too but act like a
solvent on many articles, dependant on the cleaner and the item. Some citrus
cleaners are made from the oils in citrus peels rather than from the citrus
juice and the oils are in the same category as toluene or lacquer thinner on
many plastics (isn't lacquer thinner made from a fruit product?)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org
> [mailto:owner-classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of jpero_at_sympatico.ca
> Sent: Monday, May 14, 2001 6:39 PM
> To: classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org
> Subject: destinking the computers.
>
>
>
> Cigerette stink is worst I know but this one I'm bit lucky doesn't
> stink like one EXCEPT that Mac II has collected so much regular dust
> in it's life then pushed to storage is bad location where there's
> humidty is high for long time. That's before I rescued that Mac II
> from goodwill for $5.
>
> Now it stank of must and dust. What is your process to destink that
> Mac II? Scubbing is part solution but this case is full of
> cravities and crannies, lot of hidden carvities under that tin sheet
> fastened in place by melted mushroomed plastic pins. Best way I
> think is soak it in some kind of chemical. including that PSU minus
> fan.
>
> The worst of that stink is in PSU and whole case. I'll have to take
> apart that PSU but the case is another matter.
>
> Hey, it's 1987 machine so classiccomp applies! :-)
>
> What's the solutions to attack this? Bleach dip, ionized chamber
> (for smoke damage repair) etc? Comments please and where to
> find some de-stink services locally?
>
> Cheers,
>
> Wizard
Received on Tue May 15 2001 - 08:09:20 BST