eve@ssc-bee.UUCP (Michael Eve) (09/22/84)
My Apple motherboard has gotten quite dusty from running without the top, and I suspect oxidation has occurred to some of the socket and chip contacts. I want to clean up all the contacts. Is it safe to immerse the whole board with all chips, resistors, capacitors, etc. in place? If so, what cleaning agent is recommended? Is it likely to help? Thanks. -- Mike Eve Boeing Aerospace, Seattle ...uw-beaver!ssc-vax!ssc-bee!eve
smh@mit-eddie.UUCP (Steven M. Haflich) (09/26/84)
IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT! Think about it: If a machine or board is working properly, nothing you do to it is likely to improve the situation. So don't risk immersion in solvents or physical manipulation to clean contacts. Even gentle manpulation can break component leads, and many solvents leave behind worse deposits than they remove. However, dust and various airborn grime definitely can be deleterious to boards. First, dirt can attract or retain moisture, leading to corrosion as well as current leakage paths. Second, and more important, accumulated dust can significantly reduce air circulation around and beneath chips, thereby reducing cooling, thereby increasing operating temperature, thereby increasing the liklihood of component failure. So it can pay to clean grime from boards, but only if it can be done nonobtrusively. The best idea is to vacuum, or better, *blow*, loose dust from boards, being careful not to touch components with the vacuum cleaner. Of course, anytime you use a vacuum cleaner you are raising are making airborn numerous microscopic particles, so power off all rotating media and either cover removable magnetic media, or better, remove them from the room.