computer components and 99% isopropyl alcohol

[Turbonium]

I wasn't sure where else to post this.

If I were to take your average computer component (say a video card, or stick of RAM), and completely submerge it in 99% isopropyl alcohol (or, alternatively, pour the stuff all over the component), and give it a few hours to dry/evaporate at room temperature, would it be safe to use without damaging the component?

The way I think about it is, for every 100 mL of the alcohol solution, I'm getting 1 mL of water, spread across that entire volume (so 1 mL, or 1 g, worth of of water distributed along 100 mL worth of volume, if that makes sense), then evaporated (hopefully).

Seems like it would be harmless if done properly. But would it?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Check out some TechYesCity YT vids, where Bryan submerges PC parts in his ultrasonic cleaner gizmo (and adds some dish detergent).

He does remove heatsinks and thermal paste.

That's the only downside that I could see, to alcohol immersion, having to re-paste things.

Be careful, don't dunk CPUs, some of them have *paste* under the heatspreader, and if those are immersed, the paste might dissolve, and you'll have to de-lid to re-paste, just to use the CPU without it burning up.

 

[mindless1]

Yes it is harmless (with one exception noted below). I've cleaned many different components, usually use a hot detergent bath immersion for a couple minutes (or first spray on an ammonia solution esp. Mr Clean if it's a smoker's system so tar buildup), then rinse with water having a drop of dishwasher rinse aid in it to reduce surface tension so the water sheets off.

If in a hurry to get it dry, I'll do a 3rd rinse with the cheap 70% IPA, set PCB it on end to let gravity drain it further, and point a fan at it, usually dry within a couple hours (really sooner but I wait that long anyway). If not rinsing with IPA, I wait a day with fan forced drying or just a couple days passive drying if it's not a priority.

Just immersing or pouring it over a component may not be enough. I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner so use a ~1" paint brush while it's submerged, then inspect slots/connectors afterwards to make sure no loose bristles were left behind. I would be very cautious about using a brush or especially anything firmer, in some CPU sockets due to risk of bending the pins.

As Larry mentioned, you may have to redo any grease based thermal compound, but not the gummy or silicone pad type, and need to remove fans, and batteries, and will deface any stickers. Fans though, once removed from something, I've also cleaned those as described above, then shake them to get excess water out, then relube if sleeve bearing, then let them sit for at least a day before powering up again. Mainly fans need removed because the cavity can hold water if not shaken out and needs longer to dry.

Doing only a brief pour of water or alcohol over a board can do as much harm as good. Many boards were not very well rinsed of their water soluble flux when manufactured, so if they only get wet briefly, the dried up flux residue starts to dissolve but not quite, then as the water dries, it can form pools of concentrated acidic flux, eating away at exposed metal and potentially forming conductive shorts between very close component leads or solder pads. You can often see this when it dries, crusty (salt film) looking haze over some areas. It was already there before washed, just spread out in too thin a film to notice prior to washing.

You can't do this to HDDs due to most (maybe not the helium filled?) having a breather vent & filter, aren't actually air/liquid tight sealed. You could take the PCB off and clean it alone.

Edit: Forgot to mention, do not use Mr Clean /etc ammonia on any aluminum like heatsinks, as it attacks the anodization. I only use ammonia when there is a definite tobacco tar issue and then only spray and let sit a few seconds before immersion that dilutes it. Come to think of it, I don't even use straight Mr Clean, more like a 20% solution of it that I'd premixed for other non-computer cleaning purposes.

 

[shortylickens]

in the Navy I got a micro-mini repair course and while we did use 99% isopropanol to clean all kinds of things, they made it abundantly clear we were never supposed to dunk anything in a pool of it.

 

[Murloc]

in the Navy I got a micro-mini repair course and while we did use 99% isopropanol to clean all kinds of things, they made it abundantly clear we were never supposed to dunk anything in a pool of it.

that's a good default instruction.
A naked PCBA (no heatsinks or whatever) is safe for immersion though.

Dunking is also not necessary since you usually have to brush stuff to really get rid of residue anyway:

you can also do spot cleaning and avoid disassembling certain things if you're careful where stuff drips. Anwyay, to clean a video card you should probably disassemble it anyway to get rid of dust and replace the thermal paste, otherwise you might as well just not clean it at all.

 

[mindless1]

^ Immersion cleaning, along with brushing while immersed, tends to be far more thorough and depending on the products used, much cheaper too.

I don't see the point of spot cleaning, unless some specific situation for example I've come across laptops where the owner either drooled on (or spilled liquid onto the keyboard but there was no coloration to it) and it corroded the memory slot under it, then there was no need to clean the entire mainboard.

On a desktop, it usually tends to be the case that the grime is everywhere and spot cleaning, is just a slow way to move gunk around. I could see spot cleaning after a repair to get rid of flux residue.

If it's just dust, I wouldn't get it wet at all, instead just use a dry paintbrush, and then your choice of air source. I have an air compressor but in worst cases I've literally taken systems outside and pointed a leaf blower at them, at a distance of course.

 

[letmepicyou]

I have worked in electronics in every capacity from "hand insertion" (stuffing components into boards getting ready to run through the wave solderer) to hand-repair, and am qualified to repair everything down to SMT using binocular microscopy.

It is perfectly fine to put a circuit board through the dishwasher, wash it under the sink with dish soap, and of course isopropyl alcohol is perfectly acceptable to use, and in fact does a pretty decent job of removing solder resin, although dedicated resin cleaners work better. You're not going to hurt any component on a circuit board (save maybe fans as water can ruin the ball bearings) by washing it, getting it wet, or getting alcohol on it. The key is to making sure it's ABSOLUTELY DRY before you try to run power to it. Water tends to hide under things and in nooks and crannies, so use LOTS of compressed air to dry it thoroughly (doesn't take much with alcohol) or, alternatively, you can stick it in a food dehydrator if you have one and let it sit at 150 degrees for a few hours if you don't have an air compressor. Or you can use a can or 2 of canned air, but that's expensive.

Electronic components aren't hurt by water when off, only when powered.

 

[YuliApp]

i seen it remove the protective lack on PCBs so i stopped doing it and only use pressure air from a compressor.

 

[MtnMan]

I was a field engineer for a major computer company, from the 60s to the 90s. Got a call from one of my customers that they had spilled a full cup of coffee (creamer and sugar) into a keyboard of a legacy VTY terminals. That would not be covered under their maintenance agreement, and she was aware of that. She was nice, cute, etc., and I didn't want to get her in trouble or even fired by having to charge the company to replace the keyboard, nor could I get there before the end of the day.

Instructed her how to disconnect the keyboard (tools required) and take it to the deep sink I knew was in the janitors closet, and run straight hot water through the keyboard for several minutes, shake as much water as possible out and prop it up in front of the refrigerator in the break room (where the warm blows out when refrigerator is running), and I would be by in the morning.

The next morning, the keyboard was dry, and I reconnected it to the VTY terminal, and it worked fine. No billing the company, and she was very grateful