is it ok to "wash" a motherboard?

[PremiumG]

ok, its not a good idea probably; but i'm stuck

PC doesn't boot up. tested every component but the mobo, all works fine. Mobo has no leaking caps that i can see, but it is dusty as heck!! The dust could be covering up leaked caps that i dont see. It is DUSTY!!

anyway, i dont have any canned air, can i rinse the mobo with water, and then FULLY dried, try it again? Or will water even after its dried mess it up?

 

[MrDudeMan]

i dunno about this....

if anything, i would use alocohol, not water.

 

[JLGatsby]

I know 5 bucks is a lot of money, but the canned air is worth it.

 

[Crescent13]

use canned air. water will kill the mobo the instant it touches it.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: PremiumG
ok, its not a good idea probably; but i'm stuck

PC doesn't boot up. tested every component but the mobo, all works fine. Mobo has no leaking caps that i can see, but it is dusty as heck!! The dust could be covering up leaked caps that i dont see. It is DUSTY!!

anyway, i dont have any canned air, can i rinse the mobo with water, and then FULLY dried, try it again? Or will water even after its dried mess it up?

Why don't you just wipe it off with your fingers or something? Even just blowing on it yourself would be a much better idea than washing it.

 

[mechBgon]

First you have to sand your monitor screen a bit, though.


Yeah, just blow the dust off with your breath, or leave it alone. Dust isn't fatal to electronic stuff.

 

[Hyperlite]

i suggest scrubbing bubbles with bleach....

 

[BigCoolJesus]

Originally posted by: Crescent13
use canned air. water will kill the mobo the instant it touches it.

Not true at all


to answer your question........yes, you can wash it with water



BUT, first you must unplug it from everything and any source of power, and leave it unplugged. wait about 10 minutes (for any remaining power "stored" up to dissipate)

Then, you can run as much f'ing water over it that you want

BUT WAIT AGAIN...........Now you have to dry the mother off, and i mean dry.
By this, i mean completely dry it with cloths/hair dryer/ air...... and when you think its dry, leave it sit (without plugging it in) for 4-5 days.... then dry it a little more.



Then, and only then, can you plug it back in and it will work without shorting out.


Just in case some n00b or uninformed person doubts me, think of it logically. Water only ruins if it conducts a current between 2 points that shouldnt be connected.......IE, you can pour all the water you want on a mobo, hell you could pitch it in a lake for a week, BUT AS LONG AS IT IS COMPLETELY DRY WHEN A CURRENT IS APPLIED, IT WILL BE FINE.
(meaning, as long as your not trying to clean it while its plugged in, its all good)

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Canned Air

 

[twitchee2]

Originally posted by: BigCoolJesus

Originally posted by: Crescent13
use canned air. water will kill the mobo the instant it touches it.

Not true at all


to answer your question........yes, you can wash it with water



BUT, first you must unplug it from everything and any source of power, and leave it unplugged. wait about 10 minutes (for any remaining power "stored" up to dissipate)

Then, you can run as much f'ing water over it that you want

BUT WAIT AGAIN...........Now you have to dry the mother off, and i mean dry.
By this, i mean completely dry it with cloths/hair dryer/ air...... and when you think its dry, leave it sit (without plugging it in) for 4-5 days.... then dry it a little more.



Then, and only then, can you plug it back in and it will work without shorting out.


Just in case some n00b or uninformed person doubts me, think of it logically. Water only ruins if it conducts a current between 2 points that shouldnt be connected.......IE, you can pour all the water you want on a mobo, hell you could pitch it in a lake for a week, BUT AS LONG AS IT IS COMPLETELY DRY WHEN A CURRENT IS APPLIED, IT WILL BE FINE.
(meaning, as long as your not trying to clean it while its plugged in, its all good)

I agree totally with you. you know when you run your cell phone through the wash and you just let it sit for a day or 2 and still works...exact same concept but make sure it is 100% dry then let it sit for more just to double check.

 

[blurredvision]

Originally posted by: BigCoolJesus

Originally posted by: Crescent13
use canned air. water will kill the mobo the instant it touches it.

Not true at all


to answer your question........yes, you can wash it with water



BUT, first you must unplug it from everything and any source of power, and leave it unplugged. wait about 10 minutes (for any remaining power "stored" up to dissipate)

Then, you can run as much f'ing water over it that you want

BUT WAIT AGAIN...........Now you have to dry the mother off, and i mean dry.
By this, i mean completely dry it with cloths/hair dryer/ air...... and when you think its dry, leave it sit (without plugging it in) for 4-5 days.... then dry it a little more.



Then, and only then, can you plug it back in and it will work without shorting out.


Just in case some n00b or uninformed person doubts me, think of it logically. Water only ruins if it conducts a current between 2 points that shouldnt be connected.......IE, you can pour all the water you want on a mobo, hell you could pitch it in a lake for a week, BUT AS LONG AS IT IS COMPLETELY DRY WHEN A CURRENT IS APPLIED, IT WILL BE FINE.
(meaning, as long as your not trying to clean it while its plugged in, its all good)

Good, now I don't have to type this . "Washing" your keyboard with clean water is not a problem at all if following these rules.

EDIT: Why the fvck did I think we were talking about keyboards?? Argh! Ignore my dumb post altogether.

 

[D1gger]

/tongueincheek
I just run mine through dishwasher on pot scrubber setting. The hot air dry cycle will look after the remaining water and then you are good to go.
/etongueincheek

 

[Ricemarine]

Wouldn't the mobo rust?

 

[blurredvision]

Originally posted by: Ricemarine
Wouldn't the mobo rust?

Typical keyboards are all plastic. Last time I checked, plastic doesn't rust.

 

[twitchee2]

Originally posted by: blurredvision

Originally posted by: Ricemarine
Wouldn't the mobo rust?

Typical keyboards are all plastic. Last time I checked, plastic doesn't rust.

we are talking about the Motherboard NOT the keybaord..sorry had to do it.

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

PURE WATER

 

[Mojoed]

ARrg, don't use regular water. Use distilled water.

 

[wchou]

I have done this before and the motherboard is toast afterward, it would freeze up everytime I try to boot up. Don't do it.
Instead use a vacuum or dust buster. We're talking about a machine here, not a pet. They fear water as much as we fear electricity :shocked:

 

[bladephoenix]

I was about to say to use a regular vaccum with the curtain cleaner attachment. It will be good enough to take off the big blotches of dust bunnes. Just be gentle with it so you don't accidently scratch it (if possible don't touch it with the curtain cleaner lips, just 'hover' it above the board.)

By the way, if it really is that dusty, rising it with water may not take out all the dust you would think it would. The only reason I know that is because, believe it or not, I clean my keyboard occationally with water (I take it apart, including the individual keys, separate the electronic stuff and rise all the plastic. -- Never does fully remove the dirt.)

And while on the topic of washing keyboards, there is nothing really sensitive inside a keyboard other than a single chip that controls the LEDS and handles all the electronic signals. It is basically a bunch of keys that spring up using cheap thin rubber cups. There is a plastic sheet with some *silicon?* wiring that simply passes the signal to a chip located where the LEDS are. Even the key part of that is simply a sandwich of cheap flexible magnets similar to those you put on a fridge.

Keyboard made with such cheap materials!

 

[bladephoenix]

New idea!

A dishwater safe keyboard!

I know it sounds funny, but you'd be surprised how many people want to wash their keyboard ... it is the dirtiest part of most systems after all, next to the mouse.

 

[EightySix Four]

I had 36 monitors left outside in a rain storm...

4 days later and all still worked

 

[bladephoenix]

And why would you leave 36 monitors outside?

 

[CrispyFried]

Distillled water is OK for a mobo, make sure the battery is out of it and the cpu and any other socketed stuff is out. then let it dry for like a WEEK like blurredvision said. then wait another week.

I do fire and flood restoration and have seen FULLY SUBMERGED computer mobos work (Im still running one that was water damaged, its been OK for going on two years now). Just let it dry for a week or two. HDs and fans dont like that though

But I would still try canned air 1st.

btw I wash keyboards like once a year, done my main one like 3 times so far and still fine

 

[EightySix Four]

auction... I didn't actually do it, but I was there when it happened and I did the testing...

 

[justly]

There is always that chance that using water to clean a board could cause it to fail.

But in your case I would defiantly try it (as I have done this before with good results).
Other than the precautions already noted by others (making sure there is no power to it and it is completely dry before testing) there is another concern, when you use water it has a tendency to wash the dust into the connections around the edge of the chips mounted on the motherboard. So before you use water try to remove as much of the dust as possible, either with some form of air or soft brush (like a new paint brush). If you don?t do this then you may have just made thing worse by concentrating the dust into the connections of the chips on the board causing a short/ground.

A small amount of liquid dishwashing soap and an old toothbrush can also be used, and don?t waste money on pure/distilled water unless you want to do a final rinse with it (pure/distilled water has no impurities in it but guess what dust is? impurities)