Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

[mcdaydavies]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

Water may get stuck in the transformer.

[Topcat]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

I've water washed several old dirty motherboards with zero problems afterwards, but I've never washed a PSU. Can we also water wash an old dirty power suppy with reasonable confidence?

Dry it out really good first!!

[eccerr0r]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

This is an old thread but I'd still put in my two cents:
1. Remove batteries. Do it. Don't leave them in while washing boards. Though water isn't conductive, there are minute amount of salts, and batteries will speed up that minute amount of salts eating your metals. This includes those soldered on NiCd batteries that (thank goodness) are not used often anymore.
2. Cooking yummy food, specifically frying, is about as bad as smoking. I got some dead equipment from a friend and the fans are just caked with sticky dust. I usually keep my equipment far far away from the kitchen and most of the dust in my computers are easily blown away by a duster/air compressor, but cooking airborne oils and dust produce a nasty mix on computer equipment that probably needs to be washed off...

[eservice]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

I had not heard of washing PCB's but that sounds good.
I had a sad experience around '90-'91 with a two-way radio that went overboard in the Arabian (Persian) Gulf. the equipment was recovered and placed in 'clear tap' water and brought to me about 1-2 hours after it went for the swim.
after washing off the outside to avoid possible (it was supposed to be a water-proof unit) internal damage the case was opened and Gulf sludge flowed out, I could tell the position it ws in for the majority of the time by the NON-existent traces on the circuit boards. Sad to say that Motorola did not survive. ;~{

[Ubuming]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

You know I haven't see this board in quite a few years, but it doesn't matter the procedure is what matters. I've had to do this to boards from smokers before. As you stated before you open them you can smell the nicotine.

[faisal1046]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

too old motherboard ..........................but good presentation..

[TheMadPiper]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

Hello, I live in Staten Island, the night that hurricane sandy blew through, I unplugged my computers in the event of power spikes and surges, little did ii know my house and the floor my computers were on was going to be completely submerged in 6 feet of sea water and mud, maybe sewage mix, my power Mac had been submerged, though unplugged, is there a chance that I can wash the motherboard and get it working again?

[kc8adu]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

that is salt water so as long as its been probably not unless you had pulled the batteries and washed with fresh water right then.
you can try but i bet its too late.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

I cleaned my Asus P5QL Pro board with a paint brush in just this past December.

[lorins_core]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

Thank Master Topcat for your advice... More Power and God Bless You Always...

[lorins_core]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

Water may get stuck in the transformer.

well sir. You need to Used Air Compressor to Moving Out the water. but i Used Hotair 100 to 120'c heat and I Reflow. i stop it then i do around 15 to 20 min again. 5 times... it is Tested... for me.... then I have no problem

[TELVM]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

Bunch of PSUs in the shower:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZylymECDjk

[jpyerry]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

This is a really interesting thread.

I am always embarassed to admit that I smoke, and being a paramedic and former PC repair technician, I know what it is doing to both me and my computer. But, eh...that's life. For this very reason, I do completely tear down and wash my computer with the techniques listed on this forum.

In my five years as a PC repair tech, I've seen some bad ones. Fortunately, only the absolute chain smokers' computers would bother me. My father was a 2.5 pack per day smoker, and I always hated working on his computer, because his hardware would always be in that really bad category.

I've never seen cockroach infestation in a PC, I certainly hope I don't ever come across that. The worst insect infestations have always been spiders for me. I actually saw a computer that was almost covered in spiderwebbing.

The two absolute worst computers that stick out in my head since leaving the business 9 years ago, were the computers owned by machine shops and computers owned by a local company that crushed rocks. The machine shop PCs tended to have a lot of dust that tended to be really oily, real pain to get off. The rock crushing company's PCs were always heavily coated with very fine gray dust that tended to form almost a concrete like sludge when cleaning attempts were. I always thought it seemed miraculous that those computers worked at all.

I wish I had pictures from back in the day.

[chris g]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

I'm waiting for a customer to pick there computer and it smells so bad i have it out side in a Rubbermaid tote

[cheapie]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

I once had a motherboard that was caked with candle wax(!) and had the typical BGA issues. I ran it through "quick wash" on the dishwasher, then baked it in the oven. Two problems fixed at once! Eventually the KZGs on it died a few months later.

[Baron]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

Just to chime in.....a bit late............but when I do my annual strip down and cleaning session on my PC on a nice warm/hot summers day, which here in England is a rare day.

Since I am a dreaded smoker, I find that the combination of cheapo paint brushes, canned air and Baby Wipes do an excellent job of cleaning things like fan frames and blades, memory sticks (body and 'seating pins'), the Corsair (3 x 40mm fan) memory cooler and all the other parts than can be removed for cleaning.

Baby Wipes are also good at cleaning the inside and outside of my Tt Armor case, and especially the perspex window in the side panel, with the clear bladed Tt 220mm fan bolted in it, so I can actually see inside again for another year.

The only part I do not touch is my GA EX58 Extreme (2008) motherboard, as it seems to me to be pretty clean anyway, and wary of doing damage in my ham fisted cleaning efforts.

Anyone else use Baby Wipes for cleaning ?.

I am a novice at these things.

[PeteS in CA]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but back 1990ish I visited a P/S company in Connecticut. Among their customers was NCR, and they used to get P/S returned for repair, cleaning, etc.. Their least favorite were P/Ss from cash registers in pizza restaurants. Can you say, "After-hours food fight!"?

[ratdude747]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but back 1990ish I visited a P/S company in Connecticut. Among their customers was NCR, and they used to get P/S returned for repair, cleaning, etc.. Their least favorite were P/Ss from cash registers in pizza restaurants. Can you say, "After-hours food fight!"?

Sounds like a story of my buddy's parent's computer business. They had to fix 3 frat house towers... And all of them reeked so bad of old spilt beer. Add in 5 tons of viruses and porn, and in the case of two, condoms shoved in the fans and Opticals, and you have the worst computer's they've seen and I've heard of.

Heck, even the frat van had BOOBIES painted on the side... yup, sure describes the occupants.

[c_hegge]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

^
If that came into the shop I work at, we'd turn it down.

[Topcat]

Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

^
If that came into the shop I work at, we'd turn it down.

Today I would refuse it, as they wouldn't be willing to pay for the work. Back in the PC repair glory days, I'd have taken it in, and charged them out the ass for it. Couldn't get away with that today, as PC's aren't worth anything, so you'd end up with the nasty thing....