I do a lot of tear downs of old equipment and the cleanliness can range from almost factory fresh to looking like it lived its life in a vacuum bag (dust/dirt/insects/etc). The goal is to have the components as clean as possible for removal (of parts worth keeping). The boards range from PC power supplies, projection TV boards, UPS boards, stereo/amp boards, some motherboards & PC cards, etc - basically anything with interesting parts.
I usually start with the air compressor and blow off dust/dirt/grim if needed but there is often stuff stuck on that doesn't come off. I've used something like windex or Fantastic sprayed on the boards (while dry), allow them to sit for 5-10 mins and then use a long bristle brush (like a toilet bowl scrubber but with softer & longer bristles) to lightly scrub the board & components followed by a spray of hot water to rinse everything off. After this they are stacked in front of a fan and air blown through them to dry as quickly as possible.
I've never noticed any damage to any parts with this process but I'm not sure if something could be happening that I can't see. None of the ingredients in the sprays are particularly strong and shouldn't harm any components. I'm wondering if anyone has any insight into this or has a better approach to cleaning them. I've heard some people actually use a dish washer to clean some boards (I guess it depends on components). I've never noticed any rust on the steel heat sinks if there are any, even if there were traces of rust to begin with..
Any thoughts on this?
I usually start with the air compressor and blow off dust/dirt/grim if needed but there is often stuff stuck on that doesn't come off. I've used something like windex or Fantastic sprayed on the boards (while dry), allow them to sit for 5-10 mins and then use a long bristle brush (like a toilet bowl scrubber but with softer & longer bristles) to lightly scrub the board & components followed by a spray of hot water to rinse everything off. After this they are stacked in front of a fan and air blown through them to dry as quickly as possible.
I've never noticed any damage to any parts with this process but I'm not sure if something could be happening that I can't see. None of the ingredients in the sprays are particularly strong and shouldn't harm any components. I'm wondering if anyone has any insight into this or has a better approach to cleaning them. I've heard some people actually use a dish washer to clean some boards (I guess it depends on components). I've never noticed any rust on the steel heat sinks if there are any, even if there were traces of rust to begin with..
Any thoughts on this?