is it ok to "wash" a motherboard?

[CraigRT]

COMPRESSED AIR.

Strong enough air can get off even filmy dust and make the mobo look new.. plus, it gets into places washing with a towel or cloth just can't.

I use compressed air all the time both at home and work, never a problem. (just be careful about CPU / videocard fans)

 

[w00t]

Originally posted by: Mojoed
ARrg, don't use regular water. Use distilled water.

 

[CrispyFried]

Originally posted by: sandorski

Originally posted by: Captain_Howdy

Originally posted by: CrispyFried
Some touch typists are very picky about keyboards.. once they find one with the pefect feel theyll die before getting a different one. and good keyboards arent 10 bucks.

/me glances at his IBM Model M. (With AT connection )
Best keyboard ever made, and my brother even found a PS/2 one...

IBM made fantastic keyboards in the '80's. Always wanted one, but never got one. Downside to them was they were frickin heavy!

Yup, those AT keyboards were metal cased and weighed more than a whole comp system, including LCD display, does nowadays. They had an awesome feel. There was NO doubt when you pressed a key. They had a touch like no other, kinda like the old IBM Selectric typewriters.

 

[natto fire]

Originally posted by: CrispyFried

Originally posted by: sandorski

Originally posted by: Captain_Howdy

Originally posted by: CrispyFried
Some touch typists are very picky about keyboards.. once they find one with the pefect feel theyll die before getting a different one. and good keyboards arent 10 bucks.

/me glances at his IBM Model M. (With AT connection )
Best keyboard ever made, and my brother even found a PS/2 one...

IBM made fantastic keyboards in the '80's. Always wanted one, but never got one. Downside to them was they were frickin heavy!

Yup, those AT keyboards were metal cased and weighed more than a whole comp system, including LCD display, does nowadays. They had an awesome feel. There was NO doubt when you pressed a key. They had a touch like no other, kinda like the old IBM Selectric typewriters.

I know what you mean. I just recently had to retire mine because it stopped working, plus I lost my AT->PS/2 adapter. But my brothers is still going strong. Has a MUCH better feel than the Microsoft natural keyboard it was replaced with.

 

[w00t]

Originally posted by: Captain_Howdy

Originally posted by: CrispyFried

Originally posted by: wchou

Originally posted by: 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.

a solution would be to buy a new one, it cost so little from 5.00 to 10.00 online.

Some touch typists are very picky about keyboards.. once they find one with the pefect feel theyll die before getting a different one. and good keyboards arent 10 bucks.

/me glances at his IBM Model M. (With AT connection )
Best keyboard ever made, and my brother even found a PS/2 one...

that keyboard is dumb i dont see what's so great its basically the same thing as a das keyboard but painted black the ibm model m keyboards are loud beyond loud they make you think your typing super fast cuz it has that annoying click clank sound the best keyboard i have come around to this day is still the logitech elite.

 

[natto fire]

Originally posted by: w00t

Originally posted by: Captain_Howdy

Originally posted by: CrispyFried

Originally posted by: wchou

Originally posted by: 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.

a solution would be to buy a new one, it cost so little from 5.00 to 10.00 online.

Some touch typists are very picky about keyboards.. once they find one with the pefect feel theyll die before getting a different one. and good keyboards arent 10 bucks.

/me glances at his IBM Model M. (With AT connection )
Best keyboard ever made, and my brother even found a PS/2 one...

that keyboard is dumb i dont see what's so great its basically the same thing as a das keyboard but painted black the ibm model m keyboards are loud beyond loud they make you think your typing super fast cuz it has that annoying click clank sound the best keyboard i have come around to this day is still the logitech elite.

I thought all keyboards were dumb? Is the Logitech Elite capable of cognitive processes?

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: w00t

Originally posted by: Captain_Howdy

Originally posted by: CrispyFried

Originally posted by: wchou

Originally posted by: 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.

a solution would be to buy a new one, it cost so little from 5.00 to 10.00 online.

Some touch typists are very picky about keyboards.. once they find one with the pefect feel theyll die before getting a different one. and good keyboards arent 10 bucks.

/me glances at his IBM Model M. (With AT connection )
Best keyboard ever made, and my brother even found a PS/2 one...

that keyboard is dumb i dont see what's so great its basically the same thing as a das keyboard but painted black the ibm model m keyboards are loud beyond loud they make you think your typing super fast cuz it has that annoying click clank sound the best keyboard i have come around to this day is still the logitech elite.

I don't agree totally with your post, but you are right in that they were loud. Back then the sound didn't bother me and I actually liked it, but nowadays I don't know if I'd care for it as I often type a lot late at night. I think that keyboard would be heard by my neighbours.

 

[Ghouler]

I was using small car vacuum cleaner powered with batteries for years with no problems...
I understand it was taking some risk cus physically yes it is possible some charge could be released ... but simply never thought about it )
Canned Air is The Answer then.

 

[imported_i2k]

Compressed air.. its crazy to even think about hosing it off when you can spray it with comp air and probably get a similar result.

 

[doinmybestatlast]

At work we just vacuum. Never had a problem. Every computer coming into service is vacuumed. IT guys are not gentle. MBs are cheap, but labor to change one out is high. MBs are rocks.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: doinmybestatlast
At work we just vacuum. Never had a problem. Every computer coming into service is vacuumed. IT guys are not gentle. MBs are cheap, but labor to change one out is high. MBs are rocks.

Vacuume is ok, just as long as you blow and do not suck. If you suck then you run risk of removing jumpers, wires, batteries, etc. Blowing removes more dust from more places than sucking, but it makes a bigger mess when everything is done. Just be prepaired to clean the house when you are done or do it out side like I sometimes do.

 

[BigCoolJesus]

Originally posted by: tasburrfoot78362

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)

Well, you forgot to mention about the CMOS battery, so you just friend your motherboard.

Secondly, using "pure water" is pointless, because you are cleaning dust off with it. The second water becomes impure, it is considered conductive. It gets more conductive depending upon what is in it, but nonetheless, using pure water is useless in this example, as the dust will obviously make it no longer pure.

Gosh, im sorry for that mistake........ although if i was actually about to wash my mobo, im pretty sure i would realize to take out the battery once i saw it (and if i forgot, then i deserve to have my mobo fried)

 

[thescreensavers]

Originally posted by: 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.

I beg to differ. I had a computer my friend gave to me to fix. it was not working properly so i could not find out how to fix it. so what i was going to do is clean up the crap load of dust with my hair blower on air setting not heat and blew the dust all off. And was going to tell him i cleaned it. so now since i did not know how to fix the problem go to like best buy and see what geek squad will do. so then after i cleaned it i though of something else that could fix it. what luck I had I turned it on and it loaded windows and every thing.

ow ya and DUST=CPU sickness or GPU sickness anything that depends on a fan and has a metal heat sink can get clogged up and the cpu can over heat and damage it self.

 

[akugami]

Originally posted by: xylem
Use isopropyl alcohol, as pure as you can find (preferably 99%). After you rinse, residual alcohol evaporates *much* faster than water, and will not kill your motherboard if there happens to be some left that you can't see. I have washed a couple motherboards in this manner (even gently scrubbed them with a toothbrush), left out in the sun for an hour or two to dry, then hooked back up and powered on.

:thumbsup:

 

[feelingshorter]

you can wash it but you have to dry it with a dryer...im not sure washing a mobo will fix the problem though as motherboards do die from usage sometimes....

 

[natto fire]

Originally posted by: thescreensavers

Originally posted by: 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.

I beg to differ. I had a computer my friend gave to me to fix. it was not working properly so i could not find out how to fix it. so what i was going to do is clean up the crap load of dust with my hair blower on air setting not heat and blew the dust all off. And was going to tell him i cleaned it. so now since i did not know how to fix the problem go to like best buy and see what geek squad will do. so then after i cleaned it i though of something else that could fix it. what luck I had I turned it on and it loaded windows and every thing.

ow ya and DUST=CPU sickness or GPU sickness anything that depends on a fan and has a metal heat sink can get clogged up and the cpu can over heat and damage it self.

But dust is not the direct cause of failure, of course overheating can damage components. While dust can aid in overheating things, it is still not the dust that is causing failure.