Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!news.cs.indiana.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!clio.sts.uiuc.edu!berger
From: berger@clio.sts.uiuc.edu (Mike Berger)
Subject: Re: motherboards in the dishwasher?
Message-ID: <1991May16.202852.11983@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Sender: usenet@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (News)
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
References: <0094836B.DA657A80@Eagle.oscs.montana.edu> <1991May7.153627.4590@zoo.toronto.edu>
Date: Thu, 16 May 1991 20:28:52 GMT
Lines: 29

henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes:

>In article <0094836B.DA657A80@Eagle.oscs.montana.edu> ieeug330@Eagle.oscs.montana.edu (Mark Wistey) writes:
>>Someone claimed that the best way to clean a contaminated (e.g. soda pop)
>>computer keyboard was to disconnect it and run it under tap water.  I thought
>>water was enough of a solvent to cause damage to circuit boards...

>Clean, fresh water is not very corrosive.  It may be worth trying as a
>last resort.  I'd recommend taking the keyboard apart, though, so you can
>rinse the innards directly and so they will dry relatively quickly.  Water
>sitting on the board for a while is bad news.
*----
First, there isn't much more corrosive than coke or pepsi!  If you're
cleaning that off a keyboard, don't worry about what water might do.

Secondly, I'll verify that clean water isn't very corrosive.  It's
also not very electrolytic.  I just started cleaning up a foot of
water in my basement from the latest flood - it was high enough,
unfortunately, to get some of the stuff up on pallets.  The biggest
worry about clean water is what it deposits behind.  Eliminate that
concern by rinsing and drying.  In this case, the basement electrical
circuit was submerged (ie. uninsulated live contacts were completely
underwater) but it remained live (and so did I) so I could fix the
sump pump and plug it back in and drain the basement.
--
	Mike Berger
	Department of Statistics, University of Illinois
	AT&TNET     217-244-6067
	Internet    berger@atropa.stat.uiuc.edu
