[SOLVED] 70% isopropyl alcohol on a paper towel is safe to clean USB connectors? Will they scratch or erode?

[ShangWang]

Talking about the male plug, I sometimes just rip a piece of paper towel and dip it in alcohol to wipe off dirty connectors. Is this fine or do I really need to use microfiber? Does alcohol cause no damage as long as it's evaporated shortly after?

 

[Lutfij]

Alcohol by nature will evaporate as soon as it's in contact with the atmosphere. You should be good to go so long as you don't dip the connector in alcohol and leave it there overnight Just make sure that the alcohol you're using doesn't have moisturizer in it...yes there was a case on the forums here around this year.

Cotton swabs would be a better idea to get to the corners as opposed to using a paper towel. I do that on pen drives that have a little grime+debris on the connector.

 

[ShangWang]

Alcohol by nature will evaporate as soon as it's in contact with the atmosphere. You should be good to go so long as you don't dip the connector in alcohol and leave it there overnight Just make sure that the alcohol you're using doesn't have moisturizer in it...yes there was a case on the forums here around this year.

Cotton swabs would be a better idea to get to the corners as opposed to using a paper towel. I do that on pen drives that have a little grime+debris on the connector.

Thank you, I assume it's also ok to clean the inside of the connector as long as I'm careful? As for "dipping" will alcohol corrode the internals and that's why it's bad if it sits there too long?

Can you do the same for the inside of laptop USB ports? Will it not cause short circuits as long as the laptop is powered off even when the battery is connected?

Also do you know if it's an issue to wiggle the USB when plugging in/out? Straight in and out is always the best no matter what?