Best cleaning options for 2nd hand motherboards

[jarodatkinson]

Hey All,

I have bought a replace motherboard for my dead ddr2 system (Asus M4A785D-M Pro...$20 au $... yay....)......

When I looked into trying to properly cleaning a motherboard online I was pretty amazed at some of the options.

People literally wash them in the dishwasher.... In the sink and scrub them .....

Some put them in baths of (I presume isopropyl) alcohol.....

Some flood them with circuit board cleaner....(A Youtube countryman of mine swears by brake cleaner for cars....)

Some people also spray the boards afterwards with lacquer or wd (elec) sprays.....

Can someone please remove the myths here for me..... What is the best way to safely and properly clean a gronky old mobo....

I'm no tech wiz for sure, but I'm thinking washing in the sink might not be total b.s..... maybe..... I mean it doesn't seem so nuts if you consider the manufacturers wash them right?

 

[CountMike]

Most of them are too harsh methods, I use a soft brush and any alcohol. Old ones lke from Pentium 1 era you could wash in a dishwasher at low temps but not after that time.

 

[jarodatkinson]

Most of them are too harsh methods, I use a soft brush and any alcohol. Old ones lke from Pentium 1 era you could wash in a dishwasher at low temps but not after that time.

So can you not put any motherboard from after that time under water to wash it?.... the dishwater aside......
*dishwasher i meant...

 

[The Paladin]

Well you can wash a motherboard in a dishwasher,but your playing the lottery of "work or not afterwards"

A bath of isopropyl alcohol well unless your "scrubbing": the board with a brush or something it is pointless and will likely create issues with contacts

Brake cleaner for cars, has solvens I would not do that, but yeah it will "clean your board, lol"

Lacquering your board is pointless, 1. you cannot buy electronic laquer in a store, 2. your laquer would create a layer of inescapable heat from your motherboard and will cause heat related issues, nbit top mention all the slots would likely get a few drips/drops and cause them to be inoperable, do not do that.

A can of air (or three) to get the heavy dirt/dust out of the board/cracks/slots, (I use reverse flow (blowing mode on my 5 HP shop vac to do that canned air is expensive )) then a brush to clean the rest, 90% isopropyl alcohol could be use but I dont see why it would be needed to "clean a board that deeply" a board with a thin layer of dust will not function worst than one that was scrubbed with alcohol and a lint free rag.

 

[CountMike]

I'm not sure about all of them but I have seen some people do it, I didn't, just no need to risk so much and than it takes days to dry it. No thanks, alcohol is fast and removes all the crud just as easy. Concentrated isopropyl dries in minutes.
I stole a makeup brush from gf. it can't do any damage.

 

[Peter Martin]

I would do none of them.

 

[RememberThe5th]

I washed mine Asus Maximus Hero Twice in Jar (Very hot water) and left it drying outside and twice in acetone with a soft brush.

 

[jarodatkinson]

Well you can wash a motherboard in a dishwasher,but your playing the lottery of "work or not afterwards"

A bath of isopropyl alcohol well unless your "scrubbing": the board with a brush or something it is pointless and will likely create issues with contacts

Brake cleaner for cars, has solvens I would not do that, but yeah it will "clean your board, lol"

Lacquering your board is pointless, 1. you cannot buy electronic laquer in a store, 2. your laquer would create a layer of inescapable heat from your motherboard and will cause heat related issues, nbit top mention all the slots would likely get a few drips/drops and cause them to be inoperable, do not do that.

A can of air (or three) to get the heavy dirt/dust out of the board/cracks/slots, (I use reverse flow (blowing mode on my 5 HP shop vac to do that canned air is expensive )) then a brush to clean the rest, 90% isopropyl alcohol could be use but I dont see why it would be needed to "clean a board that deeply" a board with a thin layer of dust will not function worst than one that was scrubbed with alcohol and a lint free rag.

Lol.... i might be a bit ocd.... If I could safely clean that 10 year old board under the tap to get stuff out of pcie and mem slots, I would do it..... But you are spot on what you say.... Being gentle with old stuff that works and using just safe cleaning is no doubt smarter....

 

[Peter Martin]

Canned air is best. Even with a dirty motherboard you can get over 10 years of life out of it so I don’t know why people are so OCD

 

[jarodatkinson]

I washed mine Asus Maximus Hero Twice in Jar (Very hot water) and left it drying outside and twice in acetone with a soft brush.

Did you ever push that board with overclocking after the washes? Are there capacitors on the board to discharge before you wet it?

 

[RememberThe5th]

Dont use WD, use electric contact cleaner or Acetone which is dirt cheap, isopropyl is a bit expensive.
I took 775 which was under 5-6 years of use, didnt dust it off, still works, I would mind only cleaning the North Bridge paste, which is crumbled over the years, only that and probably if it has heatsinks on VRM's.

 

[jarodatkinson]

Canned air is best. Even with a dirty motherboard you can get over 10 years of life out of it so I don’t know why people are so OCD

I guess because if your unlucky, dust build up on tiny circuits that gets moist from humidity or whatever reason can ruin your day totally..🙂

 

[Peter Martin]

Well I’m not in very humid condition. Pc are in temp controlled house and work. I’ve never cleaned my motherboard and I’ve never had any issues having a computer last 10 years. All I do is use compressed air

 

[jarodatkinson]

Well I’m not in very humid condition. Pc are in temp controlled house and work. I’ve never cleaned my motherboard and I’ve never had any issues having a computer last 10 years. All I do is use compressed air

Yeah.... Where I live in Queensland gets very humid and wet at times..... It's pouring rain atm.... I have to clean my verticlally hanging mobo at least once a year (I just use a soft brush) because of all the dust that clings to it during humid weather.....

 

[jarodatkinson]

Thank you very much to all who answered. It seems gentle with alcohol is the best choice.... The youtube washing is probably going to work but you take your chance for basically no reason except aesthetics.... Maybe if you have an intermittent ram or gc problem it might be worth risking washing the slots with water it seems.... Thank you again for the help guys....

 

[Peter Martin]

For the ram slats I was used contact cleaner nothing else. Canned air to blow it out contact cleaner to clean it and let it dry

 

[jarodatkinson]

For the ram slats I was used contact cleaner nothing else. Canned air to blow it out contact cleaner to clean it and let it dry[/quote

Thanks, yup..... I'll definately grab some of that.... cheap and safe to use.....