My cat peed in my computer how to clean components

[graydust153]

It’s infuriating and slightly comical but I was working on a computer and left the room came back went to pick up the pc and liquid stared poring from the bottom and apparently my cat peed in it when I was in the other room for the most part it surprisingly didn’t get to much on the components just in the case I pulled it apart and set the case outside since it was raining but I’m trying to figure out how to clean the mb

 

[RealBeast]

Isopropyl alcohol and very gently use Q tips a soft lint free cloth as needed and let it dry completely before using it.

 

[geofelt]

Love the question... sorry

Cat urine smell can be persistent for a long time.
You may want to consider this as a justifiable reason for upgrading with a new motherboard.

About the only cleaning liquid that is harmless would be alcohol, but I have doubts that would do the job well.

There are enzyme type fluids you can buy in a pet store which would work on the case, but I would not think they would be good on a motherboard.

 

[graydust153]

Yea it’s like face palm why cat why. Just watched the mb off with alcohol of cores she gets it in the 24pin conecter this was supposed to be a legacy gaming pc was planning on sticking xp and 95 on it

 

[RealBeast]

We just had a mouse pee question -- we cover the animal kingdom here. :lol:

 

[drea.drechsler]

It’s infuriating and slightly comical but I was working on a computer and left the room came back went to pick up the pc and liquid stared poring from the bottom and apparently my cat peed in it when I was in the other room for the most part it surprisingly didn’t get to much on the components just in the case I pulled it apart and set the case outside since it was raining but I’m trying to figure out how to clean the mb

Urine is very bad, and I don't just mean the odor. It's high in salts and minerals that stay behind after it has dried and are very damaging to electronics. I doubt you'd ever get all the residue with cotton swabs and what's left behind is in the tight spots you can't get to and that's where it does it's worse damage too.

It might end up OK but if you really want to get the motherboard clean and be confident about it you need to deluge it with clean water first. I'd use tap water, but only do so if you're confident yours is very low in TDMS. If not, just get a couple gallons of distilled water from the grocery store and rinse it twice. The first rinse (wash actually) add a couple drops of a hypo-allergenic (no perfumes or dyes) dish detergent to the gallon bottle and just rinse it off with it, concentrating on the area of the cat urine. Then repeat with the second gallon, clear and untreated. Gently knock off the excess and then dry it off with a hair dryer.

You could also wash off the board a final time with a pint bottle of isopropyl alcohol...NOT RUBBING ALCOHOL...and then let it air dry. The IPA will pick up the water and carry most of it off in the splash. The rest will evaporate that much quicker with the alcohol and I would not suggest using the hair dryer as you don't want any electrical sparks around alcohol.

 

[Graybush]

It’s infuriating and slightly comical but I was working on a computer and left the room came back went to pick up the pc and liquid stared poring from the bottom and apparently my cat peed in it when I was in the other room for the most part it surprisingly didn’t get to much on the components just in the case I pulled it apart and set the case outside since it was raining but I’m trying to figure out how to clean the mb

Do you have photos?? If so, we'd love to share them for a future piece on the subject.

 

[Peter Martin]

isopropyl is rubbing alcohol.. you mean ethyl alcohol, i am sure--it is less abundant form of rubbing alcohol

 

[drea.drechsler]

isopropyl is rubbing alcohol.. you mean ethyl alcohol, i am sure--it is less abundant form of rubbing alcohol

Pure or cut with water, isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is a very common industrial solvent. IPA is used in rubbing alcohol...rubbing alcohol also has mineral oils and/or lanolin and (sometimes) odorants added which you don't want left behind on a motherboard. People do use IPA all alone as a rubbing alcohol and curse it when it leaves their skin dry and chafed.

Ethyl alcohol, ethanol, is very different and in pure form is the alcohol found in beer, wine and liquor. It's also very commonly used as an anti-knock agent in gasolines. Ethanol is often sold adulterated with something that makes it impossible to drink (even though hard-core alcoholics still try to). That's called denatured alcohol.