Seriously, I’ve been watching a bunch of Odd Tinkering’s videos on Youtube and this dude just starts dunkin a toothbrush in alcohol and brushing it all over circuit boards in like every episode. He uses like, very generous amounts sometimes too. I also remember seeing a video of a computer still running even though they filled it up with the stuff.
Is there a limit to how much you should be able to use before it starts to get in and do damage? Or does the stuff just not interact physically with things?
In: 4
Isopropyl isn’t conductive by it’s self. It’s only as conductive as the water content. So the chances of it shorting out anything storing power in electrical components is basically zero.
Water is an acid compared to Isopropyl. And it tends to dissolve the dust and junk that builds up around any electrical movement in a circuit. Alcohol doesn’t do that, it “suspends” the junk (think of it on little boats in the alcohol, but melting in the water)
Water and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) doesn’t damage electronics. But they can carry things that do. It means they are good at cleaning (they help you carry the bad stuff off). But if the water or IPA is left on electronics with the bad stuff they can both become conductive and short things out. Being conductive isn’t really bad though, it only matters when the electronics are on. And that’s where is really matters.
So IPA is preferred because it dries faster, it’s much easier to remove the liquid and it’s faster to wait for it to dry. Plus it does a better job at dissolving glues and greases than water.
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