Next To Godliness
Using any flammable liquid on a monitor screen is just begging for trouble. Sure, you can turn it off and unplug it, but it's still a fire hazard. Think about what just the smallest static spark can do when it ignites the excess alcohol that dripped down inside the bezel, or just ignites the fumes as you turn it on. Don't say it can't happen because I have pictures of the result. I've seen with my own two eyes a monitor go up in a mini fireball when someone used rubbing alcohol to clean the screen with it turned on.
As for Formula 409 for a glass cleaner, better check the label. Formula 409 and Fantastik both used to carry warnings against using them on glass. I found out why one day when a friend tried to help me at work. I used to be a service manager for a vending and amusement company. My friend “helped” me by using Fantastik to clean the glass tops on 20 new pinball machines we had on our display floor. The Fantastik ETCHED a rainbow lattice pattern into the glass on all 20 machines. All the glass had to be replaced at a cost of $45 each (this was in the early 80's).
Using flux remover (ie: Flux-Off) to take of “board varnish”. Yes, it'll work, and it'll also dissolve some types of plastic, particularly the plastic used for most LEDs and IR links. Lastly, the suggestion that aluminum foil be used as a substitute for anti-static bags… Try it and watch how many boards you fry when the capacitors discharge to the foil and who knows where else. And let us not forget that nice battery that's keeping your CMOS alive. They make a pretty good mini space heater when you short the terminals. [B.W. Behling]
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10 Comments
SocioBiblog
June 11th, 2007
at 9:26am
(trying to ignore the gross oversight that a contributor made by claiming that Yahoo Pipes was easy)… Related Content:The FCC Song!My Dad The Senator!USB Charger for AirplanesPluggd Keeps Us Plugged InWireless PowerYou Drink Too Much Coffee WhenNext To GodlinessPolitical CartoonsPedometer WalkingLetter from a Disgruntled TechTV/G4 Viewer
Anonymous
April 2nd, 2002
at 11:09pm
My dad tries to get me to use gasoline to clean everything. He talked one of my friends into cleaning a monitor with it… what a dumbass. Well needless to say a new monitor had to be bought.
Anonymous
April 2nd, 2002
at 11:09pm
My dad tries to get me to use gasoline to clean everything. He talked one of my friends into cleaning a monitor with it… what a dumbass. Well needless to say a new monitor had to be bought.
Anonymous
April 2nd, 2002
at 11:13pm
sorry bout the double posts my dial-up (yes I'm old school) screwed up.
Anonymous
April 2nd, 2002
at 11:14pm
Who the bleep recommended using foil instead of an anti-static bag? That's my laugh of the day!
Anonymous
April 3rd, 2002
at 8:28am
Chis, didnt that guy you had on the show from the computer shop across the street recommend all those things?! I thought something was wrong when i heard about the tin foil anti-static bag! Damn!! What was that guy tryin to do? Get more buisness from people who messed up there equipment?!
…Thats just not kosher lol
Anonymous
April 3rd, 2002
at 12:27pm
Thanks for the info Chris, you may have saved my life.
Anonymous
April 4th, 2002
at 6:48am
I use Brillianize for everything that I clean with it's an anti-static solution that repels dirt and satic at the same time andf it's great for monitors and cases also.
Anonymous
April 6th, 2002
at 4:04pm
The best way to clean a dirty [glass] screen is to use dry newspaper. The paper is electrostatically charged to hold the ink, and will pull streaks and fingerprints right off. Not getting killed by an exploding monitor is an added bonus.
B.W. Behling
December 28th, 2006
at 3:51pm
Wow! I’d forgotten all about this article I did, way back when, until Google just pulled it up when I was looking for something else I wrote a long time ago. I’m glad it’s still around, and that it has, possibly, saved people from bad experiences.