Child urinates in computer, computer starts smoking and Mom unplugs it
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Posted by yo on June 29, 2005, 1:24 am
Please log in for more thread options I fix PC's as a side business. Usually involves cleaning spyware, replacing hard drives, setting up home/small office networks. One of my clients sons pulled the side off of her computer and the 4 year old pissed into it. I've washed keyboards and they have worked, but I have no idea where to start here. Searching google brought up more hits than I could imagine with none being anything close to what I was looking for. How can I clean urine off the internal parts of a desktop computer? Can a network card, graphics card, motherboard be cleaned with some sort of liquid? Should I charge time and a half or double time for this? :) | ||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Floyd L. Davidson on June 29, 2005, 12:52 am
Please log in for more thread options Charge regular time. It's no big deal. Wait till you have have a kid... a week of diapers will make that seem like, well, child's play! Regardless, take it all apart. Fill the kitchen sink about half full of warm water, mix in a little 409 Cleaner (or some other brand of similar cleaner), and put things into the water. Disk drives, CROM's, DVD's, and maybe a few other odd things I can't think of, probably can't be washed that way. (I'd give it a try with a disk drive before I'd toss the drive though. But things like a CDROM where there are moving parts exposed are hard to lubricate.) The trick is to make sure this is all dried off before putting it back together. If you live in a dry climate, a day on the rack will do it. If you live in a damp climate you might have to put it into a oven, leave the door open, put it on "warm" and wait for several hours. Various ways to assist in drying are different solutions for a "final" bath. Rubbing alcohol will help get rid of the water. Another possible final wash is Photo Flo, a water dispersant used in photographic darkrooms. Or, just add a very little bit of the cleanser to the last wash. BTW, you can use the spray hose in the kitchen sink to help clean it too. No need to worry about static while it is wet! -- Floyd L. Davidson <http://web.newsguy.com/floyd_davidson>
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) floyd@barrow.com
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Posted by kony on June 29, 2005, 5:58 am
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>This is serious. This happened early this evening.
> >I fix PC's as a side business. Usually involves cleaning spyware, replacing >hard drives, setting up home/small office networks. One of my clients sons >pulled the side off of her computer and the 4 year old pissed into it. I've >washed keyboards and they have worked, but I have no idea where to start >here. > >Searching google brought up more hits than I could imagine with none being >anything close to what I was looking for. > >How can I clean urine off the internal parts of a desktop computer? Can a >network card, graphics card, motherboard be cleaned with some sort of >liquid? > >Should I charge time and a half or double time for this? :) It may be gross, disgusting, etc, etc, but once it dries the system would probably be fine. Not that it'd be "great", but relatively speaking, there are worse things from an electrical perspective than a single brief exposure to urine. It can be cleaned- most of it at least. Pull the hard drive, it cannot be allowed to get wet (and might be ruined depending on the lil squirter's aim. Optical drives may be a PITA to get dry and alcohol or detergent may be a problem for the grease/lube in them- they should probably be dried thoroughly "as is" without any further attempt to clean internally. Take out the battery and EEPROM (bios) chip. Remove fans from (anything wearing one). Pour alcohol down it or submerge in a mild detergent solution. Either way, it has to be 100% dry before reassembling, which may take several days, or forced air, plus shaking out water/alcohol initially. Typical PCI, video, and motherboard can be cleaned like this. Large/heavy boards are subject to same problems as always, stress cracks from mishandling or ESD damage- particularly the EEPROM which is the reason to remove it, as it may be scrambled if left in (though it is water-tight, would potentially need reflashed out of the board). | ||||||||||||||||
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Posted by on June 29, 2005, 2:27 pm
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yo wrote: > How can I clean urine off the internal parts of a desktop computer? Can a
> network card, graphics card, motherboard be cleaned with some sort of > liquid? Take it outdoors to blow out dust. Remove everything from inside the case and unplug the cards. Remove the CMOS memory battery. Rinse case and electronics a few times with isopropyl or ethyl alcohol (not methyl -- can damage some plastics), using 90% or higher purity alcohol for the final rinse to remove all water and prevent corrosion. The power supply should be opened, dust blown out, and similarly rinsed. Allow everything to dry at over 100F for several hours (car parked in sun with windows almost completely rolled up works, but windows must be kept slightly opened to vent moisture and possibly urine smell. Think of using customer's own car). Don't rinse optical or hard drives, especially the latter, which will be ruined if any liquid gets into the dust-free chamber. Just wipe off those drives with towel moistened with alcohol. Water and liquid detergent will usually work but are more likely to allow corrosion. At the very least, use distilled water for final rinse. Thorough drying is always a must. > Should I charge time and a half or double time for this? :)
Competive pressures may prevent you, as some unusual technicians will actually pay customers to work on equipment in that condition. Oddly, they tend to do good work (I'm serious). | ||||||||||||||||
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Posted by on June 29, 2005, 2:30 pm
Please log in for more thread options A follow up: Do not test the power supply except with its metal cover
put back in place and all its screws tightened since there is a possibility of electrocution (over 300VDC is on the body of some parts, including heatsinks) and explosion (electrolytic capacitor can rupture). | ||||||||||||||||
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>How can I clean urine off the internal parts of a desktop computer? Can a
>network card, graphics card, motherboard be cleaned with some sort of
>liquid?
>
>Should I charge time and a half or double time for this? :)