der8auer Demonstrates How He Washes His Hardware Using a Dishwasher

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“How can you put hardware in a dishwasher!?” der8auer’s latest video explores this seemingly risky concept as a way of washing substances such as Vaseline off of motherboards and memory sticks, which may be applied to prevent condensation under certain testing conditions. Naturally, there are some precautions that should be taken (e.g., removing the motherboard battery), but der8auer suggests the process is generally safe.
 
A dishwasher? I guess that would beat the heck out of using one of those water fountains the Europeans seem to like:

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As long as you get everything completely dry after washing no reason you can't do it. Just don't mix the water with electricity by using a board that isn't fully dry.
 
Ordinary kitchen dishwashers are not super clean, at least not clean enough that I would trust sensitive electronics with them. Yes, they clean kitchenware to a satisfactory and safe level but they always have some soap residue and bacteria left in them. It's not something I would want my electronics to be in. If you never use it for kitchenware but only for electronics, and perhaps have the water filtered, then I can totally see this being fine.
 
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Sparky said:
I have been washing my keyboard in the top rack for years
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I have done this with a number of keyboards at work... some with screws in the back did not like that too much and developed a lot of rust, moreover some keyboards developed discolorations or come back with a lot of nasty residue (no jet dry used and probably the cheapest soap variant was used). We've had a few rusty USB ports come out of the mix too, so YMMV. If it were my own home setup, I think I'd tape up the ports just to be safe *shruggie*
 
lollerwaffle said:
Ordinary kitchen dishwashers are not super clean, at least not clean enough that I would trust sensitive electronics with them. Yes, they clean kitchenware to a satisfactory and safe level but they always have some soap residue and bacteria left in them. It's not something I would want my electronics to be in. If you never use it for kitchenware but only for electronics, and perhaps have the water filtered, then I can totally see this being fine.
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I would worry about toxic materials being next to my dishes TBH.
 
I've washed several old smokers PCs in my bathroom power shower. I strip out the DVD, CPU, GPU and battery then blast it through.

Leave it for 3-4 days and they work fine again.

They look like new.
 
I'd be worried about water getting stuck in one of the tight spaces between components, and not drying out by the time it is powered on, or the water pressure loosening components.

With an Isopropyl bath afterwards it ought to be pretty safe though.
 
In a pinch you can take a heatgun to any electronics board and bring it up to a temp that will boil off water but not put any solder at risk. I also take care to heat up the whole board evenly in the process.
 
Commercial PCB washing uses ultrasonic baths and de-ionized water usually. Also, not all components are safe to wash - although most are. I'd prefer to just use flux removal sprays or isopropyl and a toothbrush.
 
Travolta said:
I am a machinist at an electronics company and the pcb division washes their electronics in a dishwasher, then they get an isopropanol bath afterwards. Obviously they don't use cascade and jet dry.
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Sparky said:
I have been washing my keyboard in the top rack for years
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Mister E said:
I’d use an isopropyl alcohol bath and gentle brush technique followed by a long dry time instead. That is if I ever let my hardware get nasty enough to need it.
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chris7191 said:
Commercial PCB washing uses ultrasonic baths and de-ionized water usually. Also, not all components are safe to wash - although most are. I'd prefer to just use flux removal sprays or isopropyl and a toothbrush.
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All of you guys are wrong about isopropyl alcohol. Use Everclear instead. (seriously)

If you use Iso alcohol that is less than 90%, you will get this white crap all over the board, that can only be removed by covering the board with flux, and cleaning it properly.

At work, we bought 200proof ethanol to use; it was denatured with phenolphthalein as a denaturant; it causes instant violent diarrhea if you drink it, lol.


Instead, Use Alconox in the dishwasher, on hot, and the boards will come out looking pristine.

https://alconox.com/product-catalog/

You can let it dry for a couple of days, but I take and dry it off with well with an air gun, and use it.


Don't use commercial food cleaning stuff, it's really corrosive.

If you put a membrane type keyboard in the dishwasher, expect to be disappointed. :)

I once washed a Model M I poured coffee into and it brought it back, but I used that as a last resort.

The only thing this didn't work with is an instrument that went into a plant that made copper pipe for refrigeration; there was a lot of acetylene used there, and the air was full of fine carbon particulates.
Nothing removed that, even flux. :(

I've used this technique since the 70's.

BTW; if you use an ultrasonic bath on parts with leads, they'll break off in the bath if you crank the energy up to where it's effective; SMT stuff will be fine.
 
DrBorg said:
All of you guys are wrong about isopropyl alcohol. Use Everclear instead. (seriously)

If you use Iso alcohol that is less than 90%, you will get this white crap all over the board, that can only be removed by covering the board with flux, and cleaning it properly.

At work, we bought 200proof ethanol to use; it was denatured with phenolphthalein as a denaturant; it causes instant violent diarrhea if you drink it, lol.


Instead, Use Alconox in the dishwasher, on hot, and the boards will come out looking pristine.

https://alconox.com/product-catalog/

You can let it dry for a couple of days, but I take and dry it off with well with an air gun, and use it.


Don't use commercial food cleaning stuff, it's really corrosive.

If you put a membrane type keyboard in the dishwasher, expect to be disappointed. :)

I once washed a Model M I poured coffee into and it brought it back, but I used that as a last resort.

The only thing this didn't work with is an instrument that went into a plant that made copper pipe for refrigeration; there was a lot of acetylene used there, and the air was full of fine carbon particulates.
Nothing removed that, even flux. :(

I've used this technique since the 70's.

BTW; if you use an ultrasonic bath on parts with leads, they'll break off in the bath if you crank the energy up to where it's effective; SMT stuff will be fine.
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No, we are not wrong. No one uses drug store iso, that would be stupid. We use 99.999% electronic grade isopropanol.

https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/733458?lang=en&region=US

Barely anything uses through hole parts anymore and the leads are clipped before the bath.

There are components that should not be put in an ultrasonic bath also but things like crystals and MEMS devices.

Thank you for the link to Alconox though, interesting stuff.
 
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I always strip the system down to components, then get it in the tub with some LA's totally awesome . Rinse with the shower head with really hot water.

In the summer set the boards out in the sun for a day, in the winter park them on top of a mining or folding rack for a day.

Never had a problem.
 
For cleaning other kinds of hardware, my Marine Corps friend says the best way to clean an AR-15/M-16 is to shower with it.
(Now that's a USMC calendar a lot of ladies would buy.)
 
So, like, Finish with the Power Dots, or that blue stuff they use to clean off oily birds, or what? Is Asus top-rack safe only, or should I try MSi?

I'd be more worried about what's already in the dishwasher...if I had an old board I'm just taking a shot in the dark with, and a freshly cleaned dishwasher, then maybe I'd try this. Maybe.
 
pcgeekesq said:
For cleaning other kinds of hardware, my Marine Corps friend says the best way to clean an AR-15/M-16 is to shower with it.
(Now that's a USMC calendar a lot of ladies would buy.)
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I've only taken a shower with a gun while removing the wrapper and cosmoline from it; it was a Springfield, and it was about 1980, lol.

I Still hate the smell of cosmoline, lol.
 
I haven't put computer hardware in dishwashers but I've dunked motherboards in soapy water to quickly clean off dust. I let the board sit for a few days drying before I use it.
 
TIL all kinds of new shit on this thread I never knew before. Ouch...
 
Travolta said:
I am a machinist at an electronics company and the pcb division washes their electronics in a dishwasher, then they get an isopropanol bath afterwards. Obviously they don't use cascade and jet dry.
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Hahahaha!!! One of my jobs in my teens was a bin cleaner/sweeper in a machine shop. This was a time where you were hired to do one thing and when they needed additional people you could get cross trained. So yes I worked on the old lathes, Mill presses, cleaning parts (tricoloethyline) and assembly and all of those nice cancer causing agents.... But I learned so much from working in a manufacturing shop. Basic welding to precision work that actually carried over to doing professional diorama work. So I cherish those days feeling that the whole world was open to me and I can learn anything if given a chance.

And yes I use alcohol to cleam my parts as well. :)
 
Mother of all things holy.

No wonder I see so many systems in my shop that are "WTF-is-going-on-with-this-POS?"

Sure, you MIGHT be able to get away with washing parts like this at home, but generally not.

Look, This is [H] and everyone here should be HARD! But I think it's worth saying "KNOW YOUR LIMITS" and "KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW" before you go bathing your electronics.

Generally speaking, why would you EVER do this? Even old MBs from smokers systems... they look bad, they smell bad, but provided you don't screw them up they keep running until they are utterly obsolete. So why CLEAN it?

I've been working on PCs for over 20 years and I've never once felt the need or saw a point to washing a MB, video card or anything else.

I SORT OF get the idea of deep cleaning a keyboard but that would only be if the alternative is throwing it away. And I've cleaned some of my oldest keyboards quite a few times, but beyond removing a few keycaps and blowing the crud out then cleaning around all the keys with q-tips and alcohol why would you go farther?

Oh well, call me confused. It's not the first time.
 
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Before I got an ultrasonic cleaner, I used to use the dishwasher to 'wash' my electronics all the time. It actually works really well!
 
Guess an ultrasonic cleaner was too expensive for a world famous oc guru.
 
Evil Timmy said:
So, like, Finish with the Power Dots, or that blue stuff they use to clean off oily birds, or what? Is Asus top-rack safe only, or should I try MSi?

I'd be more worried about what's already in the dishwasher...if I had an old board I'm just taking a shot in the dark with, and a freshly cleaned dishwasher, then maybe I'd try this. Maybe.
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NO!

Dishwashing machine detergents destroy aluminium.

I'd just wash with dish soap in the sink using with a soft brush, rinse well and dry off.
 
MV75 said:
NO!

Dishwashing machine detergents destroy aluminium.

I'd just wash with dish soap in the sink using with a soft brush, rinse well and dry off.
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This. I use HOT water. That's it. Put it flat side towards the jets, on the bottom rack. Just water. No rinse agent, drying agent anything.

Then a quick dip in 99% drug store ISO alcohol. Then a no-heat dry in the convection oven.
 
M76 said:
Guess an ultrasonic cleaner was too expensive for a world famous oc guru.
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It shows how smart he is not wasting money on things that aren't required to complete the objective. It is like the person who spends thousands of dollars on tools and barely pulls a screwdriver out once a month.
 
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