Date   : Thu, 08 Feb 2007 20:31:50 +0000 (GMT)
From   : info@... (Sprow)
Subject: B 64k - is it a lost cause?

In article <45CB81E0.5060305@...>,
   Tim Fardell <tim.fardell@...> wrote:
> Philip Pemberton wrote:
> > Tim Fardell wrote:
> >> Is the dishwasher really a safe way to clean PCBs? My dishwasher 
> >> doesn't have a "warm" setting - it's 65 degrees C or nothing.
>
> But isn't dishwasher powder extremely corrosive???

They're strong alkalis, which is bad news for anything organic like human
skin as it turns fats and proteins into water soluble emulsions. Obviously
that's great for shifting gravy and other mess off plates, while not
dissolving your metal cutlery.

Aluminium is not good in dishwashers as it tends to go foggy, and on that
basis you might find the end caps of electrolytic capacitors aren't as shiny
as when they went in - but on the whole the rest of a PCB is just made up of

 enamel (caps and coatings)
 fibreglass (board)
 copper (tracks)
 brass (legs)
 nickel/tin/lead (solder and encaps)
 plastic (cases)

all of which are quite happy being washed,
Sprow.