Date   : Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:51:08 +0100
From   : zeem.uk@... (Alex Taylor)
Subject: Floppy drive cleaner

2009/8/15 Rick Murray <rick@...>:

> Sorry, I have not yet found a solution for 5.25" drives. I did see
> http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=29011 but I'm not really
> certain how that is supposed to clean things. It looks like it'd just
> make a mess!

That's isopropyl alcohol (IPA), which is the standard solvent used in
these kinds of cleaning applications. If it's supplied as 'head
cleaner', then I'd imagine that it's a particularly clean grade of
solvent, so it won't deposit any dirt itself. The stuff itself
evaporates without leaving any residue. It would only make a mess if
you sprayed it all over where the head tracking mechanism is greased,
because it would dissolve the grease and redeposit it elsewhere in the
drive.

You can use this solvent to clean heads manually, using in addition
something to wipe the heads with. I've got a book on repairing video
recorders and that suggests cleaning those heads with a 'chamois
stick' which can be bought in packs specifically for the job of head
cleaning.

-- 
Alex Taylor