Date   : Sun, 16 Aug 2009 01:12:09 +0000
From   : zeem.uk@... (Alex Taylor)
Subject: Floppy drive cleaner

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

> Having experience with WD40 and the like, I'm afraid I'd be a little bit
> wary of isopypyl in a HUGE aerosol can.

Ah, I've ruined stuff before by using WD40. I once sprayed some on a
486 laptop's onboard NiCad battery to try and neutralise the leaking
acid, but it leached into the rubber keyboard membrane and destroyed
it. Horrible stuff if used incorrectly. I've no problem with IPA
though, I quite regularly spray it very liberally inside stuff to
clean it out. In fact I've just used up a can and I need to buy some
more.

> The best advice I ever got was to use the reverse (slightly rough) side
> of the paper of a brown paper envelope.

I'll remember that one. I'm sure I've used plain A4 paper for cleaning
things before though.

> Saved my skin on numerous occasions when the dampness here has caused
> some manky stuff to get onto the tape (think of dry rot?).

That sound very much like the 'tape mould' that I've read about. I
have a load of Betamax tapes which I believe are suffering from this -
the visible supply reel inside the cassette shell shows a white
powdery film on top. Apparently, playing such tapes in a machine can
then spread the 'mould' to any tape subsequently played in it. I've
got a VHS machine I built up from two scrap machines that I've set
aside for playing such tapes, just to be on the safe side.

-- 
Alex Taylor