Date   : Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:32:01 +0100
From   : pete@... (Pete Turnbull)
Subject: Mouldy beebs!

On 13/09/2009 21:32, Dominic Beesley wrote:

> when I got home I find all my machines have been attacked by mould 
> due to some damp getting into the workshop (not as bad as last time the 
> ?damp? was 3 feet depp that time).

> I?ve picked out the least worst and tried giving it a good dry out and a 
> through washing with Isopropyl alcohol but I just get the beeeeeeeeeeeep 
> of doom!

Don't waste IPA on something like that.

Warm water and detergent followed by a proper rinse in clean water is 
far more effective; fill the sink or bath with warm water and washing up 
liquid and use a soft(ish) washing-up brush.  In extreme cases a 
dishwasher does a good job (but try to avoid the very hot drying cycle 
at the end of the normal wash process).

In hard water areas, a final rinse in distilled or softened water, 
possibly with a *very* small amount of wetting agent to help it drain, 
is good.  I tend to blow dry with compressed air (gently, though), to 
ensure most of the water is driven out from IC sockets and the like, or 
use an alcohol final rinse to remove most of the residual water.  You 
don't want to let water dry in place, as it will leave mineral deposits 
behind.

I've washed a lot of machines, from smoke damaged Apple ][s and 
Commodore Pets that wouldn't boot because of the conductivity of the 
soot, to a set of boards from a PDP-8 that smelled like a cat had lived 
in it, and I know others who've done similar things to machines that 
suffered from rodent infestation.

-- 
Pete                                           Peter Turnbull
                                               Network Manager
                                               University of York