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Dishwashing PCBs

I've been doing this for many years, it works .....
You have to be careful with the stickers and do not use strong cleaners.

just try it out with a short program and not with your most expensive pcb ;)
 
I do that.
I just make sure to dry the PCBs quickly afterwards.

When boards are really too gross (e.g. covered in mouse pee) I wash them in the garage's sink:

DSCN4886.jpg
 
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Washing in a sink works fine too, done that multiple times. Just what Apocalypse said - dry quickly. After rinsing under warm/hot water I let most of the water run off freely from PCB few minutes and then pressure air for removing water under chips etc. Then I use a circulating air oven (normal kitchen thing nowadays) for about 15-30 minutes, 50-60C.
 
Team No Wash

I've never washed any game PCB, ever. I own some dusty boards, but they all seem to run just fine?

I washed a monitor chassis once, it had rat droppings on it.
 
nem said:
I've never washed any game PCB, ever. I own some dusty boards, but they all seem to run just fine?
Click to expand...

I don't count dust as an issue which should be washed (I have some dusty boards too, they are all fine as is). Unless it's pinball dust... That contains metal and when layered enough, it gives you magical light & smoke show.

But when there is real dirt, mouse piss, WD40 all over, caps leakage, dried soda, whoeverknows?... It's time for a total cleanup, or at least partial (sometimes a corner only).
 
I spray 'em off with IPA and then hit 'em with an air compressor to dry up any missed spots/droplets.
I'm fearful of using abrasives like a toothbrush to scrub, what if a bristle catches on a SMD IC foot and pops/rips it up?
 
I also don't wash game PCB's. Most of the time isopropyl alcohol 91-99% and a medium soft paintbrush is the most I do.
I only wash CRT Chassis', they get super grimey.

jassin000 said:
I'm fearful of using abrasives like a toothbrush to scrub, what if a bristle catches on a SMD IC foot and pops/rips it up?
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I don't use a toothbrush, I use a medium soft paintbrush to scrub. The longer bristles are very bendable and soft that they don't damage anything, but also good enough to get your PCB's clean.
 
Like @nem says, don't wash PCBs. There is danger here and that is water ingress. So if you want to do it the professional way.

If you really want to wash your PCB and then dry it in the oven.

  • Pre-heat your oven to: 80C or 175F
  • Insert your PCB using a suitable grid / shelf /suspension
  • Leave it there for 2 hours
  • After two hours, turn off the oven and let it cool down.
You have to "cook it" for two hours.

BTW:
This subject pops up again and again, use the new & improved search :)
 
rtw said:
Pre-heat your oven to: 80C or 175F
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We do this at my work all the time, many different "ambient bakes" and "stable bakes" after deps and oxides etc.
The problem I'm seeing is in a basic/home kitchen, don't have the greatest of hoods/ventilation systems.

Aren't we getting some toxic release from components (even as low as 175f)?
I know GaAs (Gallium Arsenide) substrate produces some very nasty arcine (arsenic) gases, that IF you can smell 'em (they say its something like cherries) your ass is DEAD already.8|
 
I'm with you Mike, really gross to be putting something like that in a device meant to be cleaning your dishes. Another really important thing to consider is that most ovens are really terrible at maintaining low temperatures. They have to run their heating elements at a low duty cycle so you can get some really high temperature spikes - well above the 200 *F you might have set and expected it to maintain. This is something you all would know if you ever used your ovens for anything other than baking PCBs ;).
 
rtw said:
There is danger here and that is water ingress.
Click to expand...
You don't have to be worried about it at all if you remember to dry boards up soon after. It's only a problem when parts are poorly designed and let humidity get in the chip case.
Having your board 20/30mn in the dishwasher is still better than having it in ambient air in a country with a lot of humidity for 20 years.
Corrosion is a matter of exposition time.
We have a lot of boards dying in operation here in NZ because of the moist climate during winter.
Hatsune Mike said:
Using the dishwasher is a moron method.
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Not sure who you're attacking here, I will answer for myself.
Hatsune Mike said:
I don't feel great about putting something full of lead solder in the same dishwasher as I'd use for dishes.
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I obviously don't use the same dishwasher. The one for the PCBs stays in the garage. It's probably 20+ yo, but it cost me only NZ$50 (~30€) so I'm happy with it. Some plastic parts in the trays are broken but I don't care.
Hatsune Mike said:
Who made you that way?
Click to expand...
Surely being rude with others makes you a better person. :thumbdown:
clam_wattson said:
Another really important thing to consider is that most ovens are really terrible at maintaining low temperatures. They have to run their heating elements at a low duty cycle so you can get some really high temperature spikes - well above the 200 *F you might have set and expected it to maintain. This is something you all would know if you ever used your ovens for anything other than baking PCBs ;).
Click to expand...
That's why I'm using a lab oven I got for free when working in the pharmaceutical industry. It sits on top of the dishwasher.
You can set temperature between 20 and 80°C.
Binder is the brand, for those interested, it's also useful if you're into handcrafting things, etc.
 
Luckily, the boards I’ve gotten have all been mostly free of grime. I usually only have to dust with soft anti-static brush and blow with compressed air Occasionally, I’ll use isopro alcohol for spot-cleaning.

My problem is getting rid of flux after replacing capacitors or light repair work. I use no-clean liquid flux and spray it down with IPA afterwards. Using IPA just moves the flux all over the board and dries leaving a sticky mess. I‘m hesitant to do a deeper wash using water or detergents.

Does anyone have an easy and simple way of cleaning off dried flux?
 
I washed and dried hundreds of pcbs in the sun or on the radiator, never one broken !!!
He's washing some glass and plastic ..., it's important to make sure they dry thoroughly before turning them on.
What ruins pcbs is prolonged humidity over time, years and decades.
 
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