On Jul 3, 5:38*am, Don wrote:
I thought I'd post this, as it is an example of a "worst-case
scenario" situation. *A few months ago I acquired a rather high-end
Mitsubishi VHS VCR from eBay for not much money. *The seller said the
VCR was in excellent condition, and very clean. *I'm sure everyone has
heard this before... LOL. *To make a long story short, when I received
the VCR it was an absolute disaster from a aesthetic and cleanliness
point-of-view. *Obviously, the original owner was a heavy smoker, and
the VCR absolutely reeked of smoke, and nicotine stains were the worst
I've ever seen inside and out the unit. *To put it mildly, it was
horrible, and I almost felt I needed to put on rubber gloves just to
touch it!

Strangely, it worked fine, but otherwise it was a real mess. *So, I
decided to disassemble it and clean it manually. *It didn't take long
to realize that this was hopeless. *Thus, I did the
unthinkable,especially for a VCR. *Once disassembled, I put each board
and the chassis/transport into the dishwasher taking care to cover and
protect the video head drum. *No dish washing detergent, just the
water. *After a full wash, rinse, and dry cycle, I removed it, and
gently dried it with compressed air, and then placed it into a 100
degree oven for a short time.

After 3 months, the VCR is still working fine, and it looks (and
smells) like new. *Realistically, I had nothing to lose by trying this
worst-case cleaning method, but it worked. *It sounds like this would
be an absolute disaster for a VCR, and I must admit, I am surprised
that it was successful.

I have used this method for cleaning other types of electronics in the
past, but not a VCR.

What's unthinkable about a dishwasher for PC boards? We put all 40
boards of a 1978 Ampex AVR-3 into the dishwasher in 2006 and they
worked fine. We did have the bonus of a commercial food dehydrator so
we cooked them at 105° F for 17 hours. Oven baking is OK so long as
you dnon't overheat them. Electric is preferred over gas as a
combustion byproduct is water - what you're trying to get rid of.

The transport however....

G²