I have a cheap flashlight, so it's no big deal if it dies, but the
batteries leaked a very little amount inside of it. These were STANDARD
batteries, (not alkaline). There is no corrosion inside the flashlight
(yet) and it works fine with some new batteries. But I know that "juice"
will cause corrosion if it's not removed. The batteries are AA, so there
is no room to get any sort of rag in there, nor do I have a tiny brush.

Besides flushing it out with plain water, and maybe some dish soap, what
else can I use? Will baking soda deactivate it? OR, will putting in
some solvent, like gasoline, paint thinner, or rubbing alcohol remove
it? (Poured inside and swished around)? [used safely and outdoors of
course].

If this was a costly flashlight, I'd be more concerned, but I'd still
like to clean it out if I can, and hopefully this will help someone else
in the future.

On 12/21/2015 6:28 PM, wrote:
I have a cheap flashlight, so it's no big deal if it dies, but the
batteries leaked a very little amount inside of it. These were STANDARD
batteries, (not alkaline). There is no corrosion inside the flashlight
(yet) and it works fine with some new batteries. But I know that "juice"
will cause corrosion if it's not removed. The batteries are AA, so there
is no room to get any sort of rag in there, nor do I have a tiny brush.

Besides flushing it out with plain water, and maybe some dish soap, what
else can I use? Will baking soda deactivate it? OR, will putting in
some solvent, like gasoline, paint thinner, or rubbing alcohol remove
it? (Poured inside and swished around)? [used safely and outdoors of
course].

If this was a costly flashlight, I'd be more concerned, but I'd still
like to clean it out if I can, and hopefully this will help someone else
in the future.


If it were my light, I'd remove the two ends
if possible. Wash it out with hot water. Leave
the parts disassembled over night. To dry.

And then put a bit of grease on any threads,
when reassembling.

You could also DAGS, see what works for others.

I'd not use any solvents, they might damage
the plastic.

Of course, AA flashlights aren't all that
expensive. Usually.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

Stormin Mormon wrote, on Mon, 21 Dec 2015 18:51:00 -0500:

Wash it out with hot water. Leave
the parts disassembled over night. To dry.

As others suggested, I'd wash/dissolve the white ammonium
and zinc chloride salts away using plain water and then I'd
just let it air dry.

To (somewhat) prevent leakage in the future ... it's a good
idea to keep the relative capacities the same.

Practically, the only way to do that is to ensure the *date*
of the batteries and the *type* are as exactly matched as
you can make it.

Someone else can explain *why* that's critical. It has some
thing to do with battery-voltage reversal somehow, but I'll
let others explain it better than I can.

On 12/21/2015 5:28 PM, wrote:
I have a cheap flashlight, so it's no big deal if it dies, but the
batteries leaked a very little amount inside of it. These were STANDARD
batteries, (not alkaline). There is no corrosion inside the flashlight
(yet) and it works fine with some new batteries. But I know that "juice"
will cause corrosion if it's not removed. The batteries are AA, so there
is no room to get any sort of rag in there, nor do I have a tiny brush.

Besides flushing it out with plain water, and maybe some dish soap, what
else can I use? Will baking soda deactivate it? OR, will putting in
some solvent, like gasoline, paint thinner, or rubbing alcohol remove
it? (Poured inside and swished around)? [used safely and outdoors of
course].
The zinc-oxide paste in a non-alkaline battery is acidic.

Mix up a bit of baking soda to a paste like consistency and spread it on
the corrosion it will foam up, neutralize and remove the corrosion.

On Mon, 21 Dec 2015 17:28:43 -0600, wrote:

I have a cheap flashlight, so it's no big deal if it dies, but the
batteries leaked a very little amount inside of it. These were STANDARD
batteries, (not alkaline). There is no corrosion inside the flashlight
(yet) and it works fine with some new batteries. But I know that "juice"
will cause corrosion if it's not removed. The batteries are AA, so there
is no room to get any sort of rag in there, nor do I have a tiny brush.

Besides flushing it out with plain water, and maybe some dish soap, what
else can I use? Will baking soda deactivate it? OR, will putting in
some solvent, like gasoline, paint thinner, or rubbing alcohol remove
it? (Poured inside and swished around)? [used safely and outdoors of
course].

If this was a costly flashlight, I'd be more concerned, but I'd still
like to clean it out if I can, and hopefully this will help someone else
in the future.

Many (most?) battery manufacturers will provide a replacement, when
their batteries damage an item - due to a battery leak. I have
received $ replacement value, for 5+ year old batteries.