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From: Don on 3 Jul 2010 08:38
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.
From: N_Cook on 3 Jul 2010 09:09
Don <w9cw(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:f2e92c69-535a-4a2b-8abe-0e116d467fe1(a)z10g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
> 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 is the largest item w x h x d you can put , entire, into a domestic
dishwasher ?is dismantling racks possible in some models.?

With tobacco staining I just use oven cleaner (after test patches) on the
outside and drops of fragrent oil on whatever gets warm on the inside. Last
weeks treat for me was an amp a dog had pissed in the back of - frangipan
oil went in that one after localised cleaning.


From: Bob Villa on 3 Jul 2010 09:28
On Jul 3, 7:38 am, Don <w...(a)yahoo.com> 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.

30 years ago, when I worked with circuit boards for cash
registers...we would steam clean and blow off board that had
spillage,smoking tars, insect or rodent nests on them.

bob
From: William Sommerwerck on 3 Jul 2010 09:40
This had no effect on moving parts that weren't covered during the wash?
Their lubrication wasn't affected?


From: stratus46 on 3 Jul 2010 10:13
On Jul 3, 5:38 am, Don <w...(a)yahoo.com> 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
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