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  • Cleaning wires with isopropyl alcohol?

    From Christopher Howard@christopher@librehacker.com to sci.electronics.basics on Fri Aug 22 07:36:38 2025
    From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.basics

    Hi. Is it okay to clean wires with 99% isopropyl alcohol? Does it
    degrade the plastic insulation or anything like that? Some hydraulic oil dripped on a large bunch of wires and I need to get that cleaned up. I
    have a large bottle of 99% isopropyl alcohol with a convenient sprayer attachment, so this would be a very convenient option if it is not a bad
    idea for some reason.
    --
    Christopher Howard
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  • From ehsjr@ehsjr@verizon.net to sci.electronics.basics on Fri Aug 22 15:07:17 2025
    From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.basics

    On 8/22/2025 11:36 AM, Christopher Howard wrote:
    Hi. Is it okay to clean wires with 99% isopropyl alcohol? Does it
    degrade the plastic insulation or anything like that? Some hydraulic oil dripped on a large bunch of wires and I need to get that cleaned up. I
    have a large bottle of 99% isopropyl alcohol with a convenient sprayer attachment, so this would be a very convenient option if it is not a bad
    idea for some reason.


    Yes. It won't hurt the insulation. Wipe all the oil you
    can off the wires with a paper towel, spray the alcohol on
    and wipe again. Repeat the spray/wipe as needed to get all
    the oil off. It won't hurt the insulation or the copper
    wire itself.

    Ed
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  • From Mr. Man-wai Chang@toylet.toylet@gmail.com to sci.electronics.basics on Mon Sep 1 00:13:53 2025
    From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.basics

    On 22/8/2025 11:36 pm, Christopher Howard wrote:
    Hi. Is it okay to clean wires with 99% isopropyl alcohol? Does it
    degrade the plastic insulation or anything like that? Some hydraulic oil dripped on a large bunch of wires and I need to get that cleaned up. I
    have a large bottle of 99% isopropyl alcohol with a convenient sprayer attachment, so this would be a very convenient option if it is not a bad
    idea for some reason.

    Don't just ask in Usenet.... ;)

    Northwest Fix
    https://northwestfix.com/
    --
    @~@ Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
    / v \ May the Force and farces be with you! Live long and prosper!!
    /( _ )\ https://sites.google.com/site/changmw/
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  • From bp@bp@www.zefox.net to sci.electronics.basics on Sun Aug 31 20:41:32 2025
    From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.basics

    Christopher Howard <christopher@librehacker.com> wrote:
    Hi. Is it okay to clean wires with 99% isopropyl alcohol? Does it
    degrade the plastic insulation or anything like that? Some hydraulic oil dripped on a large bunch of wires and I need to get that cleaned up. I
    have a large bottle of 99% isopropyl alcohol with a convenient sprayer attachment, so this would be a very convenient option if it is not a bad
    idea for some reason.

    Isopropyl alcohol is a poor solvent for mineral oil.

    And, mineral oil isn't particularly hard on most plastics.
    The only harm I've seen is when polyvinyl chloride plastic
    is immersed in mineral oil. It got stiff and brittle, but
    not quickly, the effect takes months.

    I'd just wipe up the oil. If you want to be thorough, a good
    detergent and water wash might help and will do no harm. A
    good rinse will be the hardest problem.

    If you could figure out what the insulation material is that
    would help a lot. Older PVC-insulated wiring is definitely
    sensitive to embrittlement. Modern insulation will be mostly
    or completely immune.

    If your concern is the oil getting into other places you
    don't want it, that's a separate problem.

    hth,

    bob prohaska

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