What do you use to wash your heatsinks with?

INSTG8R · Dec 20, 2012

I use Acetone. Residue free, plenty strong but you have to be careful with plastic parts tho it "can" eat certain surfaces. Easier to get here than Isopropyl. They lock that crap up here. I guess the drunks abuse it. When I lived in Canada it was great. My dad worked for a very large chemical company so he would bring home 99% Isopropyl by the Jug.

badjoe · Dec 21, 2012

unused toothbrush, a bucket soapy water solutions are sufficient for me...

and alcohol/acetone when cleaning any remaining thermal paste left over :toast:

jboydgolfer · Dec 21, 2012

unlike badjoe,, I use My toothbrush that I brush with. I find that the TIM add's a "pleasant" flavor, and the protection that My teeth really need in today's rigorous demanding lifestyle.

Oh and Sometimes a Brillo Pad.

Q-tip's W/ alcohol(90%)
Sterile Moistened Cleaning wipes
T/P

natr0n · Dec 21, 2012

dishsoap and water.

Hellraiser1981 · Dec 21, 2012

I use WD40 for TIM and goo. Laundry soap or shampoo to get the oily film off, and Isopropyl alcohol for the squeaky clean. Mineral oil to shine and protect boards/plastics.

de.das.dude · Dec 21, 2012

^ i hope you take equal care of your mansword

Hellraiser1981 · Dec 21, 2012

de.das.dude said:
^ i hope you take equal care of your mansword

LOL, I know. Kinda like Armor All on the tires before a car show.

natr0n · Dec 21, 2012

Thread has taken a

Hellraiser1981 · Dec 21, 2012

Hellraiser1981 said:
I use WD40 for TIM and goo. Laundry soap or shampoo to get the oily film off, and Isopropyl alcohol for the squeaky clean. Mineral oil to shine and protect boards/plastics.

I can't help it, im a technophile

de.das.dude · Dec 21, 2012

natr0n said:
Thread has taken a
http://corriecanuck.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/traincrash.gif

did that really happen?

sneekypeet · Dec 21, 2012

can we please stick to cooler cleaning methods?

Hellraiser1981 · Dec 21, 2012

Good air filtration is king tho... You keep your room clean you don't have to polish your tires.. or heatsink. Magnetic filters and positive pressure all the way.

H82LUZ73 · Dec 21, 2012

I just use dish soap and warm water ....Let air dry for the day clean thermal goop off cpu and install.I do this every six months the other just blow job the case with an air compressor.

micropage7 · Dec 21, 2012

yeah dish soap is good to remove any sticky dust and old tooth brush or you can soak it several minutes before brush it
to dry heatsink better using air compressor

Liquid Cool · Dec 21, 2012

About 140 psi out of the air compressor for the heavy stuff and a mix of 1/2 distilled water and 1/2 white vinegar for the fan blades. Works well.

I will add...the water/vinegar mix is the best lcd monitor cleaner I've come across - and it's essentially a dime a bottle. Two tips...spray the mix on the cloth lightly(not the monitor) and clean it only after the monitor has been powered off for at least an hour(room temp).

The above mix works well for general cleaning too, decimates tobacco stains. I only use this, ammonia/distilled water, Dr. Woods/Dr. Bronners soaps, and steam as cleaning agents in my home...and it's Monk clean.

Best,

Liquid Cool

natr0n · Dec 23, 2012

de.das.dude said:
did that really happen?

yes

GamerGuy · Dec 26, 2012

For me, a can of compressed air helps rid the heatsink fins of loose dust, for the more stubborn dust entrenched on the edge of the fins, a toothbrush or paintbrush help. I usually clean the contact surface with lighter fluid. I live in the the tropics, so the alu fins would be oxidized, so I woukd dipped the entire heatsink into a small pail or bucket of Coke....Coca Cola that is. Leave it for an hour or so, remove and the surface of the fins looked pretty good. For safety sake, I would shake it dry, wipe contact surface of the heatsink and leave it to air dry for a few hours. After that, reapply thermal goop and remount.

DayKnight · Dec 26, 2012

If I ever need to, It definitively will be 99% pure alcohol.

itsakjt · Dec 26, 2012

Well I use vacuum cleaner to suck and blow the dust first and then dip the heatsink in water, take a scotchbrite and clean all the shit.

TheMailMan78 · Dec 26, 2012

itsakjt said:
Well I use vacuum cleaner to suck and blow the dust first and then dip the heatsink in water, take a scotchbrite and clean all the shit.

Vacuum cleaner? Yeah um.....no.

itsakjt · Dec 26, 2012

TheMailMan78 · Dec 26, 2012

itsakjt said:
Why?

Static electricity is not your friend.

itsakjt · Dec 26, 2012

How can static electricity damage a "dismounted from motherboard" heatsink which is washed by water afterwards? And I have serviced plenty of motherboards with vacuum cleaner. The suction helps a lot. But none have suffered any damage.

de.das.dude · Dec 26, 2012

i think he was talking of computers in general. try to follow the derailed thread

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Power Supply	Super Flower Leadex III ARGB 80+ Gold 650W
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Processor	Ryzen 5600X \| Ryzen 5500U \| FX8320
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Memory	2x16GB DDR4 3600 Corsair RGB \| 16 GB DDR4 3600 \| 16GB DDR3 1600
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse RX6700XT 12GB \| Vega 8 \| Sapphire Pulse RX580 8GB
Storage	Samsung 980 nvme (Primary) \| some samsung SSD
Display(s)	Dell 2723DS \| Some 14" 1080p 98%sRGB IPS \| Dell 2240L
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Audio Device(s)	Logitech Z333 \| Jabra corpo stuff
Power Supply	Corsair RM750e \| not needed \| Corsair GS 600
Mouse	Logitech G400 \| nipple
Keyboard	Logitech G213 \| stock kb is awesome \| Logitech K230
VR HMD	;_;
Software	Windows 10 Professional x3
Benchmark Scores	There are no marks on my bench

System Name	natr0n-PC
Processor	Ryzen 5950x/5600x
Motherboard	B450 AORUS M
Cooling	EK AIO 360 - 6 fan action
Memory	Patriot - Viper Steel DDR4 (B-Die)(4x8GB)
Video Card(s)	EVGA 3070ti FTW
Storage	Various
Display(s)	PIXIO IPS 240Hz 1080P
Case	Thermaltake Level 20 VT
Audio Device(s)	LOXJIE D10 + Kinter Amp + 6 Bookshelf Speakers Sony+JVC+Sony
Power Supply	Super Flower Leadex III ARGB 80+ Gold 650W
Software	XP/7/8.1/10
Benchmark Scores	http://valid.x86.fr/79kuh6

What do you use to wash your heatsinks with?

INSTG8R

Vanguard Beta Tester

badjoe

jboydgolfer

natr0n

Hellraiser1981

de.das.dude

Pro Indian Modder

Hellraiser1981

natr0n

Hellraiser1981

de.das.dude

Pro Indian Modder

sneekypeet

Retired Super Moderator

Hellraiser1981

H82LUZ73

micropage7

Liquid Cool

natr0n

GamerGuy

DayKnight

itsakjt

TheMailMan78

Big Member

itsakjt

TheMailMan78

Big Member

itsakjt

de.das.dude

Pro Indian Modder

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Video Card(s)	Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3090 24GB OC EVA Edition
Storage	Addlink S95 M.2 PCIe GEN 4x4 2TB
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Case	Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s)	Realtek on board > Sony Receiver > Cerwin Vegas
Power Supply	be quiet DARK POWER PRO 12 1500W
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Keyboard	ROG STRIX Scope TKL Electro Punk
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Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 5900x
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Video Card(s)	ASUS RX 7700XT TUF OC
Storage	x2 Lexar SSD NM710 2TB 2XSeagate 1Terrabyte 1x Seagate 2 Terrabyte
Display(s)	40 Inch Samsung HDTV (monitor)
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Audio Device(s)	AMD/HDMI to Onkyo HT-R508 Receiver
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G2 Power Supply
Software	Windows 10 Pro X64

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Processor	Ryzen 5 5600G
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Video Card(s)	XFX MERC 310 RX 7900 XTX 24GB/Sapphire Nitro+ RX 6900 XT 16GB
Storage	500GB Crucial P3 Plus NVMe PCIe 4x4 + 4TB Lexar NM790 NVMe PCIe 4x4 + TG Cardea Zero Z NVMe PCIe 4x4
Display(s)	Samsung LC49HG90DMEX 32:9 144Hz Freesync 2/Acer XR341CK 75Hz 21:9 Freesync
Case	CoolerMaster H500M/SOLDAM XR-1
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Storage	180gB Intel SSD 330 Series, WD Blue 500gB (AAKX).
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Case	CM Elite 334.
Power Supply	Corsair CX 430.

System Name	Coffee \| Maximus
Processor	Intel Core i7 9700K @ 5.2 GHz with AVX, 4.8 GHz cache clock \| i7 9700KF @ 5.0 GHz/4.7 GHz cache
Motherboard	ASUS Maximus X Formula \| ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger (modded BIOS for Coffee Lake)+TPM2.0 module
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Video Card(s)	Zotac RTX 3070 8 GB Twin Edge \| Galax RTX 2060 Super 8 GB
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Power Supply	ASUS ROG Strix 750G (80+ Gold) \| Cooler Master MWE 650 V2 (80+ Bronze)
Mouse	Cooler Master MM731 19000 DPI gaming mouse
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Video Card(s)	MSI 1080 "Duke" with 8Gb of RAM. Boost Clock 1847 MHz / ASUS 780ti
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