I've heard of dishwashers, or ultrasonic baths being used.
Dust blast first, always. I'd use the vinegar step next if required, but that's normally only for alkaline battery leakage.
Cold blow dry to chase out as much water out as possible before going to IPA.
I wouldn't separate the fan rotor, don't think they're made to be removed and replaced, just peel label, remove plug and apply light lubricant.

Tech Yes City uses a lot of brake cleaner, and a WD40 type spray for shine, though as it leaves a very small amount of light oil, it could attract dirt.

PS. remove CMOS battery before wet cleaning motherboards.

PPS. looks like you'll need to paint the fan guard on that middle one

Thanks 😀
I only have an ultrasonic for glasses and jewelry, besides, I have heard that ultrasonic cleaners can mess up clock crystals (wich makes sense).
Maybe I will try the dishwasher some day, when I have gained enough confidence, mixing with water and electronics 😉
I will leave out the vinegar step, as the corrosion is not alkaline in nature.

How about using dish soap, do or don't?

Good point to remove as much water as possible using air, before rinsing with IPA, I will definitely do that. 😀

I saw the Tech Yes City cleaning video 😳. WD40 (CRC 5-56) will definitely attract dust, and since PCBs contains SMD components and thru-hole leads, it is impossible to wipe it off. Besides, will it get sticky over time? And Brake cleaner is way too aggressive imho, it dries out plastics and rubber. This can make connectors brittle and will accelerate aging of electrolytic capacitors.

About the fan guard, it appears some coppersalts are leaking through the surface. Looks like it can be wiped off, otherwise a spray of black paint is a possibility.

Looking at the Tech Yes City channel again (it has been over a year I guess). He is brushing off the water and WD40 while blow-drying the cards. This is actually very clever, as it will leave no greasy film, but it will leave the surfaces saturated.
I am going to try this with some unremarkable card and check in on it after a year or so (check for stickiness an degradation).

For cards that are really grimy, I just use dish soap and water and scrub them with a brush.

I then thoroughly rinse the soap off with clean water and then dry using an air compressor. Using an air compressor for drying ensures water is cleared out from all the crevasses and there won't be any mineral residue from evaporating water.

Shponglefan wrote on 2025-03-30, 20:33:

For cards that are really grimy, I just use dish soap and water and scrub them with a brush.

I then thoroughly rinse the soap off with water and then dry using an air compressor. This way all the water gets blown out from all the crevasses and won't leave any mineral residue behind.

This is what I've always done. Just remove the fan/heatsinks and wash using mild dish soap, a soft bristle brush, under warm slowly running water. Blow dry thoroughly using an electric "air duster". I sometimes hit it with 90% or higher IPA after the fact and blow dry it again. Then let it sit a while. This process has worked for the past 30+ years, never had an issue.

I do have a small screen drain cover I use, to catch components that may pop off, just so I can see what it is and replace it if needed, but it's never happened in all these years.

+1 from me as well for StriderTR's method.

The way I do it:
1: Go outside and brush off all of the dust with a paint brush (1 to 2" / 2 to 5 cm wide).
2: Run both sides of the under running water to get everything wet.
3: Use a paint brush (same one that I brushed the dust with) and put dish detergent on it, then get everything nice and soapy
4: Use an old tootbrush to reach/clean in some of the finer places (i.e. RAM slots, PCI/E slots, etc.)
5: Rinse everything with warm water
6: If sunny, leave under the sun to dry (1 day minimum). If not sunny, leave near an air vent or fan for at least a day. Regardless of which method I use, I then leave the board (video card or motherboard) for another 2-3 days in warm, sunny, airy place to "further" dry, just in case. This avoids having to use IPA or any other chemicals, and there's a plus to that.

What I DON'T do:
1) Use an ultrasonic cleaner - may indeed damage the clock crystals, so avoid.
2) Use a dishwasher. While some claim its safe, I suggest to avoid it for certain reasons - mainly to do with moisture ingress. The difference between putting stuff in the dishwasher and hand-washing is that dishwasher cycles tend to be at least 10-15 minutes in run time and with very hot water, thus more likely to lead to moisture ingress than hand-washing for 5-10 minutes under "mildly" warm water. Depending on the quality of the protective layer on the board, some may deal better with the moisture than others. So that's why I suggest to avoid using dishwasher, even though reports here have been positive so far.
3) Aggressive cleaners and solvents as the sole cleaning chemical - i.e. Acetone, MEK, IPA, brake cleaner, vinegar, etc.
Acetone damages certain plastics and can also scuff/remove the board enamel. I only used it sparingly on a rag/cloth IF really needed to clean up something that cannot be removed with regular washing. Same with MEK. IPA may leave white streaks on the board after drying, due to leftover flux. Vinegar is a corrosive agent, thus a NO-NO for electronics. Brake cleaner damages rubber, so not recommended for use on boards that have electrolytic capacitors. If using brake cleaner to remove oils, use it sparingly and quickly give the board a wash afterwards.

Matth79 wrote on 2025-03-30, 15:04:

I wouldn't separate the fan rotor, don't think they're made to be removed and replaced, just peel label, remove plug and apply light lubricant.

Adding lubricant to a failing fan bearing won't fix it in the long term.
You SHOULD separate the fan rotor and clean it separately, IF the fan allows it (newer fans tend to be the "sealed" type and thus *almost* impossible to take apart.) I do it all the time for just about every fan I get. For sleeve bearing fans, cleaning the sleeve with IPA and then adding "light" machine oil will give the best long-term performance. Don't use grease, especially lithium grease - it's not meant for sleeve bearings use.
For ball bearings, it's the opposite - do NOT use oil of any kind. Use only special grease meant for bearings (including lithium grease)... and that's only if you're able to remove the ball bearing's protective shield and clean the old gunk in it *and* if the bearing is not too worn out. If the bearing is too worn out, nothing can save it. If it's just starting to get noisy, grease should keep it quiet for a bit while but is not a long-term solution.

Also, a warning if you do open any fans - be careful not to scratch / cut the wires on the windings on the stator. And it's not recommended to use water on the stator iron core, as most cheaper fans will tend to runs afterwards. I find only the really high quality fans from Nidec, Delta, and etc. to not rust after a wash with water.

StriderTR wrote on 2025-03-30, 20:42:

I do have a small screen drain cover I use, to catch components that may pop off, just so I can see what it is and replace it if needed, but it's never happened in all these years.

Very clever idea and highly recommended by myself too.
Usually, I'm too lazy to do it most of the time. But if I see the board / device has parts that are likely to fall off, I usually use an old sponge - just put it over the drain, so that it allows the water to drain, yet catch any hard parts.

So scrubbing with IPA could be the cause of my boards not looking shiny after cleaning.
I will skip the IP rinse and see how that goes. (I am in no hurry, so leaving the boards out to dry for longer is no issue).

Good info on the fan lubrication. I will very carefully check whether the rotor can be removed (some are indeed attached using a 1-way single use eyelet). Is fan noise usually caused by the dirt itself, or from the bearing tolerances becoming out of spec due to wear?

Hopefully, I will have some time this week to do the cleaning. I will let you guys know how it went (with photos 😉)

If you're doing a full wash with soap + water and drying properly (e.g. via compressed air), then IPA shouldn't be needed.

I find IPA more useful for spot clean-up. Especially if I'm cleaning up gunk like flux, thermal paste, adhesive residues, etc. It's also a good way to loosen bonds from hot glue or other adhesives.

Gabriel-LG wrote on 2025-04-01, 15:58:

So scrubbing with IPA could be the cause of my boards not looking shiny after cleaning.

Usually yes, though it does depend a bit on what type of flux was used during manufacturing of the board and how well it was cleaned afterwards.
But in general, yes, I avoid soaking the whole board with IPA.
IPA only for spot cleaning, as Shponglefan noted above, particularly flux after rework/soldering.

Gabriel-LG wrote on 2025-04-01, 15:58:

Is fan noise usually caused by the dirt itself, or from the bearing tolerances becoming out of spec due to wear?

Almost always bearing wear.
Only fans that were super-caked with dust and other contaminants might also make a bit of extra noise due to dust under the hub.

Shponglefan wrote on 2025-04-01, 21:40:

If you're doing a full wash with soap + water and drying properly (e.g. via compressed air), then IPA shouldn't be needed.

I skip the compressed air and my boards still dry fine. I just tilt them at an angle and leave outside on a sunny day. If it's not going to be sunny, I wait. Though probably worth noting that I am a bit spoiled in that regard, as I live in a region that does get a good deal of sunshine compared to many other places around (e.g. Central and Northern Europe.)

Another idea would be to use whatever this tool is called ("ropownica" in polish)

As for the paintbrush method, doesn't that generate static?

Vinegar is a bad idea. It will eat out any chrome plating or similar stuff. Just use it surgically on areas that had battery leakage, then wash it off right away.

The main reason I blow dry, and sometimes use IPA, comes down to my local weather. It's cold and wet for a majority of the year here in Wisconsin. Short summers, living right on the lake, lots of humidity during the warmer months. So, while I still let them sit for about 24 hours or more, I don't like to take chances. If the weather permits, I will just let them sir dry, but that's rare.

Also, I don't use compressed air, I prefer something less "violent" and use a blower (seen below), I've even used a hair dryer on low. 😜

As far as worrying about static from paint brushes, in all these years, I've never had an issue. I'm not saying it can't happen, but I sometimes think the whole "static" argument gets overblown. Static can and has damaged hardware, but it seems to be more of an issue when you full on zap something, like an arc from your hand to a component. I discharge myself (or use my trusty old static bracelet) prior to working on anything I'm worried about, but that's where my static worries end.

I had a cat puke on an early pci-e video card. I can't remember if I soaked it for a while in soapy water, or just blasted it with a spray bottle. I once soaked a whole keyboard (NEC APC III) in a tub of water, soap, and ammonia. Tapped all the keys to loosen crud. Rinsed it out thoroughly. Put it in front of the air conditioner (which arguably causes condensation, but mostly dries). Worked perfectly.

I probably wouldn't soak a keyboard again. I would look at a card. Some older electronics have paper capacitors I'm told. Capacitors are supposed to be sealed, but I imagine they're always a concern. Better to just blast something rather then soaking it.

I have an old Franklin Ace 1200 that has mouse droppings all over the motherboard. That I'll remove and soak. The thing was left out in the rain a few years back. Keyboard still seems fine. The rain maybe have lessened some of the yellowing.

So life happened, but I finally got around to cleaning the cards tonight!

I used distilled water and un-perfumed dish soap.
First wash in soapy water, then in clean water. Next I applied compressed air, just to be sure to get out all of the soap. Then I washed in clean water again and applied compressed air again, to get as much water out as possible.
I also scrubbed the FX5200 with electrical contact cleaner, to lessen the oxidation of the solder-joints, which helped quite a bit.

Finally I Cleaned and oiled the fans, but the FX5200 will need a fan replacement. That fan was completely rusted shut.

Now I will let them dry for a few days, before testing.
The cards are looking great 😀

Nice job, In your first post I think you were overthinking it. Plain water and dish soap works wonders on circuit boards. When I am feeling lazy I will often just blast a board with the jet stream from a garden hose nozzle and that works well to wash away the typical dust and dirt you'd find on most components. Compressed air to blow water out of I/O connectors, CPU/RAM/BIOS/expansion slots/sockets, from under BGA and larger surface mount IC's does a good job of removing the "trapped" water. Then hang to air dry. Ultrasonic cleaners are good for the hard parts like brackets and heatsinks, I'd even stick a disassembled sleeve bearing fan in. Those tend to be the most time consuming parts to clean by hand I find anyways.

I haven't experienced this myself, and I don't know enough about electronics to assess whether is could be true or not, but I have heard of stories when compressed air was used on fans, in which the air makes the fan spin really fast which in turn could generate voltage by the fan circurty which is then directed into the card and act like static electricity and damage other circuitry on the card.

pan069 wrote on 2025-04-26, 02:15:

I haven't experienced this myself, and I don't know enough about electronics to assess whether is could be true or not, but I have heard of stories when compressed air was used on fans, in which the air makes the fan spin really fast which in turn could generate voltage by the fan circurty which is then directed into the card and act like static electricity and damage other circuitry on the card.

I havent myself either, but yes, an electric motor can create voltage as well as use it.
It requires you to turn the winding and the energy it creates will travel into the circuit it is connected to which is why there are usually diodes to only allow the energy to travel in the intended direction.

Gabriel-LG wrote on 2025-04-24, 21:13:

So life happened, but I finally got around to cleaning the cards tonight! […]
Show full quote

So life happened, but I finally got around to cleaning the cards tonight!

The attachment PXL_20250424_182332583.jpg is no longer available

I used distilled water and un-perfumed dish soap.
First wash in soapy water, then in clean water. Next I applied compressed air, just to be sure to get out all of the soap. Then I washed in clean water again and applied compressed air again, to get as much water out as possible.
I also scrubbed the FX5200 with electrical contact cleaner, to lessen the oxidation of the solder-joints, which helped quite a bit.

The attachment PXL_20250424_191150601.jpg is no longer available

Finally I Cleaned and oiled the fans, but the FX5200 will need a fan replacement. That fan was completely rusted shut.

The attachment PXL_20250407_195215023.MP.jpg is no longer available

Now I will let them dry for a few days, before testing.
The cards are looking great 😀

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Nice job! To make it simpler in the future, just do this with tap water. Distilled water is just going to become "dirty water" as soon as you use it on cruddy electronics, so there is no benefit there unless your tap water is extremely bad and leaves tons of minerals behind (in which case, you should just use whatever you use for cooking\drinking).

In my experience the main rules for hand washing cards with soap and water are:
1. Remove fans (which you did) because they will not like being waterlogged.
2. Be careful of any stickers, labels or marks that could be removed or damaged by soap and water. Sure, no one really cares that a 20+ year old card was properly QC checked at the factory, but I still try to avoid damaging even the QC stickers I find.
3. ALWAYS dry things properly and understanding that water can be trapped under chips and inside of vias and connectors. Blow everything off with a blower or air compressor, or just swing the cards around really hard in different directions to pull the water out from under things, then let them dry somewhere. After swinging\blowing the water off of a card I like to put them by one of my home's forced air heat ducts for a while (sometimes days for motherboards), and then I always give it another shake or blow it out again before putting it in an ESD bag. In the summer when the heat isn't running I might put them by an AC to dry.

Bonus card cleaning\refurbishing tips:
1. Dry erase markers can loosen and remove permanent ink if someone wrote on the card.
2. Balled up aluminum foil can be used to scour away any surface rust or pitting on back plates without damaging the finish (unless the chrome plating is pealing... then I wouldn't do it).
3. Pencil erasers (the good old pink ones at least) work great for not only cleaning the contacts on the card, they work great for taking blemishes off of the metal back plates.
4. If a metal back plate is very discolored or uneven looking, use CD scratch removal cream (or probably any kind of buffing\polishing compound... or toothpaste if you want it to smell minty) to polish it.
5. A 5mm socket can be used to take off most of the VGA\gameport screws found on cards with ease and without scuffing anything up (serial and male VGA ports can be tougher since there is less room around the port).
6. Don't invest a huge amount of time into fixing or cleaning up a card if the fan is bad, just in case you can't find a replacement. Some fan mounting designs are nearly impossible to find and the heatsink is cemented to the card so it is effectively dead unless you can find another solution.

As somewhat related, I brought home an iMac years ago, integral crt. There was so much rain at that show, water was being funnelled off of a tarp onto and into the iMac. Took it home, left it outdoors for several weeks in the sun. Worked like a charm.