Cleaning

Can I use Alcohol to Clean the Contacts on a Memory Card like DIMMS?

Or should I use a Damp Cloth with Water?

I know Alcohol Dries Rubber out but I did not know if it is Bad to use on DIMMS?

 

Generally you can use alcohol, but care must be taken to avoid ESD damage (static discharges from your body) and other damage from mishandling. You don't want to drown the device either.

To avoid ESD destruction, make sure you touch a ground point (like bare metal of the computer case interior) BEFORE reaching in or touching the memory device.

A long time and very effective technician's contact cleaning trick is to use a clean pencil eraser. "Gently" rub and erase the dirt and corrosion away. Then blast any eraser debris away with a quick blast from a can of compressed dusting gas.

Also, simply inserting and removing the device from its slot can effectively scrap clean the contacts of both the device and the slot/socket.

If using alcohol, I recommend using one of those little pads they use in doctor's offices to clean your arm before getting an injection. A cardboard shaft cotton swap dipped in alcohol, will work too - just give it a quick shake to shake off excess alcohol. Cardboard shaft swabs are recommended because alcohol in large concentrations can eat some plastics.

HOWEVER - what I really recommend is using a product specifically designed for cleaning electrical contacts: CRC QD Electronic Cleaner or WD-40 Electrical Contact Cleaner. Typically, the power from the spray is enough for most cleaning jobs. But if the dirt is stubborn, spray with the contact cleaner then give it a soft scrub with a acid brush. Just remember to initially and periodically touch that bare metal to discharge any static in your body, and to keep you discharged before and during handling of any ESD sensitive device like memory modules, processors, and printed circuit boards like motherboard and graphics card.