RE: [Thinkpad] cleaning

> 50/50 mix of rubbing alcohol and distilled water.

Be careful what kind of rubbing alcohol you get. There are two different
kinds: isopropyl and denatured. Denatured rubbing alcohol is grain alcohol
(ethanol, the kind you drink) with other substances added to make it
noxious. The most common additive is acetone, the same thing that nail
polish remover is made of. This will dissolve some plastics, so I would not
want to try it out on a ThinkPad. The kind of rubbing alcohol to use is
isopropyl.

Isopropyl rubbing alcohol comes in several different concentrations,
typically 70%, 91%, and 99%. 70% is much cheaper than the stronger
concentrations, and since you're going to water it down anyway that's the
one to get. (Diluting 50-50 with water, you end up with a 35% alcohol
solution, which is fine for cleaning.)

> Add one drop of Dawn or another dishwashing
> liquid with grease cutters.

That works fine, but I like to use soap separately when needed instead of
mixing it in with the alcohol solution. That way I can use the alcohol
solution to wash off the soap residue.

> For real schmutz on the case, (not the LCD), Goo
> Gone works very well, and the orange scent will
> make your laptop bag smell nicer. LOL

Watch out for the mistake I made once, which was to use Goof Off when I
meant to use Goo Gone. Similar name, very different product! (Goof Off
dissolves plastic.) Fortunately, I was cleaning some cheap plastic thing and
not a ThinkPad! :-)

-Mike

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Received on Sat May 1 16:56:18 2004