this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026
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I wouldn't submerge them, but taking q-tips to it should be fine as long as you're careful and make sure it is fully dry before plugging everything back in.
Why not submerge them and let the dirt dissolve? What is the danger in doing that?
Its not just the dirt that the alcohol will eat away. It'll eat your thermal paste and any adhesives used in manufacturing. Pretty sure it will eat at basically any material if left submerged.
I'm mostly cleaning heat sinks, surfaces, and circuit boards. I can't reach into some spots even with a q tip, so I'm looking for alternative solutions. I'm pretty sure 10 to 15 minutes submerged in 96% alcohol wouldn't dissolve my PC like styrofoam in acetone. Although I could be wrong, I'm not an expert.
I just wouldn't submerge the entire thing. Take it apart. Be ready with new thermal paste even for the GPU. Most importantly: stop smoking inside or none of this will matter at all.
You could dissolve things off the board or mess up the microchips if there are any gaps that could be filled with liquid.
Liquid alone doesn't kill electronics. You can actually have a computer completely submerged in mineral oil for cooling purposes. To see more, look up fish tank computers. There is an issue with cables acting as wicks for the oil and causing a mess, though.
It's the dissolved minerals in water that causes electricity to go where it's not intended that actually damages the components (pure water is an insulator)
You could wash your motherboard in a sink with soapy water as long as you pull the cmos battery first and fully dry it before powering it back on.
Mineral oil doesn't conduct electricity. Isopropyl alcohol is 10-30% water, and does. If any liquid is trapped in anything, it might take longer to dry and you can't see it.