Cleaning a dusty CRT television (with water)

winter_combat_knight

Hi all,
I have an old Sony CRT t.v in the shed which i wouldnt mind using for my old Nintendo and PSX games.
Its very dusty but should still work.

Im wondering what is the most efficient way to clean this thing?
As it's Australian summer at the moment and am to expect 40+ degree days soon, my plan was to hose it down with water and let it dry in the heat for a week or so. Can this work? The water will dry very fast. Or is this a dumb idea?

Foomy

Hosing it down is a dumb idea unless you completely disassemble it, and then use pressurized air to blow out any droplets that may cling to/under components. One stray water drop that doesn't evaporate or some mineral buildup across traces and you could ruin the set.

Just give it a good wipe with some rags and isopropyl alcohol.

bowen

easiest way is to just wipe it clean

though I wonder what the state of the inside is like with the electronics

If you do attempt to clean the inside, keep in mind that CRTs are DANGEROUS even if they've been sitting around for years/decades. They can kill you.

dispatch.o

Spraying it down could potentially short the capacitor and cook internal components anyway. Wipe it down with a damp cloth and maybe use some Windex for the screen. If you plug it in and it doesn't work, recycle or junk it. Don't bother opening it. It's dangerous if you're unfamiliar with TVs and if the resistors and insulation on the internal components is ruined you can't fix it without turning it into a cost ineffective hobby project.

Gabriel_Pitt

bowen wrote: »

easiest way is to just wipe it clean

though I wonder what the state of the inside is like with the electronics

If you do attempt to clean the inside, keep in mind that CRTs are DANGEROUS even if they've been sitting around for years/decades. They can kill you.

Yeah, the flyback transformers can hold their charge for years, and that's the kind of juice that can kill a person outright if they get hit by it.