Is it ok to put isopropyl alcohol on 3ds electronics?

[susbaconhairman]

I thought I would try to clean out the stylus holder on my 3ds by putting alcohol in it and then poring it back out or something, so I tried to pour 91% isopropyl alcohol in there and tried to dump it out, but noting came out, then, I opened the back cover and saw there was a bit of alcohol on the back on the console near the stylus holder, but then I saw at the end of the stylus thing there was a hole that looked like it went inside of the system. I started freaking out a little bit and then I tried to open the system and see if it would power on. Everything is working fine, including the touch screen, but then I saw what looked like rainbow lines inside of the touchscreen near the edges. I tried testing the touch screen again and it works normally, as well as on the edges of it. I did also clean the touchscreen before I put alcohol in there, but I tried seeing if what I thought was residue from alcohol would come off, and it wouldn't.
Is my 3DS damaged? Can it be damaged by putting alcohol inside of it? Please help! And also please don't ridicule;e me, I already feel stupid for doing that
I also can't show you an image of the 3ds because the screen is too reflective and i have a crap chromebook webcam

 

[Hayato213]

hope you didn't get isopropyl alcohol into the screen

 

[KleinesSinchen]

High percent isopropyl normally is fine on electronics (very small water amount).
You should let any liquid evaporate before turning something on though. Opening the device might be a good idea if you are confident to not damage anything inside.

I saw what looked like rainbow lines inside of the touchscreen near the edges.

That sounds as if some of the alcohol got between the touch panel and the LCD. Would not be surprising since it is a solvent and can be used to clean off some adhesives like the one used to hold those two pieces together.
No idea if the liquid can easily flow inside really of one of the two parts (like into the LCD).

 

[susbaconhairman]

Update: I now see sticky residue at the top of the screen on the edges, I hope it's just glue. Also no bad artifacts on the screen.

 

[Sypherone]

Normaly its good to clean them up with isopropyl alkohol. But using cotton stabs or something else, making them wet with it then cleaning up.
The alcohol drys very fast. But it flows to much in some electric components thats not the best, aspecially not in the screen. It cant dry there directly and takes a lot of time like it would be water. In the screen there will be stripes be leaved or the already mentioned rainbow effect.

EDIT: Cleaning alkohol has a very very bad current conductivity. But if somewhere flows Power it can take fire. In worstcase it explodes.

 

[ghjfdtg]

If you got the alcohol between the layers of the LCD and not just between touchscreen and LCD you are screwed. It would take years to come out.

 

[ChiefReginod]

As said, don't turn it on if there's still liquid in the system.

Do some or all of these things:

- Set it someplace warm and leave it for a day or two. On top of a warm PC is a good choice. Even out in the sun as long as it's not a million degrees.
- Set it in front of a fan and leave it for at least a few hours. Even if the wet parts aren't exposed, the circulating air can still help to dry the inside faster.
- Put it inside a jar of white rice and leave it for a few days. The rice will absorb the moisture. It just takes a long time.

 

[V10lator]

I would lay anything in rice so hopefully the rice instead of the screen will suck it up. Everything else than the screen should be good.

You should let any liquid evaporate before turning something on though.

I'm operating devices wet from (99,99 %) isopropyl from time to time. Never anything bad happened. Also there are videos on YouTube of mobile phones and stuff beeing turned on while taking a isopropyl bathing.
Still this isn't adversed in any way as isopropyl burns easily (not much heat needed), so yea, when mixing it with electronics which produce light-strokes (relays and stuff) or excessive heat (CPU, GPU, ...) it might explode!
Also one should make sure to not contamine the isopropyl with anything electically conductive.

 

[susbaconhairman]

I turned the system on a few minutes after I put alcohol in there, I tried testing to see if all the buttons and the touchscreen worked, and they do. I turned it off, and a few minutes later I put a button testing program on it to see if everything worked. After a few hours, I turned it back on, tested it, and turned it off. I haven't turned it on since, and it's just sitting by a power strip on a shelf. Also, I noticed that the rainbow lines (they remind me of when you see gasoline on the ground) were gone. I did try to open the system to see if liquid was still in there, but one of the screws was damaged on the top or something and I couldn't unscrew it. I tired holding the buttons in place and trying to hear if anything was sloshing, and there was nothing.

Everything's working perfectly fine so far, and I think maybe a little bit of glue or just some random residue came off of the touchscreen, and that's it. I do also have a fan that's a few feet away from it and it's blowing in that direction.

Also, is it ok to plug it in and let it charge?

 

[ciaomao]

rainbow lines

like this? —> newton rings

 

[susbaconhairman]

Yes, kind of, but they were very faint and only a little bit near the edges of the touch screen. They went away now.
Also, the color rings weren't as close together, but still close I guess.

 

[V10lator]

Yes, kind of, but they were very faint and only a little bit near the edges of the touch screen. They went away now.

This was real luck! With bad luck it would have sneaked from the edge all over the screen!

Everything's working perfectly fine so far

Still, dry it some more just to be sure. A mini explosion setting the battery on fire won't be fun, for example.

Also, is it ok to plug it in and let it charge?

I also wouldn't do this. Better completely remove the battery.

I think maybe a little bit of glue or just some random residue came off of the touchscreen, and that's it.?

That's completely normal: Isoprophyl is agressive against some glues and stuff (it's used to clean surfaces from such stuff). Still the glue or something should get back in normal state after all the isopropyl evaporated completely.

 

[CoolMe]

is it ok to plug it in and let it charge?

It has been quite a few hours already.. yea, it should be fine. Obviously, make sure the contacts on the battery are clean, same for the pins on the 3ds and the charging port.

 

[susbaconhairman]

Thank you guys for all the help! I cleaned off the glue or whatever with some more alcohol and a q-tip, and I just unplugged it since I don't wanna take out the battery now. I did check the battery contacts (on the battery and system) and they are clean, also no bulging or smell or anything. It is a bit cold though, its that normal?
I think I will play on it for a while now.

 

[NeoGaming]

yeah its normai for it to be cold from time to time

 

[AleronIves]

I've been worried about cleaning my screens because of this kind of thing, too. Is dipping a cotton swab in the isopropyl alcohol and then wiping the screens with the swab the recommended method to avoid letting the alcohol get inside the screens and digitiser?

 

[NeoGaming]

I've been worried about cleaning my screens because of this kind of thing, too. Is dipping a cotton swab in the isopropyl alcohol and then wiping the screens with the swab the recommended method to avoid letting the alcohol get inside the screens and digitiser?

just use some screen cleaner

 

[Sypherone]

@AleronIves For the screen u can use a cloth for sure. There are extra fuzz-free for screens, else there will be everytime annoying fuze left on them. Just dont make it so wet that it will flew in every gap.

 

[ciaomao]

@AleronIves For the screen u can use a cloth for sure. There are extra fuzz-free for screens, else there will be everytime annoying fuze left on them. Just dont make it so wet that it will flew in every gap.

with a plastic cover, like on the switch or the 3ds touch, you should only use extremely soft materials for cleaning. otherwise there will be scratches. with a glass cover, any material is ok.

 

[ghjfdtg]

I don't think the original question has been answered yet so here we go. Usually it's fine to use isopropyl alcohol in very high percentage but be aware that it can degrade plastics. You will notice this first when the plastic loses its shinyness. It won't desolve most plastics unlike acetone the later of which you should absolutely avoid near plastics.