Contact cleaner
{{Short description|Chemical cleaner for electronic components}}
Contact-cleaner, also known as switch-cleaner, is a term for a chemical, or a mixture of chemicals, intended to remove or prevent the build-up of oxides or other unwanted substances on the conductive surfaces of connectors, switches, and other electronic components with moving surface-contacts, and thus reduce the contact resistance encountered.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HSu3dUu9s2sC&q=%22contact+cleaner%22&pg=RA3-PA45|title=Boating|date=1 August 1971|publisher=|via=Google Books}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eRhJ1dni05sC&q=%22contact+cleaner%22&pg=PA166|title=Practical VCR Repair|first=Dave|last=Ronan|date=17 August 1994|publisher=Cengage Learning|via=Google Books|isbn=0827365837}}{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I9JAQAAIAAJ&q=%22wetting%22+(%22switch+cleaner%22+OR+%22contact+cleaner%22)|title=Health Devices|date=29 August 1983|publisher=Emergency Care Research Institute|via=Google Books}} The use of contact cleaner can help to minimize the wetting current across a pair of contacts.{{cite web|url=https://hackaday.com/2017/02/17/contact-cleaners/|title=Down and Dirty with Contact Cleaners|date=17 February 2017|publisher=}}
An example of a simple contact-cleaner is isopropyl alcohol.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DRAwiFbU1QAC&q=%22contact+cleaner%22&pg=PT836|title=CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide: Exams 220-801 and 220-802|first1=Quentin|last1=Docter|first2=Emmett|last2=Dulaney|first3=Toby|last3=Skandier|date=17 September 2012|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|via=Google Books|isbn=9781118421659}}
Some contact-cleaners are designed to evaporate completely and rapidly, leaving no residue.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UbknAQAAMAAJ&q=%22contact+cleaner%22|title=Corrosion Prevention and Control|date=17 August 1967|publisher=Scientific Surveys Limited|via=Google Books}}{{cite web|url=http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/5791/1/IH_064.pdf |title=Info |website=nora.nerc.ac.uk }} Others may contain lubricants.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=caiQGbQOvswC&q=switch&pg=PA1|title=Audiovisual Equipment and Materials: A Basic Repair and Maintenance Manual|first1=Don|last1=Schroeder|first2=Gary|last2=Lare|date=17 August 1979|publisher=Scarecrow Press|via=Google Books|isbn=9780810812062}}{{cite journal|title=An ounce of prevention can save a pound of audiometer trouble|first1=Steve|last1=Wood|first2=Kristin|last2=Wysmierski|date=1 June 2010|journal=The Hearing Journal|volume=63|issue=6|pages=48–49|doi=10.1097/01.HJ.0000382731.86660.4c|s2cid=76365430|doi-access=free}} Lubricants themselves should not necessarily be used as contact cleaners, especially if they are designed to leave an unsuitable residue.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ctHwDQAAQBAJ&q=%22contact+cleaner%22+%22switch+cleaner%22&pg=PT387|title=Buying and Maintaining a 126 S-Class Mercedes|first=Nik|last=Greene|date=31 March 2017|publisher=The Crowood Press|via=Google Books|isbn=9781785002458}} However, appropriate lubricants may work well as contact cleaners.{{cite journal|title=Recovery of severely degraded tin-lead plated connector contacts due to fretting corrosion - IEEE Journals & Magazine|doi=10.1109/6144.759354|s2cid=25403072}}