safe to pour isopropyl alcohol over toothbrush gear, circuit, and coil? [closed]
Closed as off topic by Nick Alexeev on Dec 2, 2025 at 03:24
This question is not within the scope of Electrical Engineering.
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this video with 39k, man rinses sonicare with rubbing alcohol. how's this safe?
https://youtu.be/c5ObhA_mF-A?si=DuHdhvCwTjeQkpwo&t=142
2 answers
The main issue is just if it's battery powered or not. In case it is, always remove the battery first. Before any electronic device is cleaned or otherwise tampered with, one must always remove the power.
Apart from that, isopropyl is the best way to clean electronics, in terms of cleaning and no residue left behind. So from a pure electronics point of view it's the correct way to do it. One can also use water, but it is less efficient. Neither will harm solder joints or affect connectors etc. Wait for it to dry before plugging power back in, obviously.
Then of course isopropyl, being "denatured", is not something you'll want near your mouth. But as long as the actual brush part is kept away, I don't see any problem with that.
Most electronic circuits are washed at various stages in manufacture with various cleaners and solvents. Alcohol or various types has been common, the move these days is to water washes and soldering fluxes are designed to be water soluble or no-wash types that do not even need a final wash.
There are a few issues to consider with the example of washing a electric toothbrush. Firstly it is usually in practical to remove or even disconnect the rechargeable battery (cell). Alcohols and detergents will wash out lubricants from moving parts and after repeated cleanings may result in inadequate lubrication resulting in accelerated wear or friction. Adhesives on tapes and switch membranes may soften (temporarily) and cause alignment to shift. Some components may wick in a liquid that is then hard to remove which could cause faulty operation.
So if there is a lot of toothpaste residue that is electrically interfering with the circuitry that you can rinse off with water, citrus cleaner or alcohol and then carefully dry the insides it should be a net benefit.
Another thing to remember is that water free alcohol s used to DRY wet things as it displaces the water and helps to evaporate water with it leaving less residue. So the final rinse should be plain water or alcohol to avoid leaving any of your detergent after ti has dried.
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