Originally published at: How to clean that gross discharge on your batteries | Boing Boing
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The whitish, crusty discharge should start to fizz and disintegrate.
Gott’a fit that line into a song.
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And said batteries are probably long dead anyway, so be sure to dispose of them properly after cleaning them so the hazmat drop-off site doesn’t think you’re a gross animal.
Technique would probably also work for whatever device the batteries were in.
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I have an original Gameboy that was left in a drawer with the batteries left in. They leaked and now it doesn’t power on. I recently revived a bike light by doing this and am hoping I can save the Gameboy. The project after that is reviving Young Master Peas’ original Casio SK-1 that got left outside in a rain shower.
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I just use my tongue.
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Nobody needs to remove “that gross discharge on [their] batteries”, which are long dead and not in need of cosmetic refurbishment, they need to remove it from the devices the batteries have corroded, which is what the article is about, but is strangely long on what you need and short on examples (the wireless mouse shown seems not really to need much cleaning).
And I’m thinking that swabbing the battery compartment with acid may do more harm than good since it’s unlikely that people will get just the right amount of acid in just the right places, so they may turn an alkeline corrosion issue into a liquid acid one.
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Old batteries, crime scenes and infants: three things I don’t want to clean, in that order.
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So, ultimate nightmare, a diaper filled with old batteries at a crime scene… 
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*shivers in disgust and drinks to forget * *
*But was already doing the drinky part
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Actually… rubbing alcohol does in fact contain some water.
Unless you want your electrical contacts to start rusting immediately, you need to get some “electrical contact cleaner” – specifically designed for the purpose.
- The Old Studio Engineer
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I used to have contact cleaner, for the card edge connectors on my Trash 80. I don’t miss cleaning those fussy contacts, nor tvs that needed “tuner cleaner”… 
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So, 100% alcohol? What’s a good mixer with that? Beverage not board wise.
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I have an SK-5 I need to do the same to…
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Old, old radio engineer secret: clean with alcohol, and then coat with a thin layer of vaseline. Vaseline’s an insulator, but contacts will push it aside to make a good connection, and it will keep moisture/air/dust/etc out of the connection.
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Things were getting dicey until the prepositional phrase.
ugh
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Coca-Cola (or a similar soda) and a brush is all you need =) .
Shit. I’ve got one somewhere, hasn’t been used in 15+ years, and I doubt I took out the batteries. Dammit. Well, thanks for reminding me!
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