Topic: Contact cleaner

[Pieteker]

Do you know if it's necessary to clean the jack plug of your microphones every now and then or something like that? And does this also apply to the line-in sockets of, for example, your recorder? (dust, dirt, etc.)
If so, how can you do this best?

Thanks,
Pieter

[aaronji]

A lot of people like Caig's DeoxIT. There are lots of alternatives, though, that probably work similarly.

[ero3030]

For female mini Jack's, female xlr u can use proxabrushes. Those "fuzzy" dental picks with a touch of iso and a can of air or use the male plug compatible with what u want to clean with a little iso and connect and reconnect a few times then blow with a can of air

[rocksuitcase]

I second Caig DEOXIT. I like to use good swabs like these as opposed to Q-tips so the felt doesn't tear. I clean our cable connectors and mic end connections every summer before festival season.

https://www.amazon.com/Inches-Storage-Applicators-Electronic-Cleaning/dp/B09YSVPQHJ?pd_rd_w=cIslh&content-id=amzn1.sym.875c2599-fb39-45b3-be42-4ea71a9cd3f6&pf_rd_p=875c2599-fb39-45b3-be42-4ea71a9cd3f6&pf_rd_r=ZZ77F00GJP36KRQVRYAH&pd_rd_wg=rxHNy&pd_rd_r=e9c2f669-0f28-4ad1-b4f8-81a8c6ebb99c&pd_rd_i=B0CZNY19YX&ref_=pd_bap_d_csi_rtpb_bap_sim_3_t&th=1

[Pieteker]

Thanks everyone!

[Gutbucket]

Yep. Clean your plugs and jacks every once in a while. Dirty contacts will sneak up on you, and along with dying batteries are often the culprit when other problems are suspected. The issue occurs most often with mini-plug>mini-jack connections. Fortunately its an easy fix.  Deoxit is excellent, but if unavailable 90% isopropyl alcohol will do the trick.

[GLouie]

Deoxit is fine and easily available in the USA. Note that they sell many products and often change the names. The common contact cleaner version is Deoxit D5, 5% "active" ingredient with the rest basically naptha, which slowly evaporates. You can also get 100% D5. These come in all manner of containers including spray cans, needle bottles, marker pens. I usually get the D5 spray can with extension tube to flush out some controls, but for finer work I can spray a tiny bit onto a Q-tip or rag for cleaning connector pins. The dental brush sounds like a good idea for the connector holes; for decades I've just put some D5 on the pins with a Q-tip and then inserted then into the other connector.

Caig also sells a contact enhancer for gold contacts and a special lube for faders/potentiometers. I am not associated with them, just a user.

[audBall]

Here's an Amazon link to both the D100L (20% deoxidizer) and G100L Gold (0.5% deoxidizer, for gold surfaces), with cleaning utensils, for less than buying the individual 7.4mL bottles separately. For a comparison chart of the different types you can scroll down on this page.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071HB1ZQQ