# Isopropyl alcohol alternatives. (CPU cleaning)



## thrombox

Before applying new cpu paste need to give the old a clean.

It is recommend to use rubbing alcohol or isopropyl, (and acetone is a big no-no)

Trouble is I don't have any and can't really wait just to find where to buy it.

What I do have is some 99% ethanol solution or "white spirit". Ethanol is very similar to isopropyl, where isopropyl is just an isomer of propanol (with 3 carbons on the chain rather than the 2 carbons of ethanol).

Question is, can I use the ethanol solution instead of buying the isopropyl? I know that you can use ethanol as a cleaner and solvent (albeit much more expensive than isopropyl), so theoretically it should be alright?


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## George Safford

I think that would leave a white film on the surface. I just use dry Q-tips to clean it.


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## Tyree

Even Ethanol that pure might leave a residue.
Isopropyl alcohol (90%) is the most commonly used and can be purchased at any drug or grocery store.


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## thrombox

George Safford said:


> I think that would leave a white film on the surface. I just use dry Q-tips to clean it.


It's not acetone, it's 99% ethanol and 1% water, I've cleaned other things with it and it's used for thinning paints and it does not leave a white film but totally evaporates, it's a great cleaner and solvent just expensive to use.

It is lighter than propyl alcohol, so don't see why it would leave a white residue, people also use white spirit to make strong cocktails out of, so don't know how they could drink something that leaves a white film.

Note: it is only called "white" spirit, it is not actually white, but colourless.


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## paranoider

thrombox said:


> Before applying new cpu paste need to give the old a clean.
> 
> It is recommend to use rubbing alcohol or isopropyl, (and acetone is a big no-no)


I just bumped into this thead and wondered... why the big "no, no" for acetone?
I've been using it to clean CPUs and heatsinks for years. I just dampen a rag slightly with acetone, then use it to clean the appropriate metal parts. It doesn't seem to do any harm.


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## thrombox

Apparently it melts plastics?


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## greenbrucelee

artic silver who make the best thermal paste also make a solution for cleaning a cpu and a solution to remove thermal paste it is called arti clean you can buy it from most places that sell thermal paste.


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## Tyree

90% Isopropyl alcohol is dirt cheap, readily available, known safe and it works.
Your hardware, your money, your choice.


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## paranoider

thrombox said:


> Apparently it melts plastics?


That's okay then.....
I don't know about everyone else but I always remove the CPU to clean it and only ever wipe the heatspreader with a cloth dampened in acetone, so it never touches anything that's not metal. Same with cleaning the thermal paste from a heatsink. I guess it means I'm not hurting anything, and acetone does clean well.
I really only use it because I've generally got some handy. Not so much when it comes to other cleaners.


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## thrombox

I can confirm that 99% alcohol solution is perfectly safe to use on a CPU, having now tested it several times and read up about it. It was used at one time as a rubbing alcohol but is now very expensive.

Its chemical composition is very similar to that of isopropyl alcohol, being only a carbon chain shorter with the -OH alcohol end in a different position.

So if anyone happens to randomly have any 99% ethanol solution and not isopropyl (if you are a painter for example) it works just as well and is safe on plastics and components.

It is however much more expensive than isopropyl!


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## Tyree

thrombox said:


> It is however much more expensive than isopropyl!


That's why we recommend Isoproply alcohol at about $1 a pint. :smile:


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## DonaldG

As you are in the North of England, pop into any DIY and get some methylated spirits. 

Its ethanol & methanol with some additive to make you sick if you try to drink it but it will do the job.


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## thrombox

> Its ethanol & methanol with some additive to make you sick if you try to drink it but it will do the job.


With 99% ethanol solution you can both drink and get the job done!


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