Do you dismantle your system to clean components?

About twice a year I completely dismantle my system so I can clean the components, racking and give the area a thorough vacuuming. I do this as a general weekly cleaning only allows me a surface clean, and we know how much dust accumulates under our components over time. I also thoroughly clean the back of my components and clean the ends of all cabling with some isopropyl alcohol. The one thing I haven't yet done, but really should, is get one of those plastic things that cleans the inputs on amps and such. If anyone knows what those are called I would be grateful. I do use caps on unused RCA inputs.

After it's all done, which takes me a good portion of the day, I feel better knowing that it's clean and that everything is completely in alignment, connected properly, level and setup accurately.

Do you do this? Do you do something I do not? Do you not bother? Please share!

JV

 

I just tilt my components up to get under them. I do use the plastic thingy to clean the RCA jacks and cable ends maybe once a year...dry, I've been meaning to use it with Deoxit but seems to do the job dry. It's super snug too and I'm always thinking "I'm gonna pulls this dang jack out".
I use a mini wet dry vac with attachments for dust behind it.
I don't have a lotta stuff so all this goes pretty quickly.

 

My components are inside an audio rack with tempered glass doors and have individual clear plastic sleeves I made myself to protect them from dust when not in use. The receiver is on top of the rack (outside) and the TT is on an adjacent wall-mounted shelf (sleeved as well). So essentially they stay clean all the time. I just dust the sleeves twice a week.

OCD, deffo, but once a duststorm broke my living-room window and these measures saved my whole rig.

 

That's a heck of a dust storm dang!

 

I dismantle my stack about once a year. Everything comes off the rack, pull out the rack, vacuum, wipe down the shelves , dust all components, cables too.

It's a heck of a chore!

 

Yep; it was very strange. Strong winds, no rain, lots of sany dust. I have since reinforced the windows and installed thicker glass, but the phenomenon fortunately never repeated.

 

Every 4 months the connections are cleaned with Caig. Once a year I clean tube sockets. Dusting as needed.

 

I do it about every 6 or 7 months and clean my gear up and use deoxit as appropriate.

 

Yup, it takes time, and Christmas vacation approacheth.

Doug

 

I use a vacuum to clean out vents switches volume controls about 3-4 times a year....and a soft cloth for regular
maintenance.

sean

 

What do people use for removing fingerprints on black gear? My Marantz Ref PM-KI-Pearl has a black matte finish and I'm concerned about damaging the finish if I used a commercial solution.

 

I hate to unplug cables and connections as they get weaker each time. I simply lift the components up and the wife wipes.
I don't use any solutions, so far there's been no need.

 

That really shouldn't be an issue with decent connectors and only occasionally removing them. My Marantz and my Genesis speakers both have WBT connectors and my cabling also has upgraded ends, although not WBT.

 

I haven't either so far. And until I'm certain they won't damage the finish on my gear I won't be using any either.

 

All electrical connections get weaker from use.

 

Put on your rose-coloured glasses.

I would also be concerned about solutions affecting the finish.

 

I don't disagree, but only if done consistently. Doing it once or twice annually should not present a problem. That's been my experience anyway.

 

water if anything solution wise. I do this piece meal. 4 amps, 5 phono pre's, 3 pre amps and 5 turntables I don't feel like doing this all at once.

 

Right,only a slight degradation will occur,but do it for years,guess what.
Even the best cables I've owned get weaker in time.

 

With that much gear I suspect it would take some time for sure. I got rid of all of my other gear about a year ago and only have the main system left, so I'm basically down to my TT, IA, SACD and Speakers.

 

No doubt about.

 

Yes, all all connections oxidize over time and need cleaning. Like many things in life there are trade-offs. I try to balance the two out by cleaning connections about once a year.

John K.

 

I would agree. But, some of my connectors always appear clean other brands will leave a heavy residue on the cleaning devices. Vandenhul is one that always seems dirty.

 

I occasionally dismantle everything and dust it and the area. My receiver and amp are both fairly new (less than 5 years old) so I haven't bothered to get in there and DeOxit them. I had a vintage amp and later a vintage receiver that I had to open up and clean all the damn time and that's why I finally stopped doing vintage. Great sounding gear but way too much work and uncertainty.

 

I did this recently and it was very therapeutic! Took about two hours to get everything off the rack, clean, and put it all back together. It's nice knowing that everything was recently checked.