The PROPER Way To Clean Game Cartridges 

I'm a Senior Engineer, I hope you don't mind me fact-checking you on a few misconceptions. 2:00 Umm.. Rubbing Alcohol is a mixture of Isopropyl alcohol and purified water.... Not glycerin. I think you're confusing it with hand sanitizer, which has glycerin in it. 4:10 Also, "wet metal" and electricity are not an issue when using a non-polar chemical like Isopropyl alcohol. You're confusing wet with polar molecules like water. Let me clarify, water that has impurities in it, like regular tap or drinking water. Distilled water does not conduct electricity. There's no need to let something cleaned with alcohol dry for 24 hours. Alcohol has a high volatility, meaning it evaporates really fast. You're just wasting time. 10:15 Using an eraser is a bad idea for cleaning any PCB (game cartridges included). There are at least two things that may go wrong with your approach: Electrostatic discharge (ESD) issues Mechanical stress Anytime you rub two objects against each other you have the chance of generating static electric charges on them. This phenomenon is called triboelectric effect. A problem with ESD is that it may not kill your chips right-away (many chips today have protection circuitry that will handle a small amount of ESD), but it may degrade the performance of your devices (e.g. leakage currents or offset voltages may become permanently worse because of microscopic damages inside the semiconductor device). Therefore a game, may still work, but with intermittent failures or glitches. Whether your approach will work consistently in this respect will depend, besides sheer luck, on many parameters like ambient humidity, eraser and PCB materials, operator grounding, etc. Mechanical stress is maybe a lesser concern, but it should be taken into account: if the eraser is hard, if you press too much while erasing, if the PCB tracks or pads are too thin, you may risk detaching one of these latter from the PCB and this will ruin your day most likely (repairing a multilayer PCB is not easy, is often expensive and sometimes is not even possible). The BEST thing to use to clean electrical contacts and pins is a chemical specifically made for that. WD-40 has an Electronic Contact Cleaner that's fantastic: wd40specialist.com/products/contact-cleaner/

When I heard you say wait 24 hours after cleaning with 99 iso I almost fell out of my chair. That shit dissipates almost instantly, a couple minutes and you're good to go.

Finally! A video showing you the correct way to clean your old school game cartridges. Make sure your shirt is off while watching this to get the full experience!

This is great to know. Thank you good sir. I have heard that blowing on the cartridge and using alcohol was a bad idea. However, the guy in the video DID NOT explain how to clean the cartridges after saying that. I didn't understand why he wouldn't tell you how to actually clean it if he tells you that the typical way of cleaning it doesn't work. I'm glad you made this video.

I've been using isopropyl alcohol without any issue and everything still works .

Are you serious? 24 hours? Alcohol, especially isopropyl alcohol, evaporated INCREDIBLY quickly. There shouldn't be ANY moisture with the alcohol after at most an hour under room temperature.

Where did you get your info on alcohol?. It drys almost instantly after applied and sure doesn't need 4 hours. I've cleaned and fixed electronics for years and it confuses me where you get your logic

When using an eraser, use a soft eraser & light pressure because using hard abrasive erasers or a lot of pressure can wear off the gold plating on the carts contact connector, resulting in more oxidation. Always clean with caution.

I've used rubbing alcohol for years and my games still work fine.

put them in soapy water then dry them with a chainsaw. top tip- to line the pins stamp on the cart and throw against the wall. Job done.

The Rubber method looks good for some more serious corrosions. I'd stick with Isopropyl alcohol and Q-tips. High quality Isopropyl evaporates extremely fast and without damaging residues.

the link for the game bits is in the description now....and it's here: www.amazon.com/Security-Screwdriver-Female-3-8mm-4-5mm/dp/B00GT15JPU/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1392949388&sr=8-9&keywords=game+bit

It's a good idea not to touch the board with bare hands. Oils from your skin can damage electronics slowly over time and you run the risk of shorting out the board with static.

I'm no chemist, but isopropyl alcohol does not contain glycerin... hand sanitizers such as Purell contain glycerin. General rubbing alcohol is usually denatured ethanol or isopropyl alcohol and water. Essentially by saying don't use rubbing alcohol, you should be strictly against denatured alcohol as well. If you have no clue what you are talking about, please don't hand out shitty advice which isn't true. Cartridges are quite resilient and as long as you don't soak them in liquid or leave them outside, you can clean them with anything.

You could also apply a layer of dielectric grease to prevent future oxidation. It's used on car electrical connections to prevent them rusting.

i used rubbing alcohol with a q-tip then used another q-tip to dry it. Did this to all my cartridges over 20 years ago and they all still work fine til this day.

your hands look like boxing gloves.

This was awesome to watch. I love the games better than the newer ones. I guess simply because I grew up in the Nintendo-NES era. Thanks man cause I have been having problems with some of my games. I did try the Q-tip 'trick' but later on the game still didn't work properly. Now I have the knowledge to do it right. THANKS MAN!!

Interesting method. Ironically I used to use the same method (rubber eraser) to clean the pickups on my old Aurora AFX HO scale slot cars. Worked like a charm.

Why do you make a 24 minute video for something this simple?

Actually rubbing alcohol is 91-99 percent denatured isopropyll alcohol and the rest is water, not glycerin. Glycerin would stabilize the alcohol and prevent it from evaporating like it should. Anyways, alcohol is fine.

The thumbnail had Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts. I’m truly blessed by an amazing RU-vidr.

I'm very glad you made this video because its always nice to learn something new especially when it saves you in the long run. Thanks Rich

I'm gonna agree with you on the pure 99.9% isopropyl alcohol as it is a degreaseant and is also used for lens and head cleaning and is great for removing marks left by old stickers. I used to work at Marconi making circuit boards and they would dip boards in isopropyl to remove flux so it won't matter if you spill it on electronics either.

Welcome to RetroTechUSA lol. I am enjoying all of your retro videos a lot.

Rich, I knew of the eraser method years ago. However, it should be done sparingly and lightly as not to eventually rub off the micro thin gold plating - which can and has happened. Then you are left with silver metal which will corrode faster. Gold does not corrode easily, if at all. Find a softer eraser such as a white artist eraser. Otherwise you are "rubbing out" your Genesis cartridges like Gangster Town.

Rubbing Alcohol and Windex both work perfectly fine. I've used both for over 25 years and all of my games are clean and they work great. I've NEVER ruined a game with either one. Rubbing Alcohol 70% or higher is the best. You wipe with the alcohol or windex and then wipe dry with another Q-tip. It's as simple as that, unless the games are really filthy, in which case they need to be opened up and cleaned further. No special brass cleaner or pin connector cleaner is needed.

I've never cared for the eraser method. You might not see it, but it does leave a residue. I agree with you for the most part but I use a specialized polish to clean the pins, pure ISO to clean off the polish, and anti static wipes to clean off the ISO. The eraser is also only good for lightweight stuff. I doubt you've seen my cleaning videos. Then again, they have about three views.

I stopped watching after I heard "I know it all" followed by "wait 24 hours for "alcohol" to dry". Rubbing alcohol completely evaporates in almost seconds. Of course I usually give it a few mins if I plan to test it but HOURS? Please. smh

I am going to get my NES tomorrow and all the games and clean the crap out of them. I have not played it in so long. I still have everything to it and use to play the games every once in a while to throw back in my mind. Thank you for this

10 minutes is ample time for alcohol to dry.

Ohhhh GOD this brings back SO many nostalgic memories... Basically ANYONE who is old enough to have owned an NES system back in the day, knows the absolute HORRORS of practically blowing your LUNGS out, thinking that was the only way to make those darned cartridges work. @________@

This video helped make my NES play like brand new

thank you for this video. I did it to all my Neo Geo Pocket games that where having problem with randomly running off or not being detected by the system at all and going into the pocket menu instead. Now they all work perfectly!

Thanks man, your tutorial rescued my 2 PS2 memory cards which didn't work anymore before !

Since I got into collecting retro stuff (although the only cartridge stuff I have right now is N64) I tend to give everything a 409 bath to remove germs and dirt, controllers, the console, the cartridge casing/dvd cases because it seems everything always has brown crusty garbage on it. I assume people either wipe their snot on everything gaming or their dip chaw the spat out splattered on it. However I had some old Radioshack alcohol electronic contact pen and cleaned my cartridges with it but I only have 12 and they worked fine but I'll remember this for future games. Aside from collecting retro stuff I'm trying to get everything current brand new since it seems very few people take care of stuff anymore and it's always either filthy or non mint, I can own things for years and they pretty much look like they never left the packaging.

I know nothing about retro gaming, but I can tell you that specialty bit's, of any sort really, costing 10 buck for 2 of them and they are good quality, is amazing

Thank you. Works like magic. Used Stadler Mars Plastic white eraser.

"Back in the NES days people where blowing in these" What does this mean, I still blow in my Nintendo DS gameslot XD

I find it kind of amazing that, dirt aside, there are scratches on the contacts for that Monopoly game because people *actually* played it :D

It's funny how many pins old games had, yet 3DS blows them away in every regard with ~10 pins...

Lol that's how we did it when we were kids. I laughed so hard when I seen the eraser. We used pencils even with graphite on them. And the square tannish gold erasers left a filmy substance on the pins. Thanks for the memories

I haven't seen the inside of a cartridge for approx 15 years now. I remember I once had a defective Famicom cartridge, which could hardly fit the cartridge slot, so I opened it and cut out a tiny bit of the PCB plastic on both sides of the pins with a knife, and it worked well after that.

By "rubbing alcohol", did you mean ethyl alcohol? I'm wondering because only a few minutes later you said it was fine to use isopropyl alcohol.

Hey Rich, your way is the only way I clean my game cartridges. Thank you for making this video!!!

I usually don't respond to stuff, but I just had to this time. With all due respect, and you seem like a cool dude, BUT you couldn't;t be more wrong. FYI ALL PCB manufacturers use 99% isopropyl alcohol to clean their boards once done. Any professional electronics restoration/repair tech will tell you 99% isopropyl alcohol does not leave a residue, and is the absolute cleanest and sanitary way to remove anything from electronic parts. Furthermore it evaporates 100% dry in seconds. Period, End of discussion there. You are correct, erasers are a great way. Magic Eraser, Also 1000 grit sand paper (which is basically what a Magic Eraser is). BUT where you mess up is, both those things leaves microscopic powders on the pins. Sorry but a paper towel doesn't remove this. Matter fact, that last wipe with the paper towel just causes more grit that you can not see from the eraser and what it cleaned to stick via static electric to the pins from the wipe of the towel. You are to ALWAYS follow your erasing or sand papering with a q tip and 99% isopropyl alcohol to remove any last final bits of unseen grit after cleaning. When it evaporates (seconds) then it is totally sanitary to a hospital level grade of sterol. I agree, a QTip and 99% isopropyl alcohol alone by itself is not always the best way. BUT you need to always end your cleaning with it if you use a multiple step process of cleaning. Rubbing alcohol now is NOT 995 isopropyl alcohol, they are two different things. Standard Rubbing alcohol for a girls nails is indeed BAD to use. Sorry - but you've just been massively misinformed and you speak it like its the truth and you're god or something, and its just not true. Windex would be the absolute worse thing to use. Windex is nasty and has many ingredients in it and is just a bad way to do anything. I don't even clean my windows with Windex. 99% isopropyl alcohol is what the professional techs been using for years, its what you use to also clean Tape Heads and tape heads can not have even microscopic bits of anything or any residue at all on it. This is why you are instructed to ONLY use 99% isopropyl alcohol on them. It also does not damage anything. It is the purest form of any cleaner that there is. This is why its used by the manufacturers themselves. Sadly, your method is putting lots of eraser grit (that you can't see) in your consoles. lol Wow.

Brazilian mega drive cartridges use phillips screws, so it is a lot easier to open and clean a cart :) great vid man. I preffer pure Iso alcohool, but the eraser technique really is the best way to clean a cart.

I actually like the thought of all that dna in there. It heightens the sense of nostalgia for me.

Thanks Rich! This is the best video iv'e seen of cart cleaning. You saved some of my games!

For the hardware (e.g. screws), I recommend placing everything in a bowl, tupperware, egg carton, etc, so they don't roll off the table and get lost.

The isopropain alcohol cleaner is fantastic for cleaning this kinda thing, I know because I did this in a job for magnetic data ( 9-Track and cartridge tapes) it's got to be the right solution pure alcohol.. The rubber is also a fantastic idea and a easier cheaper way.. I probably clean my carts soon that I have had for 20-30 years not that they need doing but I like them to last another 30 years or more.. I be about 80 years old lol.. Any haters to this video, you people ain't got a clue... Good video.

I recently purchased a SNES and about seven games for the first time. After watching this I looked inside my Chrono Trigger cart and almost threw up. Needless to say my game bit should arrive later this week. Thanks for this video!

Actually erasers wear away at the copper pins. If the corrosion is really bad use a metal polish but for regular cleaning you should use cleaning alcohol which should be as close to 100% Isopropyl as possible. I do agree rubbing alcohol which contains 70% Isopropyl is bad the remaining 30% is water and water and metals like copper don't mix well. Also how you store your cartridges matter. You want to keep them dry with little to no moisture as possible. Like I said water and metals like copper don't do well together.

Never knew you could clean cartridges with an eraser. That's good to know when I need to clean my N64 games. Thanks.

I HAD FOUND THIS VIDEO YEARS AGO DIDNT KNOW IT WAS STILL OUT THERE IVE BEEN USING THE ERASER TIP FOR YEARS NOW IT REALLY WORKS BUT IF THERE IS RUST ON THE PINS I FOUND USING WD40 AND WIPING IT OFF WITH PAPER TOWEL AND THEN DOING THE ERASER TIP AGAIN REALLY WORKS THANKS FOR POSTING THIS VIDEO BECAUSE OF YOU I WENT BACK AND GOT A NES AGAIN THE LAST ONE BROKE CAUSE I WAS TOLD TO USE WINDEX ON MY GAMES THANK YOU SO MUCH ?

I feel guilty now... I worked at one of those retro game shops for a few months last year, and we totally cleaned cartridges the wrong way. Granted, I didn't know better, and that was the way we were instructed to do it, but still. :(

You used the same method LEGO said to clean their discontinued 9V and 12V train track back in the 90ies and early 2000nds. I've done this with large amounts of HO and N scale train track and it works very well. XD Possibly you may want to look at something like a Hornby track rubber? Although it could be a little too abrasive than needed for cartage cleaning. As much as a like methylated spirits and other chemicals as cleaners because they evaporate quickly and do a good job of cleaning plastic and metal they tend to make the the metal get dirty twice as fast and require cleaning more often.

Hell yeah man! The good ol eraser technique.

This is like the stone age days of RU-vid. I remember this video when It came put all those years ago good times. Cool video. ^_^

Awesome video man. I saw some others and wasnt too sure if they were the best way to clean my carts but I did see one where a guy used a rubber for the contacts (TheDamoMonster). I will do this with my entire collection of Mega Drive and SNES carts ;) should take me till next year!

worked great for me on my megadrive and snes.Thanks very much.

High concentration isopropyl alcohol often has water as the inactive ingredient. I use it for many things, it leaves no residue and dries faster than any other cleaner you could use.

I use, what i guess you in america call brasso, to clean my games. two drops on a damp microfiber cloth and just rub gently a couple of times over the pins. Then i use a clean, damp cloth to wipe away any residue and finally a dry cloth. This removes all the oxidation and makes the game like new. =) Haven't tried the eraser-method, but it looks good as well, and probably a little easier.

Use an anti static wristband when handling PCB's as static build up may damage integrated circuits

Corrections: 1. Rubbing alcohol (aka isopropyl alcohol) is just a general term for a denatured alcohol solution of 70 to 99 percent isopropanol or ethanol and other inactive ingredients. Solutions sold as isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol seldom contain any inactive ingredients besides water. You can get isopropyl alcohol with glycerin, but it's uncommon and is usually conspicuously labeled. Alcohol is not damaging to electronics in any way, shape, or form. In fact alcohol is a great way to clean PCBs and components. It doesn't do a very good job of cleaning contacts, but it doesn't leave a residue and certainly won't harm your games. 2. Windex contains ammonia which is corrosive. I doubt that using Windex on your contacts will cause any type of meaningful harm (as long as you rinse with alcohol or water). However it doesn't work much better than alcohol so I'd never use it. The fact that you say that alcohol is "HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE" for your games but Windex is okay in a pinch is an example of why you don't know what you are talking about. 3. Pink rubber erasers absolutely leave a residue on the contacts. That's why white art erasers are preferred. Also the white erasers are softer and less likely to catch one of the contacts and lift it off the board (although I think damaging the contacts with any eraser is unlikely). After cleaning with either type of eraser you should still follow up with alcohol to clean up any residue/particulate. 4. Where is your ESD protection? I never use any, but I don't purport to clean games the proper way. 5. Waiting four hours for isopropyl/denatured alcohol to dry is insane. Near 100% alcohol evaporates almost instantly. Even 70% evaporates in seconds. Your method of cleaning games isn't bad (except for not cleaning off the eraser residue), but there are other ways to clean a cartridge that are totally safe. As long as you're not using something that is super corrosive or abrasive you're fine. Personally, I use Brasso or similar metal polish and finish with isopropyl. Works great.

well at least I know I was doing it wrong. I use to go and use rubbing alcohol, and I would go and put it on Q tip. cleaning off the pins several times and use the otherside of it to dry it off (with a different Q tip with each go). and then keep doing that till I couldn't seen anything being left on the Q tips... honestly I was only trying to make sure the pins were as clean as possible with what I had on hand, but this makes much more sence as to why most cartriges say not to use rubbing alcohol.

What I like to do is just fold up a piece of paper, usually a flash card or sticky note (non sticky side) and rub it liberally on the pins. It gets most of the dirt and oxidation off and I don't have time to open up and clean 150+ nes games, 80+ snes games, 90+ genesis games and so on :P But I do rub all my carts down with rubbing alcohol to get the dirt and germs off the plastic and googon for sticker residue.

CRC Electrical contact cleaner is your friend. Just spray and wait a few seconds for it to dry.

I never seen it done with eraser... Only Alcohol but I not clean them cuz I was a kid at that time lol... But when PS1 was out I use Alcohol to clean the CD or DVD... THANKS FOR SHARING WITH US!!!! & show us the right way to do it...

Thanks, this thing saved the backlights of my car :) The board there connects in a similar way I tried almost everything, nothing worked... Used the rubber and now my these work as intended, so this works for any connection of this type !

I got a zelda 1 cartridge for nes the other day from some lady's yard sale. It was in immaculate condition with all the gold and beautiful lable. I had to instantly get a clear protective sleeve for it.

I hope this video was up when I was a kid. I used to clean my games that way and many of my friends laugh at me. Their games got damaged but mine no.

Hey Rich, just thought I'd say that your method worked like a charm. What would've taken me several attempts to boot Donkey Kong Country before cleaning now only only takes me one. I've never truly felt like cleaning _any_ game (whether it be a cartridge or a disc) with window cleaner or rubbing alcohol to ever be wise choice. I'm kinda surprised Adam Koralik didn't get the memo on that, considering how many cleaning videos he's put out over the years. Anyway, thanks again man, I'll be sure to put this method to good use in the future.

I've been using a Q-tip with alchohol since I first started playing NES and I have had ZERO issues. Something tells me this falls in the same category as people saying wrapping your control cords will kill the system, something I've also been doing for 20+ years and had no issues with.

I found my game bits on amazon for $4 bucks I can't wait to get them and clean my games ty for sharing this vid

Cool. Because of all of the videos you've done, I've decided to look for my N64 and Genesis (and gamecube). I found the consoles themselves, but all of my cords and games are MIA. I guess I'll have to go through all of the boxes under my stairs over spring break or something. I'm REALLY itching to play Majora's Mask.

Wow! I never have used erasers, but after seeing this, they seem like the definitive choice for oxidation. But I think you are wrong on the whole rubbing alcohol thing, because where I am (Canada) it's a mixture of water and alcohol. Personally I currently use rubbing alcohol, and it's pretty good for cleaning actually dirty games. But on the whole drying part I don't dry my games for very long (around 15-25 minutes), and I put them by my wood stove. If they don't smell at all like alcohol, I think they're dry. Also, what type of erasers do you use? And could you do a video on properly cleaning a 72- pin connector?

Rich I work at a store that uses rubbing alcohol to clean our game cartridges and we almost never get customers returning our retro game cartridges.

THANK YOU!!!!! I finally got my Killer Instinct Cart for the N64 to work. :) THANK YOU!!!!!

your best vid yet.

Thanks Rich you saved my game cartridges I was about to use rubbing alcohol to clean the pins.

Beats my way of cleaning cartridges. I usually get angry at it and the system, shout and both the console and the cartridge and result with hitting the console and throwing the cartridge at the nearest wall. Thank you uncle Rich.

Rich, maybe you've done this already, but how would you feel about doing a video about your top 10 or 20 retro games that you like? I know "Top 10/20" lists aren't necessarily your thing, but I'm interested to know what are your favorite retro games are from the 8-bit or 16-bit era.

Would Ever clear (95%alcohol/190proof) work well? It has less water than isopropyl alcohol and no additives? Also you can use the leftovers to get smashed while you play Mario Kart.

This sounds like a great method. I've used denatured alcohol and cartridges work 100% of the time (with a clean slot on the mega drive). Still interested in cleaning the plastic though..

I normally do the pink eraser, then a plastic save electrical contact cleaner. Always gets them nice and clean.

you should also use a anti-static wrist strap and an anti-static brush so you don't kill the board with static electricity.

Nice job fella. Going to do this for my n64

To dry them very quickly, I use a compressed air cleaner from Office Depot. Just spray it several times after cleaning it and it should be bone dry.

fond on the eraser trick. thanks for sharing

you should be using a white art eraser not a pink one. but let's take it a step further and why not use contact cleaner lol.

I just use electrical contact cleaner. It also works for the system and it works on controller contacts.

What i alway's dit was just using qtips with water and clean both sides of the cartride pins and the inside of the case, after that i used dry qtips to remove the emaining moisture to make sure it's dry again. It works.

Fuck! I wrote a huge comment about how I do it then didn't post it. ANYWAYS back to what I was saying.... - I don't think rubbing alcohol leaves residue, - erasers do, - use Brasso (metal polisher) then alcohol to clean oxidization - and don't talk like everyone else's way is wrong when there are so many different techniques that seem easier and have equal or superior results. I haven't ever had to clean a game twice after using Brasso and rubbing alcohol to clean the residue. Maybe you don't either, but I find it hard to believe that an eraser leaves no residue considering when you take it to a piece of paper it leaves unremoveable steak marks. YES paper is not metal but I'm just trying to give an example. Ok so while I was writing this I decided to take an eraser to a dirt genesis cart I had and it work pretty good. it didn't leave noticeable residue (mind you I don't notice any when I use rubbing alcohol) although it wasn't as perfect as when I use Brasso. So I guess "different stokes for different folks" as you say.

don't know how much you know about rubbing alcohol but once the air is in contact with it, it starts evaporating so it is in fact safe to use and theres no point in letting it dry if theres nothing to dry lol heres a experiment with you get a bottle of rubbing alcohol and leave the cap off of it and just sit it out a guarantee in a couple days itll be gone

This is bullshit. Just use a cue tip and some rubbing alcohol. I have even used nail polish remover.

If you get really nasty games with years of dirt and corrosion, I use brass polish...but only ONCE. If you clean them regularly with an abrasive, eventually you will ruin the contacts, but honestly it gets them to the point where you shouldn't need to use more than once every 10 years or so and honestly if you keep it clean in the meantime, you wont need even that.

make sure the eraser is clean and is new also when you clean the outside of the cartridges make sure to have a quetip and put hot water on it and a napkin, make sure to avoid the label of the cartridges.

Rich, I own a Mom N Pop shop and as much as I genuinely would love to do this to all of my carts for my customers, there is just no possible way. My store has 12,000-15,000 carts. The amount of time I would have to spend would add up to more time and manpower than I actually have! I do, however, take apart all collectible rare games and clean them thoroughly and give the common ones a good ole wiping of the pins(qtip + 99% iso) before they leave with a game...

Thanks for showing this, I've been using q tips with little bit of Windex on it to clean it. I usually though it would cause future issue to the cartriges