Equipment Maintenance/Cleaning


No matter how different our listening tastes may be we all are faced with keeping our audio gear clean and I'm sure some take this to higher levels of scrutiny than others. I would like to know who may be using a hand held vacuum device that works particularly well when its time to get in to delicate crevices and/or around the back side of your rack/equipment storage. There are many good commercial units available but they always seem to do well in some areas and compromise in others. An example of this and reason for my inquiry is my Dyson unit. Its great for carpet and hard wood floors but the hand held device isn't great mainly because the hose is too short and stiff. At any rate let me know if you are using a product that has worked well for you in cleaning your audio electronics.  Thanks in advance. 
losingnemo361
So what he said, get a more supple hose for your Dyson.

The one cleaning you really should be doing, but no one does, is at least once a year disconnect everything and clean all the contacts. Clean the RCA, power plugs, tube pins, everything you can get your hands on. Use a clean cotton cloth with alcohol at the very least. Even this will make an improvement. Slightly better, use one of the many contact cleaner/enhancer products. They are all pretty much the same. Except for TC or maybe the new version, these are much more than contact enhancers and do not need to be redone over time like the other stuff.


A few years ago Art Dudley wrote a good article in Stereophile on cleaning equipnent. Did a search, but can't find it. 
Oh, we are supposed to clean our gear? My Roomba automatically vacuums the carpet. I guess I dust the speakers and component tops every year or so. I have all Audio Research Reference stuff, Sonus Faber Amati Traditional. I guess I get clean stuff every five years or so when I trade in. Life is too short.
I try to keep dust away covering equipment when not in use, i use slightly wet microfiber cloths, fiber for screens and painters brushes. Contacts, tube pins, tube sockets, cable jackets, belt cleaning, twice a year. Slight talc powder application on speakers drive units surrounds every 2 years.