My wife spilled some sticky liquid on the round four-way rocker button (arrows) of our MX-850. Now when I depress the arrows/rocker buttons it tends to stick and will not release. Does anybody know if I can "pull" the round four-way rocker button (arrows) from the MX-850 case and clean up the sticky liquid from underneath?

Does anybody have any advice on how to clean it up?

Thank you,

Cameron

Rubbing alcohol is what I would use. If it is a lot or something that you go not want further inside the remote this advice may not be good. I sometimes have problems with cell phones and this usally gets the gunk out without damaging anything. I just remove the batteries and dump it thru.

You can pop the case, it requires some twisting and prying to pop the clasps. There are a few theads about it.

Drenching it in isopropyl isn't a bad idea, but you should probably look for the fairly pure stuff ... 92% or greater. You could even use distilled water if you let it dry long enough before inserting the batteries.

Thank you all for your replies. Although I like the alcohol idea, unfortunately I do not think it will get the sticky liquid underneath the keys/buttons. I will try to pop the cover as suggested. If anybody has a reference or link as to how to do it, I would appreciate it, please.

Thank you,

Cameron

Popping the case is the ONLY fix. You are right, you won't get the stickies underneath otherwise.

Warm soapy water won't hurt anything but the pc board, and even that might survive it. Sweet, sticky (organic stuff) on the PC board will likely "grow" even if you try to remove it - may not be reliable in the long term. My guess is that the membrane for the buttons will save the rest of the innards.

We serviced stereos for many years and actually had some pieces come in from a flood. The Napa River in northern California floods periodically. This family said they had taken all their electronics upstairs when the waters began to rise. The receiver, reel to reel, and VCR got soaked in muddy water. The speakers survived this flood to the second floor because they had been put on a couch and the couch floated!

The guy gave me the VCR and receiver. For grins, I put them through my dishwasher. The VCR had grit in the bearings of the motors and could not be resuscitated. The receiver cleaned up really well. I sprayed the controls and switches with silicone after I was done and gave it to my mom and dad. It worked in their house for 10 or 12 years, then I sold it to someone else. So the water and soap worked OK there.

The sweet stuff seems to get stuck under components and jumper wires and never fully gets cleaned out. Ends up growing back in a green mold after a couple of months.

I think you will be OK.

I have dropped the old school star-tac phones in ispropyl after a dunk in the pool and saved them. Good ole Iso never hurt anything. BTW...batteries must be removed first.