What is this stuff?

[micky]

Someone on Freecycle gave me a nice tv, pretty old, but comelete with owners manual and remote control.

The remote works fine except for the buttons used the most, volume up and down, channel up and down, power, and muting.

I took it apart and expected to find oxidized contact points, but no. Instead those buttons, on the circuit board and on the buttons, are shiny and a little bit sticky. I forced myself to taste it, but I don't taste anything.

3 other buttons have a little of those, but no more than 4% of any button.

What is this, how does it get in there, and [what do I do about it}?

I have DeoxitIT, what I've read is the best, but I guess I've never used it before, and it didn't remove the stickiness. Not only that, these contacts aren't copper-colored, and as the name impplied, it's really to remove and prevent oxidization, so I switched to isopropyl alcohol and that did a good job.

So I know what to do about it, but what is that stuff? Finger oil?

[Rayner Lucas]

[snip]

I don't think I'm capable of feeling enough curiosity to taste a substance I found inside someone else's remote control.

I'd bet on something like a spilled drink of some kind, KFC/pizza grease, or some other such residue from someone's movie-night snacks.

R

[micky]

They weren't that either. Everything was black, but not solid black. Lines in some pattern that filled the cirular area that matched the button.

I didn't like tasting it, expecially since I was sick two nights ago but I figured a little bit couldn't kill me. The guy who gave it to me seems like a very clean guy!

I went back and put that in brackets after I figrued out what to do. ;-0

Before I took it apart, I figured DeoxitIT was what it needed, and I was a slow to change plans.

But as to something spilled on it, I don't see how that could be since the buttons affected were at 4 corners of the remote with lots of buttons in between, unblemished rows and columns in between.

Only the controls people use a lot, plus Mute, were dirty. It must have to do with normal use.

[Andy Burns]

I've always assumed so, combined with whatever gets spilled on remotes, I'd never taste my own remote juice, let alone someone else's, yesh alcohol usually works (vodka if necessary and doing it for a favour when away from home)

[Marilyn Manson]

If the remote is the style with the silicon membrane under the keys, then the problem probably wasn't a spill. It's most likely silicon oil that has leached out of the membrane due to poor manufacturing processes, specifically, not baking the silicon enough to remove all of the oil.

Did you have to take a dump after you fellatiated your who-the-hell-knows- where-this-thing-has-been remote?

"SWALLOWED

- Silicone fluids do not have a high acute toxicity. They may have a laxative effect and produce central nervous system depression."

[Jim Joyce]

If a black light is available, I'd take a look with that. Talking to hotel housekeepers, I hear that the TV remote is the #1 'dirty' surface in a hotel room, IYKWIM.

[Tekkie©]

On Sun, 30 May 2021 05:26:36 -0700 (PDT), Marilyn Manson posted for all of us to digest...

You missed the additional item bezoar! That's a new one for me...

SWALLOWED! Silicone fluids do not have a high acute toxicity. They may have a laxative effect and produce central nervous system depression. High molecular weight material; on single acute exposure would be expected to pass through gastrointestinal tract with little change /absorption. Occasionally accumulation of the solid material within the alimentary tract may result in formation of a bezoar (concretion), producing discomfort.

[Marilyn Manson]

I didn't miss it, I just didn't copy it. Had I copied it, I would have posted it as

2 separate bullet items, as was done in the MSDS sheet.

My assumption was that Micky only fellatiated one remote, so may have swallowed a tiny bit, thus no "accumulation" as mentioned in the comment related to molecular weight.

[Tekkie©]

On Tue, 1 Jun 2021 13:48:21 -0700 (PDT), Marilyn Manson posted for all of us to digest...

I wasn't criticizing you. I am easily amused at things like this so I like to post them.

[Rheilly Phoull]

The technical name is "Grot" also not recommended for consumption.