I've always used alcohol and Q-tips to clean the remote. It's worked for me.
By Kathie622 from Nanticoke, PA
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have an old remote that is made of a rubber type material. It is sticky. Tried using rubbing alcohol on it, but not any better. Any suggestions?
By Robert S.
Alcohol is a great cleaner for sticky things like this. I have used it to clean remotes in the past. If you are using rubbing alcohol, it is most likely 70% alcohol. Get the 91% isopropyl alcohol and try that.
I have found in my area that the supermarkets no longer carry it, they only have rubbing alcohol. So I have to go to a pharmacy store to buy the isopropyl alcohol.
Having a lower alcohol content is also means having less water in the solution. This makes isopropyl alcohol much safer to use on electronic devices such as TV remotes.
How do I fix my TV remote? Some buttons work and some don't. Are there contacts in it that can be cleaned?
By Gene from IN
Chances are that you simply pressed some button that negates the others. Remotes are tricky creatures (too often their instructions are not written in plain English) and often need feeding from Engineer savvy type family or friends.
Cleaning the contacts can sometimes make all the difference, but not always and too often when us amateurs try to clean the contacts other connections become inadvertently compromised.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but sometimes all you can do is go back to the place you purchased said electronic and be courteous and kind in asking them to help you solve the problem. The good ones will help, the bad ones will alert you of brand names and stores you shouldn't patronize again. Good luck, Gene.
I have seen a friend clean my remote, with just water. He opened it up, rinsed it out, dried it off, then had to dry it three time, and then it worked like a charm.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
My TV Remote has some buttons that don't work anymore. I took it apart and cleaned the contacts, but certain buttons barely work, the ones used most often.
