Coffee spilled into buttons on HVAC. Ughh...

I

imported_SHICKS

New member
My Fiance's Sister spilled coffee all over "our" BMW last weekend. I guess they really freaked out, kind of like when Spicoli crashed the Z-28 in fast times, "He's gonna kill us!":bat



Anyway they cleaned most of it up, but some of the coffee made it's way into the bottons of the HVAC system and they are so sticky they will not work or slide back and forth.



Any suggestion on how to clean them up without damaging the HVAC panel? It's a verticle surface.



Photo of HVAC





Thanks,

Steve
 
K1 CERB said:
Try WD40, or even a standard dash cleaner.



The WD40 is a general purpose cleaner http://www.wd40jobsite.com/index.cfm



Alternativly your standard Dash Cleaner & a Cocktail stick



:sosad Next time make sure she sits in the back with no sweeties or drinks



K1 CERB
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Doesn't WD-40 have petroleum in it? I thought it was a lubricant for machinery. Much like a teflon spray, but made with more oil based products.



Until you clarify this, I would wait to use it.
 
yea, I love wd-40 for lots of things but I am not sure about for this!



I have some "endust for electronics" so that is where I would start



good luck.
 
Thanks for the replies. Also the carpet smells really bad too. I am going to clean it with woolite mix today, hopefully the smell comes out. Any other Ideas for the smell of stale coffee?



Steve
 
I would try a steamer if it happened to me. wrap the end of it with a MF towel and that should do the trick. If not you can prespray the area with an APC and the steamer will emlusify sp? the coffee and the MF towel will soak it up.
 
A steamer is NOT the solution for removing coffee stain the heat will make the stain permanent USE COLD takes longer but you will be happy with result. Go to your local janitoral store and ask for a coffee stain remover and ENZYME solution for the bacteria and smell, What you have is spoil milk in the carpet and possible behind the pad. GOOD LUCK
 
newagain said:
Go to radio shack they have cleaners that are SAFE for electronics like that just explain the problem. GOOD LUCK
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I went to radio shack last night. They did have a cleaner with a brush attachment, but first off it was $10 and second, I am not so sure spraying something into the HVAC button is such a good idea. This is an auto climate control system and like everything in this car, if I look at it wrong it stops working.



Steve
 
There are few cleaners safe for electronics. Distilled water should thereotically be safe, but I wouldn't risk it with the purities you get over the counter. IPA should be a much safer bet. Don't pour it in there, but just try to wipe it up as well as possible. Dry as much as possible before turning things on.



Of course, make sure IPA is safe for your surfaces first before trying it.
 
paul34 said:
There are few cleaners safe for electronics. Distilled water should thereotically be safe, but I wouldn't risk it with the purities you get over the counter. IPA should be a much safer bet. Don't pour it in there, but just try to wipe it up as well as possible. Dry as much as possible before turning things on.



Of course, make sure IPA is safe for your surfaces first before trying it.
Click to expand...



Yea, I was thinkig IPA, I'll give it a try



Thanks

Steve
 
The woolite mix (10:1) will take care of most of the stain. Soak it and let it sit. Use a wet, not dripping, MF to clean up the stain. You may have to do this more than once. I used this process to clean up a tan interior on a new 740 last week. No smell and no stain.
 
justin30513 said:
The woolite mix (10:1) will take care of most of the stain. Soak it and let it sit. Use a wet, not dripping, MF to clean up the stain. You may have to do this more than once. I used this process to clean up a tan interior on a new 740 last week. No smell and no stain.
Click to expand...



Yea, I used a woolite mix, so far the smell is gone, but I also have zaino z-10 on the seats, it could cover the smell of a dead body in the trunk.



Steve
 
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