Hello,
I was wondering if you guys had tips on cleaning off dirty curly cords. I have a white cord that is pretty dirty and I want to know how you clean them. A more efficient way than just cleaning them with a tooth brush.
Do you but them in a cup of goo gone or what?
Thanks,
Ben
The worst cord I've done was off of a hardwired green 2554. I stuck it in a glass pickle jar and then filled it up with denatured alcohol. After sitting overnight all the guck wiped right off. Don't let is sit longer than a day or so though, the alcohol WILL make the vinyl brittle if it's in there for too long.
---Eric
Quote from: ESalter on August 21, 2013, 10:33:08 PM
The worst cord I've done was off of a hardwired green 2554. I stuck it in a glass pickle jar and then filled it up with denatured alcohol. After sitting overnight all the guck wiped right off. Don't let is sit longer than a day or so though, the alcohol WILL make the vinyl brittle if it's in there for too long.
---Eric
Okay, I will have to try that, not sure what dentured alcohol is though.
Ben
It's similar to rubbing alcohol. It comes in metal cans like paint thinner and such, and you can find in the same area in stores.
Quote from: ESalter on August 21, 2013, 11:27:25 PM
It's similar to rubbing alcohol. It comes in metal cans like paint thinner and such, and you can find in the same area in stores.
Oh, okay, thanks!
Ben
I pour some denatured alcohol on a rag and wipe them down. Have to rewet the rag a couple times but they look great
Ben, just keep the denatured alcohol away from your soft plastic. It will melt it. I've used it many times as the others have suggested for cleaning other plastics (and cords) and it works great. Handy to have around.
Quote from: WesternElectricBen on August 21, 2013, 10:05:00 PM
Hello,
I was wondering if you guys had tips on cleaning off dirty curly cords. I have a white cord that is pretty dirty and I want to know how you clean them. A more efficient way than just cleaning them with a tooth brush.
Do you but them in a cup of goo gone or what?
Thanks,
Ben
I soak the cords in an oxyclean solution then squeegee them off with paper towel. It seems to remove everything you need removed. Of course, this is easiest if you remove the cord from the phone, but I have done then "in situ" by placing the container in a sink, and draping the cord from the phone, over the edge of the sink, then into the oxyclean...
Always worked well for me... In earlier days, I would have discarded these cords.
Below is an example of two cprds done with Oxyclean. They were soaked in a hot water/Oxyclean solution for a few hours, then hung up to dry. Before treatment, both were gray, dull, and sticky, and looked terrible. When rubbed with fingers, the fingers would come up grungy. Now look at them! The Oxyclean I use is a no-name version that comes as a powder in a plastic jar.
A great way to Streeeeeetch that cord supply!
Dave
Quote from: Dennis Markham on August 22, 2013, 06:32:33 AM
Ben, just keep the denatured alcohol away from your soft plastic. It will melt it. I've used it many times as the others have suggested for cleaning other plastics (and cords) and it works great. Handy to have around.
Dennis thank you for telling me that, should I keep it away from the cords that come on soft plastic phones?
Ben
Quote from: DavePEI on August 22, 2013, 07:48:15 AM
Quote from: WesternElectricBen on August 21, 2013, 10:05:00 PM
Hello,
I was wondering if you guys had tips on cleaning off dirty curly cords. I have a white cord that is pretty dirty and I want to know how you clean them. A more efficient way than just cleaning them with a tooth brush.
Do you but them in a cup of goo gone or what?
Thanks,
Ben
I soak the cords in an oxyclean solution then squeegee them off with paper towel. It seems to remove everything you need removed. Of course, this is easiest if you remove the cord from the phone, but I have done then "in situ" by placing the container in a sink, and draping the cord from the phone, over the edge of the sink, then into the oxyclean...
Always worked well for me...
Dave
I should give that a try that sounds effective and easy!
Ben
Mike Sandman sandman.com sells a cord cleaner and other phone cleaners. I bought some but haven't tried it yet.
Jim
The link to the telephone cleaners page :
http://www.sandman.com/cleankit.html
There is a lot of interesting info and homebrew parts on the sandman site. It is worth surfing.
As a side note:
I met Mike Sandman at the 2nd Lyon's Nebraska show. He doesn't typically go to shows, but he wanted to see the underground site. We had a good time talking telephone.
This message thread reminds me when I was an installer many years ago. So please allow me to tell a short anecdote.
I remember Western Electric specifically made a telephone cord cleaner. I believe it was in short/fat can with a black and white label. Maybe someone here has a old photo of one.
The cleaner did not work very well so it was not used on sets that much. But the installers did find a good use of the cleaner; it made and excellent ant/bug spray and left a pleasant odor. I used it to kill ants when they invaded b-boxes.
There was a cord cleaner made by Magnolia Chem Co. There was also a waxy spray on polish called Glaze-It.
Quote from: Russ Kirk on August 22, 2013, 01:33:27 PM
This message thread reminds me when I was an installer many years ago. So please allow me to tell a short anecdote.
I remember Western Electric specifically made a telephone cord cleaner. I believe it was in short/fat can with a black and white label. Maybe someone here has a old photo of one.
The cleaner did not work very well so it was not used on sets that much. But the installers did find a good use of the cleaner; it made and excellent ant/bug spray and left a pleasant odor. I used it to kill ants when they invaded b-boxes.
Haha, it would be interesting to see that!
Ben
I remove the cords completely from the phone and wipe them down with a towel soaked in denatured alchohol. Works like a charm every time.
Quote from: WesternElectricBen on August 22, 2013, 11:56:33 AM
Quote from: Dennis Markham on August 22, 2013, 06:32:33 AM
Ben, just keep the denatured alcohol away from your soft plastic. It will melt it. I've used it many times as the others have suggested for cleaning other plastics (and cords) and it works great. Handy to have around.
Dennis thank you for telling me that, should I keep it away from the cords that come on soft plastic phones?
Ben
No, Ben. Just don't use denatured alcohol on soft plastic. Obviously you want to make sure the cords are dry before you install them (if they're covered with denatured alcohol).
What materiel are these curly cords made of?
The phones I have have cords made of vinyl (PVC). I just put them in warm water with washing up liquid.
Then I pull and strech them gently(!) through a sponge a few times to clean between the curls thoroughly.
Sometimes these cords get a bit sticky with age. After cleaning I spray those with a little wax (available in shoe stores).
I know this is an older thread, but I thought that I would add this. I cleaned up a 1981 Northern Telecom 440A Dawn phone that came in the lot that I purchased earlier this month. The coiled cord was very dirty and stained. I did go though some of the posts on restoring the coiled cords and thought I would try something different. I washed the cord in dish soap and hot water. I used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser on the cord as well and it came up fairly clean. There were still some stains on it. So I got out a deep frying pan filled it with water and some Clorox bleach, brought it to a boil and took it off the heat. Put the cord in it and let it soak for 15 minutes. I had the sink filled with cold water. After soaking the cord, I dropped it into the cold water for a few minutes. Then I laid it on an old towel to dry. Looks a lot better now.
Looks really good, Doug.
Ben