What should I do if I got Static Guard in my PC?

Question

I was upgrading a component in my computer a few minutes ago, and decided to clean off some of the dust while I had it open. I intended to do this with compressed air, but I accidentally used a can of Static Guard instead. I'm not sure where it came from, but apparently its purpose is to remove static from clothing.

I plan to leave my computer unplugged at least overnight, most likely for about 24 hours, but I don't know if there's anything else I should do, or if the damage is already done and I should replace the most affected components rather than risk the damage spreading to otherwise unaffected ones.

If anyone has specific knowledge regarding Static Guard that would be ideal, but if not then the list of ingredients may lead to some insight. They are: Denatured alcohol, hydrofluorocarbon 152A, isobutane, propane, quaternium-18, isopropyl alcohol, ammonium acetate, and fragrance.

My initial assessment is that Static Guard is mostly alcohol, and thus should evaporate relatively quickly without significant harm. However I also recognize many of the ingredients as flammable, and do not wish to ignite my computer from any residue. If anybody is familiar with those chemicals and their effects on computers, that would likely be useful.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, anti-static sprays are probably conductive due to how they work. But the impact will depend on what you sprayed it on.

If you sprayed it on an exposed circuit board, e.g. the motherboard, that's pretty bad. It could go anywhere from shorting traces and preventing the board from starting, to a minor short that causes audio buzzing or other slight instability.

If you sprayed it recently, you should try to wash it off with high concentration (>90%) isopropyl alcohol. You can probably find a bottle at a local hardware (building supplies) or electronics store. A soft rag and medium pressure shouldn't cause any damage but try not to apply much lateral force to any protuding parts (especially capacitors).

If you want something slightly more aggressive, ethanol (denatured alcohol, methylated spirits) might be worth trying, since the original product mostly used this. It might even be easier to get - some supermarkets will carry it. Just make sure to check the ingredients - ethanol, methanol, isopropanol and water are fine, but nothing else.

Even after it's dried, trying to wash it with alcohol is probably worth a try.

If you sprayed it on another component, then it would depend on which component it ended up on. If it got on the fan only, you're probably fine. If it got on the heatsink, you might experience reduced cooling as there is now a slight thermally insulating film, but it's probably not significant - and heatsinks are sturdy enough to aggressively clean (and relatively cheap to replace). On the outer casing of a HDD or SSD, nothing would happen.