I've come to the conclusion that radios advertised as 'needing a good clean' are actually full of mouse poop with the speaker cone completely gone, an incredible amount of detritus inside and have a chassis that has an astounding amount of rust from mouse urine. They also stink! I've recently bought two radios that fit this description and have sealed them in plastic bags for now until until I decide what to do with them. One option involves a bio-hazard suit!

I have a 1959 organ with a wooden case which had been stored in a barn for many years. Although it arrived reasonably clean and no speaker damage, there was a whiff of mice about it that had the cat definitely interested. With too much else in the queue I left it in the garage for more than 6 months over the hot months following a wipe over with disinfectant.

When I finally got around to working on it neither I nor the cat could detect mouse smell.

So, on that basis I would suggest starting with a disinfecting wash and a good long sunny airing rather than bagging them.

You could leave them out in direct sunlight (assuming you live in the outback), which should help kill the mildew smell. And they'd air out. The neighbourhood cats may be intrigued by the mouse smells...

Having spent the best part of 25 years crawling through roof spaces and sub floor areas, I can attest to the power and persistence of wee and poo from our wildlife. The poo stinks and the wee from many of our animals is highly corrosive and can eat through nickel and zinc plating faster than silk worms can eat mulberry leaves.

Exposing to sunlight can kill the germs but brute force is needed to get rid of the substances - anything from a toothbrush and Ajax right up to using a jetblaster to get rid of stuff that elbow grease won't.

I agree that effort is required to deal with the collateral damage, but I would precede that with a good airing, as suggested, to make the job less unpleasant.

On a tangent to this, I well recall seeing radio amateur mates cleaning grotty old cab radios prior to conversion to 2 metres by hitting the chassis with degreaser and the garden hose then hanging them on hooks from the Hills hoist.

I sometimes use the scorched earth policy on a radio chassis and even computer motherboards. In the case of the former, it is how GTC describes. I do this when a chassis is really grubby and before replacing the condensers and I use piping hot water and dishwashing liquid, to wit, Blast - which is a fairly ballsy product. Providing one makes sure all the water has evaporated before going ahead with condenser replacement and other fault-fixes, such treatment won't do any damage.

Before going ahead with something like this, cut off the old power cord and remove the valves and valve shields. Also take off the dial glass and the felt panel behind it, these bits and pieces won't survive scorched earth.

With a chassis inside a cabinet with a back panel or any other radio that's been well looked after, I wouldn't bother with this - it's not worth it.

Something that will remove sticky Mouse wee is Pool Soda ash solution (Sodium Carbonate) perhaps with a bit of dishwashing liquid as a wetter.

Do not get in on Bakelite cabinets, nor leave it on Bakelite switches for any longer than is absolutely necessary.

Foaming Aluminium wheel cleaner is also good for getting the grot out of tuning gangs. If you can control where it goes.

Marc

I've had great success running tuning capacitors through the dishwasher when my wife isn't home, they come up like new. It flashed through my mind to run the chassis through. Apart from the IF transformers probably not liking this, I'd then have to scrap the dishwasher.

I did consider a good airing - at the local tip! Unfortunately both a moderately uncommon radios that don't come up often, an AWA 430MA and an AWA 540MA, so I'll have to hang on to them.

The power transformers, chokes, and IF formers wouldn't be a fan of it, Water would be difficult to dry properly from cloth covered wire or windings, and then wouldn't help with corrosion.
I have a chassis that was submerged in a flood, and covered in sediment. All transformers are potted and being TRF, it has no IF formers, but I still suspect I'll be stuck with a dud field coil speaker.

The object is to not get what is not supposed be wet. I have tested Power transformers that have been in flood & they can be dried in a low temp domestic fan forced oven.

Methylated spirits is known to assist in getting water to evaporate, but it attacks Nitrocellulose and some lacquer and is therefore not to be put in contact with windings and wooden cabinets.

Marc