Can rubbing alcohol damage your car's interior, and how to use it, safety and what to avoid.
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I would like to ask people who know what they are talking about if they would recommend a method for cleaning plastic and rubber items.
I'm not sure if plastic and rubber will respond the same to alcohol or soaps and detergents.Please note which will have an effect if they are different.I don't think synthetic and real rubber will act the same.Mention the difference if they are different and you know the answer.
I would like to ask "applied" questions here.This seems like the best of all stackexchange.com sites, not only because none of the less theoretical sites deal with this sort of question, but also because it really boil down to a matter of chemical reactions.
Probably not.Aqueous solutions and ionic compounds are resistant to most plastics and rubbers.
Maybe.Alcohol and plastic do not refer to specific compounds, but are generic terms for hundreds of compounds each.There are so many combinations that the number is endless.Leonardo suggests looking in the manual or experimenting in a small part of the product.
If you mean isopropanol, which is the alcohol in many cleaning products, then I can give you some advice based on common plastic types.Both have the same solvent properties that we can generalize.
Some plastic will be damaged by alcohol, but not all.I will list my answers by the "recycling symbol" found on most plastic items.
The dissolution of plasticizers may cause crazing or stiffening due to exposure to Poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET or PETE - PET.
Poly(vinylchloride) is not very effective in isopropanol and may cause crazing or stiffening.
Polystyrene PS is not very resistant to stiffening when exposed to isopropanol.
This stands for "other", but the most common is polycarbonate, which can cause crazing or stiffening when exposed to long periods of exposure.
Most rubbers are resistant to alcohols, but exposure will cause loss of elasticity.
If you can't find good answers, experiment with methods, hopefully you will be able to figure out what it is you are cleaning.
I can tell you that I have a small plastic fridge, which you can see by looking up the model number.The website and manual are made of Polyurethane.According to the manual, I should wash the inside material with a solution of warm water and baking soda.Do not use soaps, detergents, spray cleaners, or the like because it may cause odors.
Maybe about.com has answers, but I prefer the good old owners manual.I used dish soap and cold water from my hose, I am a very lazy person.There was a smell a couple days ago.I think they know what they're talking about.The manual doesn't say anything about Polyurethane.