Cleaning

Quickly and Effectively Cleaning Patchbay and Patch Panels' Plugs & Jacks

While using chemical cleansing agents or burnishing tools on the patch cord plugs or jack field itself is not recommended, periodic service to the patch cords and the exercising of the jacks should lead to many years of faithful service from your patch bays. 

These instructions pertain to typical nickel-plated audio cords and video cords with nickel sleeves and gold-plated center contacts:

1. The patch cord ends should be cleaned with denatured alcohol (electronic grade 99.97%, not rubbing alcohol) and a soft, clean, lint-free cloth. When cleaning the gold-plated center pin on video patch cord plugs, use a small electronic grade foam swab only. 

2. Using the cleaned patch cord, exercise the patchbay jacks by inserting and removing the plug as many as 10 times.  The friction from this procedure helps to remove any built-up contaminants on the mating surfaces. 

3. Repeat step #1. 

Note: Slight scuffs in the patch cord plug’s outer plating are considered normal as the cords themselves are designed to wear-out long before the patchbay jack’s serviceable life is fully realized.

For a further in depth ultra sonic cleaning tutorial,  please click here and watch our video.