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How to Clean a Nintendo SNES

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or SNES, is an all-time favorite video game system that still remains popular today. The SNES game cartridges, as well as the console and controllers, can become dirty from oil on your fingers or hands, chip crumbs, soda spills or other grime. When the cartridges become dirty, they will be less likely to play because the contacts of the cartridge cannot relay data to the console. Sticky controllers are hard to use because the buttons will stick into the controllers. You can clean your SNES console and enjoy playing your games without problems.

Things You'll Need

Glass cleaner
Razor blade
Magic eraser
Cotton swabs
Isopropyl rubbing alcohol
Phillips head screwdriver
Toothpick

Instructions

- 1
  Spray glass cleaner onto any stickers on your SNES cartridge and allow it to soak into the stickers. Use a razor blade to scrape the stickers off by starting from the edge of the sticker and scraping the sticker off the cartridge.
- 2
  Wet a magic eraser and scrub any marks or writing off your SNES cartridge.
- 3
  Wet a cotton swab with isopropyl alcohol and rub the cotton swab on both sides of the contacts in the SNES cartridge.
- 4
  Take the SNES controller apart by using a Phillips head screwdriver to loosen the screws on the back of the controller. Wet a cotton swab slightly so there is no excess alcohol that can drop into the open controller or circuitry board and ruin the SNES controller. Wipe around the inside edges of the controller and take the circuit board out of the controller. Clean around the buttons and the spaces they fit. Use a toothpick to get tough grime out of the edges in the controller. Be careful not to drip alcohol into the controller and do not touch the circuit board with the alcohol. Allow the controller to dry and reassemble.

Video Game Consoles