Moisture and electrical appliances
On an appliance the question is not what the liquid does to the surface but where the liquid goes. Every manufacturer instruction here is a containment instruction wearing cleaning clothes.
In detail
Everywhere else in this catalogue the risk of a cleaning liquid is chemical: what it does to the surface it touches. On a powered appliance the dominant risk is positional. The liquid may do nothing at all to the plastic it lands on and still destroy the device, because it did not stay there. Read that way, the instructions stop looking like a fussy list and start looking like one rule stated five times. Power off and disconnect first, so anything that gets in is not energised when it arrives. Apply liquid to the cloth and never spray it onto the product, because a spray goes where the nozzle points and also where it does not. Damp, not dripping — a quantity chosen so gravity has nothing to work with. Nothing into openings. And air dry completely before power is restored. The same reasoning is why a toaster manual forbids immersion and steam cleaning outright. Steam is not gentler than water here; it is water that has been made better at getting into things. Note the limit. This is about surfaces of a device being cleaned. Liquid that has already reached the inside is a repair question.
Why
- Microwave door sealing surface is explained by Moisture and electrical appliances
Sprint 27. The cord comes out before any part of it is cleaned.
- Laptop keyboard is explained by Moisture and electrical appliances
- Toaster crumb tray is explained by Moisture and electrical appliances
- Phone charging port is explained by Moisture and electrical appliances
- Straightener plate is explained by Moisture and electrical appliances
Why the damp cloth carries three conditions rather than none.
- Blind headrail is explained by Moisture and electrical appliances
Sources for this page
Sources
Guidance for Keeping Your Dell Technologies Equipment Clean
Dell Technologies · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That the device is turned off and disconnected first, that liquid is never sprayed directly onto the product, that the cloth is damp but not dripping, that moisture must not be allowed to drip into keyboards and display panels because moisture inside damages the product, and that surfaces must air dry with no visible moisture before power is restored. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — The preparation, solution, prohibition and drying instructions. Supports the claim as stated.
Bosch Compact Toaster TAT6A913IN Instruction Manual
Robert Bosch Hausgeräte GmbH · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That the appliance must never be immersed in water or placed in a dishwasher and must not be steam-cleaned, with the cleaning instructions given under a danger-of-electric-shock heading. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — Safety instructions (Danger of electric shock, Risk of burns and fire) and Cleaning and maintenance. Supports the claim as stated.
Last reviewed by a person on .