Cleaning EL/LED Clothing

[slvrnmph]

It's beena few years now that I've been planning on making light up clothes for myself, LED, EL, fiberoptics. But I keep wondering, how do you clean this stuff after the burn? Make it so all the lighting is removable? Accept that it will never really get cleaned? I've searched and I can't seem to find any info on this.

[some seeing eye]

Yes & yes. If there was a good solution, day to day clothing would have electronics in it. You can try using an air compressor nozzle to blow off some dust.

[junglesmacks]

It depends on the components themselves. Just basic LED panels with nothing but LED and PCB can be washed and immersed just fine. More often than not what will be compromised is your attaching method. A jacket can be gently dry cleaned if the sequencing board is removed.

A good compromise is to try and use garments that are made of non-porous materials. This is one reason why I like to use metallic fireman's crash pants as a base.. all I have to do after is just wipe them off.

[maladroit]

Just beware that if you use hot glue for everything (as I do) the rule of hot glue is that it is permanent on things you don't want it on, and eventually falls off things you never want asunder.

In any case, junglesmacks is right about washing circuit boards. I would gently hand-wash them in a sink, make sure all the soap and now-corrosive playa dust is rinsed out completely, and dry them as quickly as possible without using a tumble dryer. If there's even the slightest possibility of dampness or trapped water in the circuits, don't apply power.

Circuit boards are actually washed with soap and water as part of the manufacturing process.

[danibel]

I made sewed EL wire onto Tux tails for my boyfriend and I last year. He was quick to shake, beat, and blast the dust off of his and they look pretty good. Mine on the other hand, were shoved in the coat cover and are still pretty dusty. I don't care though. They were made to be worn on the playa and I hope my offering to the dust goddess keeps me in good favor. I only EL wire stuff that I don't care too much about.

[junglesmacks]

When we did the girl's jacket in EL wire a few years ago, we used just a really wide whip stitch with the fishing line as to cover distance quickly. Worked great and I didn't feel so bad cutting it all off to wash it.

[darcitananda]

It's kind of low tech, but I just vacuum my yeti LED coat when I get home. Yes it still feels a little coarse and the fur will probably mat up over time, but it doesn't get Playa dust on everything in the closet. I even wear it out in Defaultia from time to time.