Ruined a laptop trackpad with isopropyl alcohol, not what the guides say

Every tutorial online swears by 91% isopropyl for cleaning sticky trackpads, so I soaked a cotton swab and worked it around the edges of my 2021 ThinkPad while it was off. Left it to dry for 20 minutes, turned it on, and now the cursor jumps around and clicks by itself. Learned the hard way that the alcohol seeped under the plastic membrane and melted some adhesive. Anyone else had this happen, or is there a safe way to actually clean a trackpad without full disassembly?

2 comments

2 Comments

faithf7711h ago

Wait till it dries fully, 20 minutes aint enough for that glue.

wren_thomas1611h ago

Hot glue guns and patience never did mix with me.