Is it Safe to Use Mr. Clean Eraser Pads to Clean Tracks?

Paul,

Yes, cleaning the track with alcohol with the power off and then waiting a while to allow evaporation to take place is the correct way to do it. I either use a dry rag or on a rare occasion a small amount of rubbing alcohol to clean my track. That's all that is needed.

As far as a non-flammable cleaning fluid to clean track, I'm not really sure. I would imagine that the original Lionel track cleaning fluid was similar to Windex. But those types of products are more water based so you have to use it sparingly and dry the surface well to prevent rusting. 

NJCJOE posted:

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/eraser.asp

http://www.home-ec101.com/yes-...agic-eraser-is-safe/

 

Kinda' removes the doubt for me, obviously there are chemicals that can affect track, quite possibly in a negative way.  A couple of quotes from the above references.

One ingredient in Magic Eraser (formaldehyde-melamine-sodium bisulfite copolymer) contains the word "formaldehyde" in its chemical name. However, this ingredient is not formaldehyde and poses no health or safety risks. (Think of this name like "sodium chloride", which is table salt. Sodium by itself can be dangerous, but sodium chloride - salt - is safe.)

I don't know what the actual effects of formaldehyde-melamine-sodium bisulfite copolymer are on the track, but it's likely that it's not good.

The crux of the matter is no, the Magic Eraser does not contain harmful chemicals. It is made of melamine. The PH factor of the pads is between 8 and 10, which is alkaline enough to cause “base chemical burns”, but that is pretty mild. The Urban Legend page says “for example, Milk of Magnesia has a pH of 10, and soapy water has a pH of 12”.

Truthfully, certainly for steel track, anything that has a PH that significantly deviates from 7 would give me pause as far as using it for cleaning.  The myth that it can't leave a residue seems to be dispelled.

While the PH of stuff like Isopropyl Alcohol is not neutral, it evaporate so quickly as to have minimal effect, and it leaves no residue.

Acetone is a very good solvent.  MEK, Toluene, Naptha, Xylene, Carbon Tetrachloride, and Benzene are very good solvents as well.  They will clean/dissolve the petrochemical oils and greases very quickly off of your layout and dissolve most plastics as well.  I would avoid them if at all possible.  Most are flammable and have a higher octane than gasoline.

I've never thought about turning the power on my track to do a cleaning.  I just never saw a reason for that.  I've used rubbing alcohol on an old wash cloth for many years.  I've never had a problem with fires, but I don't smoke and don't use a match for lighting to see what I am cleaning.

I have actually had a house fire many years ago that damaged the home we had beck then. Today, I have both burglar and fire alarms on my entire house including the train room. I also have fire extinguishers scattered throughout the house, also, including the train room. The alarms are professionally installed and monitored. When I clean the track, the power to the entire layout is off (period). I store the acetone in it's original container. I do not smoke at all and never have. Believe me guys, I take fire very seriously and you should too.  

I also use a Marx 666 for cleaning.  After I clean the track wit a rag, run the 666 down it.  It has a center rail slider.  If you see sparks at the slider, track is not clean.

Have used 99% Isopropyl Alcohol to clean tracks, and a lot of other train stuff (brush wells, etc.)  for 30 years without a problem.

food for thought

When you have to show for the public 6 days a week , 6 hours or more a day you do what works and costs the least.

we get the denatured alcohol in 5 gallon cans which cuts the price in almost half. and we buy large sheets of the sham wow type pads.

I haven't read all the responses yet, but regarding the use of rubbing alcohol...I wouldn't! Some rubbing alcohol contains added ingredients like lanolin to soften and smooth the places you're rubbing. Sure as heck don't want THAT on your tracks. I use plain old isopropyl alcohol, cheap and plentiful just about everywhere!