Testing the phone and any necessary repairs must be performed prior to cleaning any phone.
Over 90% of the electronic problems that occur with these phones will show up with these quick tests.
Handsets may be tested as a batch by using a known good phone and handset. Lifting the handset, blow into the mouthpiece and the sound should be heard in the earpiece. The entire batch of handsets may then be sequentially plugged onto the handset cord and tested.
Phones that have any defects that require repair should be identified and set aside for a separate repair operation.
After testing, the RJ jacks must all be inspected and adjusted if necessary. RJ JACKS THAT HAVE CAPTIVE WIRE CONTACTS ARE NOT ADJUSTABLE AND MUST NOT BE ADJUSTED. After adjustment, the wires of RJ jack must have cleaner/deox applied with a Qtip. Use a twirling action with the fingers holding the Qtip to avoid catching the cotton ball on the ends of the wire contacts in the RJ jack.
Deoxing and adjusting of the RJ contacts will cure and prevent most of the other problems that occur with these phones.
Cleaning handsets consists of brushing the gradue out of the ear and mouthpiece slots and removing the dirt sludge out of the small groove around the perimeter of the entire handset and finally an overall clean and sanitizing.
Cleaning the gradue out of the ear and mouthpiece slots requires a stiff bristle hand brush worked from both sides of the handset to completely clean the slots.
To clean the small groove it is sometimes necessary to use a small jeweler’s screwdriver to remove the sludge.
The overall cleaning is done with “Computer Bath Power Cleaner” and must include cleaning the logo and the wall hanger groove.
Remove the clear plastic lens faceplate cover before cleaning the phone base. This clear lens is cleaned separately.
Sometimes the phones and faceplate lens will have stickers or Scotch tape on them and these must be removed before final cleaning. Because the plastic is soft and easily scratched, using sharp instruments to help remove stickers and tape must be done VERY CAREFULLY. Scotch tape is difficult to remove and sometimes CAREFUL use of a knife will allow a corner to be picked up and then the tape can be peeled off. After mechanically removing labels and tape, solvent is used to remove the remaining glue. Two types of solvents are used, denatured alcohol and mineral spirits. Sometimes the glue residue needs to be soaked for a while before it can be removed.
Prior to using any liquid cleaner, the phone must be dusted completely with a brush and/or air supply, otherwise the loose dust and debris will turn to harder to remove goop when sprayed with liquid cleaner.
All the nooks and crannies of the phone base must be cleaned including the bottom of the phone but the manufacturers label on the bottom should be avoided because the cleaner dissolves the label ink and smears. Particular attention should be directed to the cleaning of all of the push buttons and the grooves over the speaker.