'99 S70 - Disgusting Climate Control Knobs? Here's the Fix

Post by **E Showell** » 07 Sep 2015, 07:33

While replacing the stock radio surround with a faux woodgrain unit, I couldn't help noticing the knobs on my climate control unit were disgusting. I tried a Magic Eraser and it worked to some extent, but to get them really clean with the Magic Eraser alone would have taken quite a while.

Here's the solution -- literally -- rubbing alcohol and cotton balls will have those knobs looking (and more importantly, feeling) like brand new with just a few minute's effort. It is easiest if you pull the knobs from the unit rather than trying to clean them in place. They pull straight off with pliers, but you should put a paper towel or some kind of padding on the knob so the pliers don't dig in to the knob.

Saturate a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and rub off the grime. Use a dry cotton ball to rub off any residue and dry up the knob. A few minutes worth of effort will be richly rewarded. Replacement knobs are >$20 so it makes sense to clean up your existing ones.

I would not try this on radio switches or door switches.

Note to moderators: This could be posted in the detailing and paint care forum as well, but I figured this forum gets more traffic and it would be more likely to be seen, and thus useful, if posted here.

Post by **j-dawg** » 07 Sep 2015, 09:12

Why not recommended on window switches, keys, etc? Is it the same kind of grody stickiness you're talking about?

Post by **E Showell** » 07 Sep 2015, 09:19

Yes, but alcohol can be either a fixative or solvent and with the rubber coated switches, I believe it will act as a solvent. I haven't tested that theory, but I also don't want to take the chance of ruining my rubber coated switches. Feel free to give it a try and let us know your results if you have some broken, extra switches to experiment on. I won't recommend it on functioning, primary switches, however simply because I think it may take the paint off those switches, or otherwise degrade the rubber coating.

I know when I gave my cruise control stalk a quick alcohol wipe to clean it, the alcohol started to take the painted symbols and lettering off the stalk, so I backed off. I'd be concerned about the same result on radio and window switches.

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 07 Sep 2015, 09:35

FWIW, Tasca shows those knobs at about $12 ea.

Post by **E Showell** » 07 Sep 2015, 10:06

Good find. I hadn't seen them for less than $20+, but why replace when you can clean up the existing ones for not a lot of effort?

Post by **j-dawg** » 07 Sep 2015, 10:36

Just gave it a go on a key. It certainly got cleaner, but there was some flaking of the rubber that accompanied it. My key is beat up enough that I won't notice the difference, but maybe some Simple Green would be a better cleaner.

Didn't think of the paint on the switches, good call.

Post by **RussB** » 07 Sep 2015, 11:06

Just tried it...and it works great! It removes the dirty/sticky skin and leaves the knobs a nice smooth shiny gray as opposed to the sticky yellowish mess they were

Post by **RussB** » 07 Sep 2015, 11:09

j-dawg wrote:Just gave it a go on a key. It certainly got cleaner, but there was some flaking of the rubber that accompanied it. My key is beat up enough that I won't notice the difference, but maybe some Simple Green would be a better cleaner.

Didn't think of the paint on the switches, good call.

I used straight Simple Green & a micro fiber cloth on my keys and window switches with great results. I did dis-assemble the window switches though and cleaned/lubed them while I was in there

Post by **bmdubya1198** » 07 Sep 2015, 15:12

I'll have to try something on the window switches and radio buttons as well as the climate control knobs. They are all nasty in my car.

Post by **E Showell** » 02 Nov 2015, 17:47

Be careful on the rubberized stuff, like the radio buttons. The climate control knobs aren't rubberized, so they behave differently. Alcohol may degrade the rubberized stuff.