I need to clean a circuit board that is filthy dirty 1

[orypecos]

how can I do this safely without damaging the chips with static electricity? Blowing it out will probably not get all the dust and dirt out.
The system has been in storage for years and not powered up.

 

[BadBigBen]

I have successfully used WD-40 to clean gunky - dirty boards before using a toothbrush, or like mentioned before, with a larger brush...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[felixc]

You're right Badbigben, WD40 is very good to dissolve gunk on pc boards. Once the gunk is gone then you use soap to remove the oily residues from the WD40 as they can attack some plastics. I have used it successfully to remove flux stains on many boards.