A pink pearl eraser has been our go to tool for cleaning electronics since we were old enough to play with cartridge based gaming systems. They're a great way to spiffy things up without the worry of getting things wet, applying chemicals or sending your items to the electronic graveyard!
To start, we want to emphasize that these tricks only work if you start with a clean eraser. No need to go buy one, simply take whatever one you have floating around in your office drawer and rub it on the carpet (or a pair of denim jeans) to make it look like new!
1. Memory Cards: Although they don't seem like something that gets dirty, they get handles quite a bit coming in and out of our cameras, phones and portable electronics. Simply flip them over and use the eraser to buff the metallic pieces on the back.
2. Cartridge Games: Yes, we still have an old school Sega at our house and yes, we totally still play it (because Lion King and Aladin are where it's at!). Use the same technique above and make sure to blow out any residual eraser lint/shavings from the process.
3. Computer Scuffs & Grime: Instead of giving your laptop a bath, try busting out an eraser first. Simply erasing the dirt works out brilliantly in most situations — though you're on your own for things like Sharpie marker. The same also works for keyboard keys and the back of your mouse!
4. Cell Phone Keys: Although we'd like to think our fingers are always clean when dialing our peeps, there's a good chance we're on the go or multitasking while making the call. Once a week we clean our phone's buttons with a good clean eraser. Our phone sees its share of dirt and grime and we're always thankful we take the time to clean it out.
5. Remote Control Buttons: Even though in a perfect world we all eat at the dinner table and don't park it on the couch so we can munch on snacks while watching The Big Bang theory — that isn't always the case. If your remote suffers from a case of Cheeto film, get in the tiny nooks and crannies with the eraser on a pencil, or the tip of a new rectangular handheld one.
What do you use an eraser for around the house (uh, besides erasing)? Do you have another clever use to add to the list? Let us know below!
(Image: Pink Pearl print from Jordan Crane, available from Redink for $40)
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I clean my white macbook with a white eraser. Its easily the best thing for cleaning it. It creates lots of clean up, though, which is a pain.
I have been using pink and white eraser's to remove carbon and other junk from connectors for over 20 years. They ork Great.
My father had a freeze dryer that would always stop working due to connectors getting dirty. It would cost his company $250 a shot to fix and they were doing it monthly. I came in and cleaned them for $50 a month and they were very happy and I made $50 a month for 10 minutes work. not bad for a 14 year old...
You have to be real careful with this handy "tip".... the tiny rubbings from the pink eraser are almost impossible to see and if they get in your connections (like in a PCI slot) they will cause intermittent failures of your devices for years to come.
If you're worried about the rubbings (which we've never really had issue with) a can of compressed air should take care of things.
I use the eraser to clean my cat footsteps from the walls. she just loves to climb...
Cleaning white macbook with an eraser? yes, i used to do that, but not anymore, since i discovered the mr. clean magic eraser (or similar). less work, less cleanup, no white streaks.
Sega Genesis *is* where it's at!!!
I've found that over time the metal on the cartridges corrode, and eventually stop working, but 9/10 can be brought back to good working order with a little bit of ammonia, applied with a Q-Tip, then wiped off with a dry Q-Tip. Just be sure to not use the game for an hour or two, or you could potentially short out the Genesis.
And here I thought erasers were already obsolete :D
I'm from Malaysia and I've never seen this pink pearl eraser before in my life!
I use it kind of like a magic eraser on the walls, especially when I mark them up in pencil to hang a picture. I have a million of 'em -I'm a teacher.