Furby Battery Corrosion Tutorial
Maybe you’ve recently found an abandoned furby friend at the thrift store, bought one online, or pulled one out of the attic, but found that the batteries have corroded and your contact plates and springs are all funky. Not to worry! I’ve got a tutorial on how to safely clean up this mess, and hopefully revive your friend.
To start off, you’re gonna need a few supplies.
A cotton swab or old toothbrush meant for housecleaning
I’m going to use my most recent thrift Gorilla furby as an example. Below is what his compartment looks like now. It’s covered in white battery acid and green tarnish. Yuck!
First you’re gonna want to find a small cup or container to mix the solution in. I used a liquid medicine measure cup.
Fill it halfway with baking soda and add enough water to turn it into a thick paste. Try not to add too much water that it’s runny. The less liquid inside the machine, the better.
Here’s what should be the result. Next step is to scrub it onto the plates and in the crevices of the compartment. This will neutralize the acid. Careful not to touch the acid because it might irritate your skin, but nothing too serious. I suggest holding the furby with the head up or at a slight angle so that the majority of any liquid drips out into the sink and not back into the machine.
This is the compartment with the backing soda. I usually scrub the areas for about five minutes, especially plates or springs that are specifically corroded or tarnished.
Pour a small bit of white vinegar into a separate cup, and with a new cotton swab (rinse off the toothbrush well, if that is what you’re using) dip it into the cup and apply a small amount of the vinegar to the plates, and anywhere there is baking soda. It will instantly start fizzing and bubbling, and this is normal. Make sure you’re still holding the furby upright so that the vinegar will drip out and not into the machine.
Scrub around where the soda is and try to get as much out as possible with the vinegar.
When most of the baking soda has been removed, use a new cotton swab (or wash the toothbrush) and carefully scrub the inside with clean water until all of the baking soda is gone and it doesn’t smell like vinegar. Still only use a bit of water at a time. You don’t want to flood the compartment.
Finally, give the furby a good, quick shake to get out any big water droplets. Now leave it sitting upright and open to dry. For faster drying, I suggest sitting it with the compartment open in front of a fan.
Good way to know if you got all of the baking soda out is to let it dry then inspect the compartment. If there’s dried white crust then you’ll have to go back in with the water and toothbrush or a fresh cotton swab and wash it again. I tend to have to do this like three times while its drying so just be patient and keep an eye out.
Make sure it’s completely dry before putting in fresh batteries.
There you go friends. Your furby should be nice and clean and hopefully working better now. If it’s a used furby and this still doesn’t help it turn on, you might have to take it apart and kickstart it manually.
But as far as cleaning corrosion, thats it. Good luck!
