On Wednesday night I met with Tom Chan and helped him sort through some of Mikael's camera equipment. When I left he sent me off with two camera flashes that wouldn't power on - a creative little challenge.

When I got home I took a look at them and saw that the batteries had leaked and corroded the battery terminals. The terminals were caked with white and blue crystals to the point where the batteries couldn't get a decent connection.

I looked up how to clean the terminals and found a few opinions. Generally people suggested one of the following;

• Wipe the terminals with a pencil eraser
• Wash terminals with a mixture of baking soda and water
• Wash terminals with a mixture of vinegar and water

So there is one non-chemical method, and two contradictory chemical based methods. I started with the least invasive method which was to use an eraser.

I scrubbed away at the terminals with a pencil eraser for a while but the corrosion wasn't being removed. I could have tried a more abrasive eraser; however, I didn't have one available. Time to move to the chemicals.

Now it is important to note again that two chemical mixtures mentioned are contradictory. Using baking soda assumes the corrosion is acidic, and using vinegar assumes the corrosion is basic. Only one of these two options will actually work.

Considering that batteries are typically alkaline (basic) using vinegar (an acid) was my course of action. I mixed equal parts of vinegar and water together and brushed the mixture onto the contacts with a cotton swab. The contacts began bubbling as the corrosion was neutralized by the acid.

I cleaned the contacts with some water and low and behold, the flash powered up and worked just fine. So if you ever have leaky batteries in an electronic device, I recommend using vinegar to clean up the mess.