Get the batteries out and wipe the electronics with a soft towel soaked with a little vinegar to neutralize the corrosion. Then a damp towel with just water to get the vinegar up. Let it fully dry before putting in new batteries. This happens to batteries that have sat unused for a long time installed. It can also happen if at the end of charge, you pull the batteries out, and put them back in to squeeze a little more use out of the batteries. Do it too many times and there is a leak risk. Cheaper batteries do it more often but the top brands will occasionally leak as well.
this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2026
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Vinegar here really does the trick in neutralizing the acid. do not skip it!
Vinegar (Acetic Acid) does not neutralise any acids at all.
It does however, neutralise the caustic, alkaline contents of a non-rechargeable alkaline cell (potassium hydroxide).
Acid is just upside-down base
Neutralise the corrosion with a conjugate pair acids/base buffer.
Neutralise was a confusing term to pick, but they're not wrong.
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I found an old plush that had a voicebox in it... I've not touched it in 25+ years but wanted to show it to my daughter, so I pulled out the battery box, expecting the worse, and there was no corrosion at all. I pulled out the generic brand batteries and put in new batteries and it started speaking.
I was amazed.
In the future, someone will have this same story but the ending will be the toy telling you to connect to WiFi and update your subscription information...
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OP must be pretty young π, we old fucks have seen this happen 100 times
I'm only 21 lol
Oh you sweet summer child
I prob have batteries doing that exact thing that are older than op (tho this can happen in a few years easily, especially if in a circuit).
Old batteries get spicy.
Yes? It was extremely common as a child because all our toys were battery powered (but not included)
Many times. When buying old battery-powered electronics, there's like a 50% chance that there's a leaked battery in there. Make sure to wash your hands if you touched that.
Yes.
Basically if you leave Alkaline batteries in the device for a long time (years) without using them they will loose all charge and there is a chance of them leaking.
Leakage is significantly more common with the Zinc-Carbon batteries (the tech in use for most batteries in that format before Alkaline) though those leak something that forms blueish crystals.
I once saw old D cells inside the toy train my father had as a kid. They basically looked like they liquefied and then re-solidified in the basic shape of a D cell.
No. I had an OG gameboy and my parents wouldnβt buy more batteries so every remote in the house had its batteries liberated for the glory of super Mario land 2 6 golden coins. They didnβt get the safety and security of rotting in a tv remote. They were fed to the Tetris vampire.
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The forbidden frosted sugar.
It has happened enough times to me being really aware of removing batteries of any device that does not see constant use
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As a millennial: all the time
What I did only experience once, was a leaking alkaline battery while in use
Mouse stopped working. Opened it up, only to be greeted with freshly squeezed battery juice dripping out of the battery
Mouse worked fine with new batteries, so no short in there.
Was even high end Duracell
high end Duracell
This has become an oxymoron in the last few decades.
Bought out by berkshire hathaway in 2016 and they've been absolute garbage since then. I haven't bought them for years, they aren't worth anything.
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This was so incredibly common before rechargeable batteries. Alkaline batteries may have had the best life but the worst death.
Yes, this is definitely worse 'than average' but have seen this before.
DO NOT TOUCH WITH BARE HANDS, EXTREMELY TOXIC.
This was very common pre 2010s.
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Do not leave batteries inside things your not gonna be using for a long time. And if you don't want this to happen buy NiMH batteries
This happens when alkaline batteried are completely empty.
False. Alkaline batteries are never completely empty. They are just too low to be used for what they are in. Move them to another device and they again.
The heat death of the universe will be delayed by a bag of AAβs in a landfill
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Ah, the forbidden salt. Yes, I remember it fondly from when I was but a young boy, playing the GameBoy Color.
No, thankfully, I'm not a battery. But I've seen it plenty.
So often that I have banned alkalines from the house, everything gets NiMH rechargeables.
Thats my, favorite sweet&sour candy
the fate of old batteries. if you're storing electronics for a long time, take the batteries out.
Yes that's what they're called alkaleaks.
I lost my favorite mouse this way :(
Make sure to take ya batteries out if you're putting electronics in long storage!
You know, at first glance these looked like 2 dollar bills rolled up to do coke with and these were after a couple of hours of use and the coke was getting gummed up around the snorting side. My first thought was "Yeah, I'm familiar with that."
"who is hungry, thinks of bread"
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Sure, dust out with a paintbrush...wipe down with some alcohol. If the contacts are corroded either file or use a dot of lemon juice and a toothbrush to remove and then either spray with contact cleaner or wipe again with alcohol.
Several times in my own electronics and many times in secondhand items. The potassium hydroxide electrolyte never quite evaporates and seeps under the crevices, requiring a full disassembly to prevent further corrosion.
Worst offenders are the pesky little alkaline button cells. Every alkaline cell inevitably evolves hydrogen gas as the electrochemical reaction proceeds and in those tiny canisters, the gas very quickly has nowhere to go but out along with the cell's guts. The secret is to get the silver oxide versions, same voltage, a bit pricier, but far less leakage.
I guess the silver lining to the declining popularity of AA and AAA powered devices is that I can finally afford to use only Ni-MH or primary lithium cells in all of my devices. Those chemistries are mostly immune to leaking.
3 or 4 times at least
I've never seen your remote before, so no.
That's why I put non rechargeable batteries out, before putting them away for long time without usage. This won't happen if you are constantly using the remote and batteries, and it won't happen with rechargeables. Edit: Read the replies to this comment. I was wrong.
It definitely still can happen, especially with Duracells, even while theyβre still in a sealed package in the store.
This wonβt happen if you are constantly using the remote and batteries,
It still can. I have found that the most common cause of batteries going south like this(when being used actively) is when there is a voltage mismatch between the batteries.
Always make sure you use batteries from the same pack when you put them together in a device. That or get a voltmeter out and check to make sure their voltage is the same.
This is less of an issue when the batteries are in parallel, but almost all cases where batteries are combined in electronics, they are putting them in serial.
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