Hi I'm no expert but there's a very good product on the market for just this job. I risk introducing a commercial note because the question of not damaging valuable negatives, slides, photos, etc. is so important. I'd most certainly not use a cotton swab of any sort on my slides and would be reluctant to use alcohol because of it's inherent drying properties. There's a product out for this very task called PEC-PAD wiping pads, claimed to be lint free and 99.9999% pure and so soft that it's virtually impossible to damage one's slides. This is not an endorsement, simply informational. Readers will need to go from here but I do hope it helps. You can read about them at: http://www.picturepocket.com/pages/aboutco.htm I have NO personal interest in this California company. In point of fact, I live in Canada. Ron At 10:02 AM 4/7/03 +0800, you wrote: >Thanks Evelyn, > >but what's a Q-tip? My guess is a cotton bud - but wouldn't that possibly >leave bits? > >Cathy > >At 21:52 6/04/2003 -0400, you wrote: > > >My brother, who was quite a good amateur photographer, told me to use some > >rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip and gently touch the slide with it to remove > >mildew. I suppose the same would work for the dust. Or how about one of > >those cans of air? > >Evelyn > >----- Original Message ----- > >From: "Cathy Pinner" <[email protected]> > >To: <[email protected]> > >Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2003 7:09 PM > >Subject: [SP] cleaning slides > > > Hi everyone, > > > > > > Any advice on cleaning slides? My father took lots of slides but never > > > thought about dust. Scanning them shows the dust up really well. How > can I > > > remove it without damaging the surface of the slide? > > > > > > Cheers, > > > Cathy