Guitar Pedal Maintenance: Cleaning a Scratchy or Intermittent Footswitch

I recently picked up a used Timmy overdrive pedal. It sounded great when engaged, but the signal was weak and cutting out when bypassed. I suspected the footswitch might be the issue, then remembered a helpful video by Mythos Pedals on guitar pedal maintenance. In the video, Zach shows how to clean a footswitch with contact cleaner (important: not WD40!).

The process is simple: spray some contact cleaner into the gap between the footswitch actuator and the threading, then click the footswitch a few times to work it in. You can repeat if needed. This quick fix sorted out the footswitch issue with my Timmy without having to replace it.

I highly recommend checking out the full video for more useful maintenance tips!