Quite interesting MadDogMe, I've had some very similar incidents, one mentioned above, other heart stoppers involving that brand new super fanstic (and expensive) hardware, but alas; cleaning well, even where it doesn't
appear to have AS/other crap can often resume one's heart's normal operation.
Also, another tip is that 99% isopropyl alcohol is far better at cleaning than ~70 odd %, although it stings a LOT more on cuts etc - ohhh yeah feel the burn!!!

The feeling of healing
Never though of a syringe, quite a nifty idea actually - kudos MDM.