Removing AA battery crust?

[Prince]

The in-laws gave us their treadmill with a pulse display thingamabob of some sort. The thing takes two double-A batteries. So I removed the old, leaked pair and put new ones in. Won't work. Here I am thinking that it's gone and busted, but it could also be the "acid", the white powder that's on the little metallic things that touch the ends of the batteries (you can tell I don't have the terminology down for these things...). Anyhoo, can I use just water, or rather a wet cloth or something to clean the battery "socket"? The reason I am asking is I don't really know what the "battery acid" (white powder-like substence) consists of and how it reacts to water and such, but I've always been told the stuff is extremely unhealthy.

So how do I remove the stuff from the battery socket without too much of a hassle and as little damage to my health as possible?

[onetime2]

Make a paste of baking soda and water as this will neutralize the acid. I think it's like 3 parts baking soda to one part water. Scrub it a little with an old toothbrush and you should be good to go.

[TWISTEDBADGER]

Depends on the battery. Most batteries use an alkaline paste as the electrolyte. Try water(probably won't work, but try anyway).
Try vinegar(make sure to wipe away any excess, and then wipe with water). Try some fine steel wool or a fine emery board(be sure to wipe away residue). Just don't get too vicious and try the new batteries between each attempt. The thing only draws a few milli-amps and just needs minimal clean contact to work properly.

[Munku]

Water works just as good. As well as coca cola.

[shakran]

Usually when you see that powdery stuff, the battery has leaked not just into the battery compartment, but into the circuit board as well - - - it may be toast.

[Prince]

I tried onetime's trick, and it works just fine now. Thanks to the bunch of you for taking the time to help me out!