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Removing Nicotine Smell

G

GRiD

New Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2012
Messages
7
Location
Lancashire
Hello!

I've just manage to pick up GRiDCase 3 laptop which visually is in excellent condition however it used to belong to a heavy smoker and you can tell. The machine and and original documentation have a really strong nicotine smell. I've cleaned the outer case and it has improved a little but the keyboard still smells pretty bad as does the documentation.

Does anybody have any suggestions of how to get rid of the odour?

Thanks!
 
An accumulation of tobacco tar can have worse effects than just the smell. I don't know how the Grid is constructed, but f you are prepared to take the thing apart, you might find buildups of sticky tar deposits around any chokepoints in the ventilation system - eg. around any fan housing - and these can accumulate fluff and lead to heat buildup or, in worst case, circuit shorts. It's no coincidence that many offices banned workplace smoking when desktop PCs became common.

Many people have gone so far as to put seriously grubby boards through the dishwasher, reporting good results. Again, something I have not tried.

Rick
 
I've cleaned my ColecoVision boards in the dishwasher and I've also done it on other boards as well. If you use this method, use some compressed air to get as much of the water out of the components as possible then let it dry thoroughly. Whether or not this is a good method for you is a decision you need to make. :thumbsup:

Heather
 
I'd leave it alone--disassembling a laptop and cleaning the innards can be a risky business unless you have absolute confidence in your abilities. The stink will go away with time.
 
Chuck(G) said:
Air it out--short of scrubbing everything with soap and water or spraying it with Febreeze, that's the least-risky thing that works for me.
Click to expand...

I agree mostly with this post. If it were me I'd take it apart, clean everything with

1) Soap and water with a SOFT brush
2) Q-tips and alcohol

then spray it all with the Febreeze (love Febreeze, it's a miracle worker) and put all the parts on a table outside in the sunlight for at least an entire day, preferably two. I have done this with more than computer parts. For example I took a broken household fan, one of those nice ones on a tall stand, and treated it using this method. Before the treatment it absolutely REEKED of cigarette odor but after treatment it had no odor at all.
 
SharpyWarpy said:
I agree mostly with this post. If it were me I'd take it apart, clean everything with

1) Soap and water with a SOFT brush
2) Q-tips and alcohol

then spray it all with the Febreeze (love Febreeze, it's a miracle worker) and put all the parts on a table outside in the sunlight for at least an entire day, preferably two. I have done this with more than computer parts. For example I took a broken household fan, one of those nice ones on a tall stand, and treated it using this method. Before the treatment it absolutely REEKED of cigarette odor but after treatment it had no odor at all.
Click to expand...

Is Fabreeze permanent? I.E. Once it binds the esther molecules they are gone? Or will the smell return if you were to say spray something and pack it in a box?
 
Thanks for the replies. I've opened up a GRiD before and its not too tricky. So plan to strip it down and clean the case and keyboard. Will also replace the CMOS battery at the same time. I've hung the documents outside in the fresh air for a while and it has made a bit of an improvement.
 
Airing it out definetly helps. Place two air purifiers: one blowing air at it, the other one - on the other side sucking the air in, direct path between the 3 of them, leave it go for a month.
 
gerrydoire said:
Airing it out definetly helps. Place two air purifiers: one blowing air at it, the other one - on the other side sucking the air in, direct path between the 3 of them, leave it go for a month.
Click to expand...

Good idea, but make sure said purifiers do not use electrostatic filters or ionizers. The resulting ozone will rot every piece of rubber in its path in very short order.
 
Just to be pedantic, I don't think that "nicotine" is the problem - it's the tobacco smoke tar which is smelling. :) I've had experience removing tobacco tar using regular alcohol. The cheap rubbing variety is fine. It's surprising how much can sit on a dark surface and not be noticeable. If you can wipe some of the larger surfaces, I think you might get some improvement. I've found that it evaporates pretty quickly and a tissue or cloth which is soaked just enough to not drip will catch a lot. But, like the others have said, I think airing out is the best bet.
 
I have a thinkpad I got off craigslist for cheap that smelled like it had spent its whole life in a bar. I tore it completely down, washed anything non-electrical in soap & water, followed by a scrubbing with vinegar and a 2nd soap and water scrub.

I got about 95% of the smell off. the last little bit disappeared when I left it outside for a week. :p
 
Soap and water rinsed with hot water works for me. Laptops usually have bad smelling keyboards and smoke residue on the heatsink and fan combo that needs washed. Desktop computers which by design are meant to have airflow through the whole unit tend to need complete stripping and washing to get rid of the smell (PS too). Generally washing with soap and water doesn't hurt anything (remove the batteries) as long as you let the parts dry before re assembling and turning on the power.
 
Chuck(G) said:
Good idea, but make sure said purifiers do not use electrostatic filters or ionizers. The resulting ozone will rot every piece of rubber in its path in very short order.
Click to expand...

Good point, ozone isn't exactly good for the lungs either.

I've never had anything that reeked of massive nicotine, but have received some stuff that smelled like an old house, that ick smell lol, after
some time in an airing room, the smell was gone.
 
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My Tandy 1000 SL smelt of something similar to tobacco, not sure if it was. I simply cleaned the inside with JIF (or CIF for those in the UK) because there was this greenish-black gunk on the inside. Thankfully we won't have as much of a problem in the future looking back on today's machines vs. the machines from the 80's as there are much less people who smoke nowadays or smoke at thier computer.
 
I looked at this thread a few days ago thinking it could not be that bad,
I received two Atari 2600's in the mail today with games and joysticks,
They both absolutely stink of tobacco, so much so that I can smell them within the same room.
 
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