Removing smoking smell out of electronics?

[Keith]

All:
I just a got great deal on a Samsung 32" HDTV. The only issue is the smoke smell. Is there a way I can
get it off and out of my new HDTV without ruining the TV? Thank you.

Keith Lee

[Dave Platt]

Tobacco-smoke tar is one of the more difficult gunks to remove
(Consumer Reports used to use it as their "difficult" contaminant,
when testing glass cleaners). Unfortunately, washing the exterior of
the cabinet and the tube leaves you with an uneasy choice... cleaners
which are strong enough to strip the tobacco tar, may mar the plastic
case or (perhaps) whatever anti-glare coating was placed on the front
of the tube.

Fresh air and sunlight is probably your best bet. The UV in sunlight
helps break down the tobacco tar and the volatile materials which
cause the odor, and the heat helps volatize what's left and let it
blow away. I remember reading of one service outlet which had a
standard practice, when they got in a tape deck or receiver which
smelled of cigarette smoke - they'd take off the cover and leave it
out in the noonday sun for several days before working on it.

This isn't the right time of year for lots of sunlight, alas, and
opening up the interior of a flat-screen TV to allow sunlight to
penetrate the insides may not be feasible.

My guess is your best bet, at this point, is to clean the exterior of
the cabinet with a general-purpose liquid household cleanser (test it
in an inconspicuous spot on the back to make sure it's not damaging
the surface), and clean the glass front with whatever sort of glass
cleanser the manufacturer recommends. Don't spray liquid on it, or
use a soaking-wet rag to use the cleaning... just dampen a clean rag
and then wipe... you don't want to get liquid into the interior.

Then, put it in your garage, aim a big fan at it, and blow air on it
for several days... dissipate as much of the odor as you can that way.

--
Dave Platt <dpl...@radagast.org> AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

[Jeff Liebermann]

I've seen one TV stink when new out of the box. I think it was a
fairly large Vizio, but I don't recall the model number. Near as I
can guess(tm), it's lint and styrofoam from the packing material
getting into parts of the PCB that are getting hot. Ignite some
packing and styrofoam and compare the stench with the TV.

The smell went away after a few days. I tried opening the back and
removing the crud with an air hose, which turned into a waste of time
because the lint was baked into the components and would not move.

Some options:
1. If it's really a new TV, then it shouldn't stink. Exchange it for
a different unit. That's what warranties are for.
2. Open the back and clean up whatever is stinking. If you happen to
have a $3000 FLIR infrared imager, you'll be able to see what's
getting hot or smoking.
3. Let it cook for a few days and see what happens. It will either
fix itself, burn down the house, or create a warranty issue. Check
your homeowners insurance to see if damage from flaming HDTV's are
covered. Everything else should be covered by the manufacturers or
the stores warranty.

--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558
# http://802.11junk.com je...@cruzio.com
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS

[Wes Newell]

If you're talking about tobacco smoke smell (or any kind really), try
Awesome Orange cleaner. It works better than anything I've ever used to
get tobacco stains and smells off anything. I wouldn't use it on the
inside though. If the smell is inside, remove the components, spray,
wash, and dry them and re-install.

[N_Cook]

Keith <keithd...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:idmnp1$glo$1...@news.eternal-september.org...

Assuming the smoke source is now gone, I've not tried this though. "shake n'
vac" or Bentonite or whatever that microporous volcanic mineral is. Scatter
inside, leave for a few days, take outdoors and blow it out.

[Agent_C]

On Wed, 8 Dec 2010 01:41:53 +0000 (UTC), Keith
<keithd...@gmail.com> wrote:

Been through this many times;

1) Clean the exterior thoroughly with Windex and paper towels.

2) Get a Sharper Image 'Ionic Breeze' air purifier. It produces ozone,
which will kill virtually any household odor.

A_C

[Keith]

All:
Luckily for me, the smoke smell seems to be disappearing. I hope it will be gone within a few days.
BTW, what do any of you think of using vinegar on a tobacco smoke smelling object?
Thank you.

Keith

[Gerard Bok]

On Wed, 8 Dec 2010 01:41:53 +0000 (UTC), Keith
<keithd...@gmail.com> wrote:

Imho: there is a very simple, common and rather safe solution (no
pun intended).
Over here (the Netherlands) it goes by the name Biotex.
That's an enzymes attacking laundry detergent (or something like
that. Housekeeping-english is not my forte :-)

Anyway, just some clothes and the washing solution.
Works like a charm. (Well, as far as cleaning can go.)

--
Kind regards,
Gerard Bok

[badgolferman]

Keith wrote:

You should never let the smoke out of electronic components. They will
fail to work afterwards.

[Nancy Norelli]

Hi Keith you sure were a great player for Memphis State...before the
heroin kicked in.
--
Don't FUCK with me. I'm tuff. And stupid but don't dare FUCK with me.

[Jim Yanik]

Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote in
news:clqtf6ha012vbjfvo...@4ax.com:

electronics used around smokers develop a smelly grunge film that needs to
be WASHED OFF,and then dried for several days,preferably in a drying oven.
I did a lot of that while I was at Tektronix.
It sometimes was so thick that you could see the brownish yellow gunk
running off as you rinsed the unit.

that gunk also attracts and hold other dirt and grime.it's NASTY.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

[whit3rd]

Alkaline cleaning solutions attack smoke residue. I've had good
result
(on plastic, NEVER ALUMINUM) with a teaspoon of lye in a
quart of soapy water. Dishwasher detergent (contains sodium
carbonate) is also a good bet. Rinse with (deioinized or
distilled preferably) water.

The only safe solvent for most of the electronics, though, will be
alcohol (denatured alcohol is best, isopropyl also good) but watch
out for plastics other than epoxy and mylar and vinyl. The boards
that take soldering temperature all will tolerate alcohol cleaning.

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:08:02 -0600, Jim Yanik <jya...@abuse.gov>
wrote:

>>> I just a got great deal on a Samsung 32" HDTV. The only issue is the
>>> smoke smell. Is there a way I can
>>> get it off and out of my new HDTV without ruining the TV? Thank you.
>>>Keith Lee

Note that the original question sorta hinted that this is a NEW
Samsung TV. "Great Deal" around Christmas time usually means he
bought it on sale somewhere. Unless someone at the factory smokes, I
doubt if the TV had time to accumulate enough tar and crud to stink.

>electronics used around smokers develop a smelly grunge film that needs to
>be WASHED OFF,and then dried for several days,preferably in a drying oven.

Yep. My method is to use common 90% alcohol and give it a bath. If
immersion is possible, I do it. Hitting it with a hot water spray, to
wash off the ionic contaminants, water soluble flux residue, and
general accumulate crud, is not beneath my dignity. The trick is to
immediately blow dry the boards with an air compressor (with a dryer
filter attached). If there's something involved that's porous (wood
or press board cabinetry) or can't be washed (paper speaker cones),
then I have to let it air dry for a few days. Otherwise, the smell is
usually gone with the blow dry.

>I did a lot of that while I was at Tektronix.
>It sometimes was so thick that you could see the brownish yellow gunk
>running off as you rinsed the unit.

Yep. To keep my office/shop clean, I won't let anything inside until
the dust has been blown out and all the crud removed. I clean
everything, even if I later decide that it's not worth repairing.

>that gunk also attracts and hold other dirt and grime.it's NASTY.

Yep. For the ultimate mess, I have to deal with a machine shop that
uses various plastic case laptops and PC's near the machines. Hot
chips melt and imbed themselves in the plastic parts. Oil, dust, and
dirt adds to the mess. I usually have to scrape the case for chips
with a putty knife before I can safely move it. I wanted to baptize
the PC in the vapor degreaser, but the owner wouldn't let me.

Another fun mess are kids laptops that are literally wallpapered with
stickers, pogs, and stick-on skins. All the sticky back stuff can be
removed with some solvent or other, but there's no solvent that will
reliably remove all the different types of sticky glue.

[Les Cargill]

Windex (or generic equivalent) works better.

--
Les Cargill

[Arfa Daily]

"Keith" <keithd...@gmail.com> wrote in message

news:ido2i4$hcf$1...@news.eternal-september.org...

Best place for the vinegar, is on the chips ...

That's a joke for the Eastpondians :-)

Arfa

[Brenda Ann]

"Keith" wrote in message news:ido2i4$hcf$1...@news.eternal-september.org...

All:
Luckily for me, the smoke smell seems to be disappearing.

Keith

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maybe, maybe not. After a relatively short while, even the most obnoxious
odors become tolerable to the point of being unnoticable. It's an adaptive
response to your environment.

[Lyrik]

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
When we fetched our car from the mechanic, we could smell his pipe-
smoke several days inside the "non-smoker-car." He has lost 1200
customers on that account. He is inseperable from his trusted pipe. We
on our part enjoyed the reminicense of our trusted mechanic which we
had returned to after some years with "factory service."
After 3 days the smell disapeared. No harme done.

Which detergent removed tolerance and flexibility?

Jens

[N_Cook]

Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote in message
news:ssb0g69n3fj6o28al...@4ax.com...

Hot air gun ,low heat setting, has removed all gum based stickers that I've
come across except some 10 year or older that must have some sort of
chemical welding process into the underlying plastic over time

[Keith]

All:
Well, I used vinegar on a cloth on the outside of the TV and vinegar in a bowl overnight. Also, I tried
opening up the windows for a few hours a day. So far, the smell does seem to be dissipating.
When I mentioned it was new, I believe that I stated that it was almost new. It seems that the
previous owner smokes Marlboro regulars. Every question I asked him about, and I forget that one. :-)
I cannot access the inside of the TV where the smell seems to be covering from most of all. I will
have to wait until the smell completely dissipates or get a mechanic to take it apart, clean it out, and then
put it back to together.
Thank you to all who gave me these great ideas.

Keith Lee

[N_Cook]

powdered pumice was the odour eating mineral I was trying to remember

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Thu, 9 Dec 2010 08:42:51 -0000, "N_Cook" <div...@tcp.co.uk> wrote:

>Hot air gun ,low heat setting, has removed all gum based stickers that I've
>come across except some 10 year or older that must have some sort of
>chemical welding process into the underlying plastic over time

I damaged a laptop LCD cover while using a hot air gun to remove some
stickers. Hot air works great on metal surfaces (i.e. removing bumper
stickers and pinstriping from automobiles), but I haven't done so well
when I tried it on a laptop. My guess(tm) is that there's
insufficient difference in temperature between where the adhesive
melts, and where the plastic begins to melt.

--
Jeff Liebermann je...@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

[Keith]

All:
Actually the smell is a cross between some tobacco odor and a musky smell. It is coming from the
inside of the TV especially when it is on. Any ideas about what this could be?

Keith Lee

[Jeff Liebermann]

Is this a new TV or a fairly old TV? If old, you might ask the seller
where he was living and under what conditions.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musk>
My guess(tm) is the cancer candidate, that trashed the TV with tobacco
volatiles, was burning exotic tobacco blends, possibly in a wooden
pipe. If so, you have a major cleanup operation ahead.

[Keith]

Jeff:
No, from what he emailed me last night, he barely used this one year old TV during the past year. The
odors I am smelling smells more like new plastic. I will just have to break in this TV and smell the odors
dissipate.

Keith Lee

[Jeff Liebermann]

Presumably you asked if he previous owner noticed the smell and had a
clue as to its source. Also, it's considered good form to supply the
model number.

Ok, so this TV is NOT new and was "barely used" for a year. The TV
does not need to be turned on in order to accumulate a tobacco smell,
or a musky smell for household pets and critters.

If it's tobacco, the outside of the TV will accumulate more tar than
the inside. Spray some household cleaner on any obscure or hidden
part of the case, and wipe with a clean while paper towel. If it's
tobacco, you'll see a rather thick accumulation of brown stain on the
towel. Wait a few minutes for the volatiles in the cleaner to
dissipate and smell the paper towel. If it's tobacco, it will be
obvious. I couldn't find a suitable litmus paper type of test for the
presence of tobacco tar.

Burning plastic smells quite differently from tobacco or musk. I
suggest you heat some scrap plastic in order to establish a reference
smell. In general, plastic will melt before it starts to outgas, so
expect to find some damage inside if it's burning plastic.

I've used a rubberized plastic hose or soda straw to isolate smoking
components in the past. Stuff one end into your nose and wave the
other end around the board until the source of the smell is
identified. I successfully used this to find a smoking tantalum
capacitor inside a Compaq server power supply. Don't inhale too much
as many such burning components are toxic.

"Breaking In" the TV might not be a great idea. If it's a swollen
electrolytic capacitor getting hot (and melting nearby components),
letting it continue until it blows will probably cause some additional
damage in the power supply area.
<http://gallery.markheadrick.com/home-theater/Bad_Capacitors_from_Samsung_LN52A650>

[DockScience]

 

 

"Keith" <keithd...@gmail.com> wrote in message news:idmnp1$glo$1...@news.eternal-september.org...

The smell of stale tobacco smoke is one of the aromas that the human nose is most sensitive to... literally 1 part per billion.

A combination of partially oxidized heterocyclic nitrogen compounds with a tiny bit of sulfur malodors thrown in. Yum.

 

Chemically, it takes a pretty strong oxidizer to actually destroy the smell, so that's out for electronics.

 

Be advised that many plastics are VERY permeable to the odor molecules and the case may act as an odor reservoir for a long time if it has been exposed to smoke for long periods... even if their surfaces are clean. Glass is impermeable, so no worries there.

 

However, the thin layer of tar that condenses on surfaces around smokers is the main source of the odorants, so you have to get as much as that off as you can.

 

I would disassemble the case and clean the INTERIOR plastic surfaces with plastic friendly cleaners first, followed by clorox/water or clorox wipes (strong enough to react the odorants). Don't try to clean the circuit boards or cables. Too risky.

 

Rinse/wipe the case well with clean water afterwards, as you REALLY don't want those chlorine molecules anywhere near your copper circuit boards, even though they are "protected" with a conformal plastic film.

 

Unfortunately, the clorox wipes may discolor the plastic, so don't do it on the outside of the case. Cleaning the outside surfaces with a plastic friendly cleaner will physically remove the tars that hold and trap the odor there as well.

 

Strong UV can photochemically accellerate the oxidation in air, but UV strong enough to do that would also affect most plastics, particularly silicone rubber seals. So attacking them is not a great idea for long life.

 

The better approach is to either cook the smell out more rapidly by running (and exhausting) clean warm air through the enclosure or to capture the aroma molecules by trapping them on other larger molecules/substrates that don't evaporate... like activated charcoal (available in big bags in pet stores for fish tanks). Putting a small porous fabric bag full of ACTIVATED charcoal in or near the case would capture odor on the move. Bentonite or other expanded clays work too, just not as well.

 

You will be surprised how much odor charcoal can scavenge and hold.

 

You can try to cover up the smell too, for some reason, raspberry is more effective than most aromas in covering tobacco smoke. Vanilla works a bit too.

 

Either that or take up smoking or invite over smoking friends to stink up your place, so you can't smell the TV anymore.

 

Sorry for the Cliff Clavin approach here, but I actually worked on this odorant chemistry in a previous professional life.

[Keith]

DS:
Actually, the smell has dissipated. There is a slight plastic smell but only if you get close to the TV and
smell behind it. Even that seems to be dissipating. Thank goodness. Now, I have a year old TV for less
then half it's price then and more than 1/3 off it's new price today. :-)

Keith Lee

[Keith]

All:
Oh yes, thank you to those who gave me their advice. :-)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Keith