Smoke Smell Removal

[harleymac1]

Tomorrow I will be picking up a used TRX-1 scanner from a local ham. I am told that the person I bought it from is a heavy smoker. I am looking on the internet for info on how to get the smoke smell out of electronics but most info is on big computers and not smaller items like handheld radios. Has anyone here had success in removing the smell from their scanners? What did you use? Best method? Any help is appreciated.

 

[RaleighGuy]

Speaking to my neighbor who does fire restoration in homes, he said the best method is an Ozone Chamber (not something common to the normal home). Absent that he said you could try opening the unit and using compressed air and wiping the inside of the case or other flat surfaces with Febreeze.

 

[frazpo]

If it had the rubber case installed you may in luck. I purchased a trx1 from a smoker and I was able to remove the rubber case and soak it detergent water. I'm sure you could use other cleaning supplies but that seem to work. Mine had a horrible menthol smell. I was able to get rid of all the smell.

 

[phask]

Wipe it down with Simple Geen or one of the "Purple" degreaser products.

Cig.smoke deposits an oil-based compound. Spray on degreaser (contact cleaner) should work. I doubt the internal electronics would need much as airflow within should be minimal.

 

[nosoup4u]

I bought a Yeasu from someone once and when I got it, it smelled like an ash tray. I wound up having to find a keyboard/rubber replacement kit on ebay and took the case apart and cleaned it.

The wall wart I couldn't get the smell out. It stayed in my basement for a year before it finally cleared up.

 

[frazpo]

Wipe it down with Simple Geen or one of the "Purple" degreaser products.

Cig.smoke deposits an oil-based compound. Spray on degreaser (contact cleaner) should work. I doubt the internal electronics would need much as airflow within should be minimal.

The last sentence very true. The trx1 case is well made. Doubt there is an issue with internals.

 

[Giddyuptd]

Internals a ton of swabs with 90 percent or better rubbing alcohol. Think most stores like Wal mart will have the 90ish somewhere in pharmacy area.

 

[harleymac1]

Wipe it down with Simple Geen or one of the "Purple" degreaser products.

Cig.smoke deposits an oil-based compound. Spray on degreaser (contact cleaner) should work. I doubt the internal electronics would need much as airflow within should be minimal.

I wonder if contact cleaner would have any negative effect on the plastic? Would not use it on the screen but the case itself.

 

[jonwienke]

90% isopropyl alcohol works pretty good as an electronic cleaner. Cheap and safe for plastics.

 

[SteveSimpkin]

I bought a Yeasu from someone once and when I got it, it smelled like an ash tray. I wound up having to find a keyboard/rubber replacement kit on ebay and took the case apart and cleaned it.

The wall wart I couldn't get the smell out. It stayed in my basement for a year before it finally cleared up.

Same thing happened to me with a Yeasu ham HT radio. After cleaning it thoroughly I put it in a small plastic container with mesh bags of activated carbon charcoal pellets used for aquariums. It took a few months to get rid of the smell.

 

[Giddyuptd]

Warm or hot water, little in a tooth brush and elbow grease cleans the outside. Old towel to rub the tough stains off damp.

Chemical cleaners can Stain plastics.

Rubber and letter print may come off so I'd remove those and do that with a brush and hot water seperate. Inside I wouldn't use much other than 90 percent or better rubbing alcohol aka isopropyl alcohol.

 

[K7MFC]

Gross. Just buy one that hasn't been owned by a smoker.

 

[mmckenna]

Denatured alcohol is sold as a plastic/plexiglass cleaner. Won't discolor and works well. It also works very well for removing adhesive residue. I cleaned up a bunch of radios for someone a few years ago that had heavy smoke smell. The denatured alcohol cleaned it up well. The nasty orange residue that was left on the rag afterwards was pretty surprising.

A bit of Armor-All on a rag afterwards will make the radio look like new. I've cleaned up and sold a lot of old Motorola handhelds that way for years.

And I agree with K7MFC. I will not buy stuff that comes from smokers homes. If it comes that way, I either return it, or leave it in the feedback.

 

[NC1]

I don't know how comfortable you are with disassembling units like that, but it is the quickest way. I got a free hand held scanner that smelled really bad like cigar smoke, so I took the whole thing completely apart and put the pieces in about an 18qt tub with 1/2 cup dish detergent and hot water. I let them soak for about an hour and then began gently brushing everything with a toothbrush. I did both sides of everything and ran them under warm water when I was done. From there, all the parts were placed in an open (very shallow) cardboard box to dry. Usually I would put it outside in full sun and occasionally turn the parts over to make sure each side got a few days of full sun. This took about a week.

When I was confident everything was completely dry, I reassembled the scanner and applied power. Not only did it work just fine, but the cigar smell was completely gone and was replaced with the strawberry smell of the dish detergent. I certainly cant complain about a free scanner that only needs a bit of cleaning. I'm not sure if I would pay much more than a few dollars for something that needs that kind of work put into it, it is time consuming (time is money), and there are plenty of other scanners for sale pretty cheap that need nothing. Only buy something like that if it is heavily discounted, even if it is working fine because it still needs work.

 

[harleymac1]

Denatured alcohol is sold as a plastic/plexiglass cleaner. Won't discolor and works well. It also works very well for removing adhesive residue. I cleaned up a bunch of radios for someone a few years ago that had heavy smoke smell. The denatured alcohol cleaned it up well. The nasty orange residue that was left on the rag afterwards was pretty surprising.

A bit of Armor-All on a rag afterwards will make the radio look like new. I've cleaned up and sold a lot of old Motorola handhelds that way for years.

And I agree with K7MFC. I will not buy stuff that comes from smokers homes. If it comes that way, I either return it, or leave it in the feedback.

I did not want to pass up the deal. I picked it up yesterday and it is not half as bad smelling as I thought it might be. My Dad used to smoke and anything that came from his house was disgusting. I may just put it down in a gallon zip lock with some charcoal packets for a few days and see what that does.

 

[radio3353]

I would soak it in a bucket of Avon Skin-So-Soft. That stuff is a miracle worker for anything...
Skin-So-Soft Uses

 

[6079smithw]

I've had good results cleaning cases and exterior hardware with plain dollar-store ammonia in a spray bottle. Spray it on, scrub with an old toothbrush, wipe off with a damp towel. As a previous poster said, a little Armor-All or the like gets them looking good and helps protect the plastic. A few years back I bought 35 or so Midland Bantam VHF mobiles at auction that were used in a taxicab fleet. Past gross... took some work but the ammonia cleaned and deodorized every on of them. Kept 2, flipped the rest for a nice profit.

 

[bob550]

Why not just duct tape it to the roof of your car and take it through the carwash. Maybe toss it in the dishwasher! I'm not sure I'd put it in the washing machine with the whites or colors. But wait, it's dry clean only. There, now we've gotten those suggestions out of the way.

 

[spongella]

Here's an idea, not sure how effective though - put it in an enclosed container with baking soda. Might take a while though.

 

[bob550]

Simple ammoniated glass cleaner is effective at the removal of smoke residue. Do not use solvents as some can degrade plastics and may cause a haze on the display. The idea is to remove as much of the nicotine as possible before using the charcoal packets.