Cleaning rubber buttons from a remote

Hello all! I recently purchased a used univeral remote control (off ebay) that unfortunately was in a smoking home. The thing stinks of smoke, and the buttons themselves (which are made of rubber) are actually stained yellow (they used to be white) from the smoke. I took the remote apart and found that the rubber button "sheet" was really the only thing that the smoke had affected. I took the rubber button sheet and put it in a ziplock bag with baking soda to remove the smell. It worked perfectly, and the button sheet no longer stinks of smoke. I am wondering what I could use to remove the yellow staining of the buttons? They do have labels painted on some of them, so I don't think bleach would be the best bet. Any ideas? Thanks!

Reply to
derekantosh
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I suppose you could try soaking it in water and dish liquid solution, but I'm thinking I'd just spend 7.88 at walmart and get a brand new one, myself.

Nan

Reply to
Nan

Unfortunately this is a Logitech Harmony remote (~$150), so I was hoping to be able to use this one instead of having to purchase another one.

Reply to
derekantosh

another

Why not use rubbing alcohol? Or one of those Clorox Wipes that do not contain bleach despite the Clorox name:)? I clean my keyboard, the telephone, our cheap remote etc. with both of those things. Isopropyl alcohol is so cheap, you might want to try that.

aloha, Thunder smithfarms.com Farmers of pure Kona Coffee

Reply to
smithfarms pure kona

I suppose the days of getting out of the chair and switching over are long gone. I bought a universal remote control that tunes in to any TV all by itself and it was about a fiver, it does TV, text, video, satellite,cable and makes coffee. Unfortunately I no longer possess a TV and only drink tea. It always pays when purchasing on Ebay to look for the "Comes from a no smoking home" title, unless of course one is not concerned about items dripping in nicotine.

Reply to
Mrs Bonk

I didn't have TV until my sister arrived with a vintage TV 2 years ago. I've since added a 7.1 channel audio system and soon will have a

50" plasma TV remote to add to VCR, DVD carousel, and amplifier remotes. I don't clean any of the buttons with any solvents in fear of removing key labels or damaging the remote electronics. One swipe with the upholstery attachment removes any bits of dust or debris. I keep my remotes in a drawer to keep them clean & protected. For those really wondering what kind of solvent to use on rubber without harming the rubber is the use of wood alcohol. Methanol (wood alcohol) is a serious health hazard, inhalation or skin contact. Ethanol (moonshine) can clean rubber too but it can deteriorate rubber.
Reply to
Phisherman

Why Phish, you're moving up in the world :-) I use a baby wipe to clean our remote. I can wrap it around my fingernail and get between the buttons pretty well. I figure if it's okay for my darling's bum, it's okay for the remote

Nan

Reply to
Nan

one horrific element about certain televisions etc (e.g. mine) is that some functions don't work EXCEPT via the remote! it's horrible! i never wanted a remote control telly but we inherited this one for free, so there's that. but, we have to have the remote to go with it, or some things won't work. (our dvd player is teh same, except worse).

I bought a universal remote control that tunes in to any TV all by

that yellow stuff is mostly tar, not nicotine :-) i know everyone thinks it's nicotine, but it isn't. and ciggies aren't bad for us because of nicotine, either - nicotine (in controlled amounts) is no worse for you than caffeine in controlled amounts.

mind you, all that is another story. klyie

Reply to
0tterbot

I agree with the clorox wipe to clean the stains, it works on keyboards, and might on the remote. We don't smoke either, and we don't watch tv that often, so what I do is store the remotes upside down (button side down) and then dust just settles on the back, not on the buttons. And yes, I do dust, but I live in Texas :-) lucy

Reply to
lucy

what a strange way to look at things. Nicotine is deadly and addictive and as it's readily available in cigarettes then IMO it cannot be good for us and caffeine is not good for us either. I have never been a coffee addict but I am ashamed to say I have been called fag ash lil more than once but not any more, those days are long gone.

Reply to
Mrs Bonk

oh well . not strange, just the way it is :-) controlled (and small) amounts of nicotine give your brain a boost. so does caffeine. neither is good in larger or uncontrolled amounts, but there you have it :-) they're not the only two chemicals which stimulate the brain in small quantities but are poisonous in larger quantities; many chemicals are like that.

with the cigs, it's not the nicotine which kills you (the tar & carcinogens do that) - it's only the nicotine that keeps you coming back for more, it's the addictive element, but not the main dangerous element. :-) klyie

Reply to
0tterbot

There are several hundred other dangerous chemicals in tobacco. If I can find the list, I'll post the URL.

Never smoked

Reply to
aspasia

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