Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.
How can I best clean it? Have mailed the seller to let him know I'm not happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage, but the card is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be de-stinked.
Isopropyl Alcohol with an otherwise unused bristle paint brush?
I keep such a brush for dusting anyway.
In message , Apellation Controlee writes
+1 Will soften the tar and not damage the components. Maybe use cotton bud for small areas.
Angle grinder.
Is it worth trying it out before assuming that's what will happen? And if it does - I wonder how long a PC card can keep emanating the smell - eg if you left it switched on in the garage for a couple of days might that sort it?
Every year we used to get the same C64 in for 'service' from a gentleman who smoked a pipe. Heavily. First task was always to unscrew the MB, seal in a bag with IPA, and leave for 24 hours to soak....
Phil.
I would use an air duster to blast the dust off it. If the heatsink and fan are demountable, I might also take them off to clean under, and possbly to wash the heatsink if the air duster can't clean it up. Obviously, any of this risks breaking the card, and if you do break it, it's not reasonable to expect to return it afterwards.
In article , Lobster writes
Oh, it'll happen. I recently repaired a PC for a friend who is a heavy smoker - replaced the PSU - and the smell after I powered it on was sickening. Got him to come and take it away pronto, but the stink lingered for days afterward.
Nicotine doesn't lie like dust, it builds up a tar-like coating.
The smell comes from the looser stuff (ash, soot) which can blow away, not the stuff stuck firmly to the card.
Well OK, but that's a whole PC, not just one card?
I'd try it out to make sure it's working if it came from ebay, never mind whether it smells.
I'd go with a combination of the other suggestions, the alcohol for the card itself and I'd try and take the fan apart (if it has one) and give it a good wash in soapy water, dry well. If the fan is clogged up with nicotine-heavy dust and residue, it'll just spread the smell even if the rest of the card is gleaming.
In article , Mentalguy2k8 writes
It works, very well in fact. Just stinks :)
IPA gets the majority vote. Thanks all. I have some.
Ta. The heatsink is easy to remove, I'll bung it in the dishwasher after removing the fan (3 small screws) and just wipe that over gently with a cloth and soapy water. Wouldn't put the fan in the dishwasher as it'll wash the lubrication out of the bearing.
From my experience of guitar cases saturated in the by-products of tobacco smoking, I'd say that vomit is a pretty good neutraliser.
Don't ask.. ...you really don't want to know.
Nick
I don't know why it is that so many people are so down on ebay. I think used with care (ie to avoid the obvious scams) it's utterly brilliant. I must have done about 700 trades over 10 years (about 70:30 buying:selling) and reckon the number of those which haven't ended up
100% satisfactory could be counted on one hand.Eg, couple of weeks ago: I've ripped out our old fireplace and needed rid of the old slate hearth: it was nothing special at all and weighed a ton, so was going to have to smash it up just to take it down the dump. Just thought it was worth trying ebay to see if someone would pay me
99p to save me the hassle - in the end somebody just drove half-way across the country and paid me £45 (!) for it.Yesterday: wanted to get my mum a screen protector for the iPad she just bought at John Lewis. "Don't buy any accessories there", I said. Couple of mouse clicks later, and the protector arrived via ebay this morning - cost delivered: £1.49, versus £15 to £19 from John Lewis.
Etc etc. Really, what's not to like?
But make sure any electro-mechanical components (fans, switches, connectors) are sealed and suitable for cleaning.
MBQ
+1
I had one buyer so guilty at the bargain he got that he sent me an extra fiver!
MBQ
In article , Lobster writes
I agree. Hundreds of trades and this is one of the very few that's been a disappointment. To his credit, the seller has offered a full refund (including return postage) or a partial refund. I feel a bit guilty now!
Another one was a piddly little 99p adapter from China which didn't turn up. They cheerfully sent out another one, which did.
In article , Lobster writes
Trust me, it smells. Do you smoke? If you do, you aren't aware how unpleasant the residual smell is to non-smokers.
The card's in the PC at the moment, it's coming out tonight for an IPA wash!
My "BNIB" speaker [1] turned out to be "BNIB but with the bottom bashed so hard the paint is peeling off".
But as they're =A350 new and I paid =A315 incl P&P I won't send it back. In fairness to the seller, it could have been bashed by Hermes.
Owain
[1] Not the speakers that City Link sent to the plastics recycling plant and I had to wait a week to find out whether they'd been granulated.Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
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