Getting Rid of Smoke Smell?

user · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 3

I recently obtained an upgraded video card (a PNY Nvidia 6800 GT) to put
into my aging P4P800SE mobo. The card is great but problem is that the card
came from a computer that must have been used by a smoker. Its fan is
"spreading" the smell around. Is there anything that can be done to safely
wipe down the card?

I was wondering about the old trick I learned as Red Cross volunteer where
you put a wide plate filled an inch or so with white vinegar in a room with
a moderate smoke smell and it seems to get rid of the smell. I was thinking
about putting the card in a sealed container that also contains a cup
half-filled with the white vinegar. Would the fumes be too corrosive
though?

Thanks in advance for any hints and advice!

Archived from group: alt>comp>periphs>videocards>nvidia

Mr.E Solved! · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 497

- wrote:
> I recently obtained an upgraded video card (a PNY Nvidia 6800 GT) to put
> into my aging P4P800SE mobo. The card is great but problem is that the card
> came from a computer that must have been used by a smoker. Its fan is
> "spreading" the smell around. Is there anything that can be done to safely
> wipe down the card?
>
> I was wondering about the old trick I learned as Red Cross volunteer where
> you put a wide plate filled an inch or so with white vinegar in a room with
> a moderate smoke smell and it seems to get rid of the smell. I was thinking
> about putting the card in a sealed container that also contains a cup
> half-filled with the white vinegar. Would the fumes be too corrosive
> though?
>
> Thanks in advance for any hints and advice!
>
>

Better yet, pick up the habit, bowls of vinegar indeed.

tpow · Joined: 03 Feb 2008 Posts: 2

> No idea what they are called in English but I would use these sticks which
> You can use to clean Your ears,

Crab Sticks maybe.................

Rene · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 43

" -" schreef in bericht @corp.supernews.com...
>I recently obtained an upgraded video card (a PNY Nvidia 6800 GT) to put
>into my aging P4P800SE mobo. The card is great but problem is that the
>card came from a computer that must have been used by a smoker. Its fan is
>"spreading" the smell around. Is there anything that can be done to safely
>wipe down the card?
>
> I was wondering about the old trick I learned as Red Cross volunteer where
> you put a wide plate filled an inch or so with white vinegar in a room
> with a moderate smoke smell and it seems to get rid of the smell. I was
> thinking about putting the card in a sealed container that also contains a
> cup half-filled with the white vinegar. Would the fumes be too corrosive
> though?
>
> Thanks in advance for any hints and advice!

No idea what they are called in English but I would use these sticks which
You can use to clean Your ears, put some alcohol on them and go over all
pieces You can reach, esp. the heatsink and the fan. Only use clean alcohol,
i.e. not denaturated, because the latter might leave the stuff which is used
for the denaturation.

However, after some time the smell will get less and less. I used to have a
cousin that smoked a lot and I have bought several things from him, getting
this smell with them just like You, but when all "stench molecules" have
been blown away by the fan, they are gone for good.

Succes!
Yours sincerely
Rene

P.S. I looked for a picture and it seems that it is called a "white menbo",
You can see the picture on
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/White_menbo.jpg.

user · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 3

Thanks for all the suggestions. FWIW, I took the fan cover off and then
soaked the wide tip of soft medium sized paint brush with a bit of alcohol
and then used that to brush down all of heat sink fins/posts plus all of the
fan and housing. I then let it dry for a while. Finally, I put it in a box
with a bowl filled 1/8 full of white vinegar for about 2 hours. It seems to
have helped. I think leaving the card in the box with vinegar overnight
would have helped even more but I just wasn't sure if corrosion would be an
issue. I will live with it for a while and redo it again for longer (in the
box) if it continues to bother me.

Thanks again.

Inglo · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 101

On 2/23/2008 2:58 AM tpow brightened our day with:
>> No idea what they are called in English but I would use these sticks which
>> You can use to clean Your ears,
>>
>
> Crab Sticks maybe.................
>
>
>
Q-tips is the genericized term (brand name becomes common name).
Also referred to as cotton swabs.

--
"Out here on the perimeter there are no stars"

Steve --Inglo--

First of One · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 291

You'd have a hard time getting a q-tip between the heat sink fins in a
GF6800. You'd need either a brush or a comb.

--
"War is the continuation of politics by other means.
It can therefore be said that politics is war without
bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed."

"Rene" wrote in message %vj.158676$mY5.129310@newsfet15.ams...

> P.S. A soft brush is too soft, next time, use these cottons sticks, You
> can clean much more thoroughly with them.
>
>
>

Rene · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 43

" -" schreef in bericht @corp.supernews.com...
> Thanks for all the suggestions. FWIW, I took the fan cover off and then
> soaked the wide tip of soft medium sized paint brush with a bit of alcohol
> and then used that to brush down all of heat sink fins/posts plus all of
> the fan and housing. I then let it dry for a while. Finally, I put it in
> a box with a bowl filled 1/8 full of white vinegar for about 2 hours. It
> seems to have helped. I think leaving the card in the box with vinegar
> overnight would have helped even more but I just wasn't sure if corrosion
> would be an issue. I will live with it for a while and redo it again for
> longer (in the box) if it continues to bother me.

I would not do that. Vinegar is not good for electronics, it is an acid and
the fumes might indeed bring damage to Your card.

Yours sincerely,
Rene

P.S. A soft brush is too soft, next time, use these cottons sticks, You can
clean much more thoroughly with them.

Rene · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 43

"tpow" schreef in bericht @bt.com...
>
>> No idea what they are called in English but I would use these sticks
>> which
>> You can use to clean Your ears,
>
> Crab Sticks maybe.................

Maybe You are referring to the Dutch verb "krabben" but Crab in English only
means "krab", the animal and has nothing to do with krabben Wink

.

Thanks for thinking along anyway!
Yours sincerely,
Rene

www.binaries4ever.net · Joined: 24 Feb 2008 Posts: 1

On Sat, 23 Feb 2008 21:03:30 -0500, "First of One"
wrote:

>You'd have a hard time getting a q-tip between the heat sink fins in a
>GF6800. You'd need either a brush or a comb.

Folk · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 215

On Sat, 23 Feb 2008 21:32:04 +0100, "Rene"
wrote:

>"tpow" schreef in bericht
>@bt.com...
>>
>>> No idea what they are called in English but I would use these sticks
>>> which
>>> You can use to clean Your ears,
>>
>> Crab Sticks maybe.................
>
>Maybe You are referring to the Dutch verb "krabben" but Crab in English only
>means "krab", the animal and has nothing to do with krabben Wink

.
>
>Thanks for thinking along anyway!
>Yours sincerely,
>Rene

And you're not supposed to be cleaning your ears with those things.
They have a tendency to pack wax *into* your ear canals as opposed to
removing it. Quite dangerous too if your hand happens to slip for
some reason.

Backspace · Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Posts: 4

Rene wrote:

> Maybe You are referring to the Dutch verb "krabben" but Crab in English only
> means "krab", the animal and has nothing to do with krabben Wink

.

Crab in English can also mean a person that has a bad temper. Sometimes
when someone displays a bad temper we say they are "crabby".