How to clean smoke damaged LEGO?

[Agent Fusion]

After a recent fire in my home, a large amount of LEGO sets and minifigures are now coated with a layer of black-ish residue, caused by the smoke. Does anyone have any tips, methods or previous experience with this? Keep in mind that many of these contaminated parts are printed and some have stickers.

[AmperZand]

I'm not being flippant, but have you tried soap (washing up liquid) and water? I haven't tried to remove soot from LEGO, but I'm guessing that that would work for everything except stickered parts and fabric (e.g. capes and sails).

[Off the wall]

If I knew you were in the USA, the answer would be easy. Your homeowners insurance would most likely cover cleaning and/or replacing the lego subject to your policy deductible. There are restoration companies that perform such post fire cleaning tasks.

[Acchan]

If I knew you were in the USA, the answer would be easy. Your homeowners insurance would most likely cover cleaning and/or replacing the lego subject to your policy deductible. There are restoration companies that perform such post fire cleaning tasks.

If you're in Aus this is also valid. Though you may need to have a fairly comprehensive plan for it to qualify for restoration/cleaning as Lego would normally be considered a toy. Most likely they'd rather reimburse you for the replacement cost.

[rodiziorobs]

I bought some Lego second-hand that smelled strongly of cigarette smoke. Obviously not the same as your situation, but I found that while soap and water did the trick, I had to keep replacing the water to keep it hot, and scrub everything with a soft sponge at least twice to remove the odor. I assume that if your pieces are covered in soot, the same treatment would work.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

You could try Magic Eraser sponges or a suitable equivalent. They work wonders on stains. I would try it on a printed piece that you wouldn't care to lose though. I am not sure if they would remove the print or not. I don't think they would, but just to be safe

[Agent Fusion]

Thanks for your help. I will try these methods when I get the chance. Feel free to carry on posting your techniques. Do printed and stickered pieces require any special treatment.?

[zux]

I had an experience of buying some used parts, that had a strong smoke smell - it turned out seller had outdoor BBQ with some house windows opened. I left the parts in warm soapy water for couple of hours, then gave it a wash, twice. And still there was that damn smell. If you put part in ziplock bag at open it after a while it was easy to find out smell wasn't gone.

Plastic parts should be ok after washing them, however rubber pieces (Technic flex axles) didn't clean well - they smelled almost the same.

[AmperZand]

You could try Magic Eraser sponges or a suitable equivalent. They work wonders on stains. I would try it on a printed piece that you wouldn't care to lose though. I am not sure if they would remove the print or not. I don't think they would, but just to be safe

I would never use a Magic Eraser on LEGO. Magic Eraser contains a mild scouring agent. Sure, it will clean LEGO but you could very easily abrade the surface, dulling your LEGO.

I had an experience of buying some used parts, that had a strong smoke smell - it turned out seller had outdoor BBQ with some house windows opened. I left the parts in warm soapy water for couple of hours, then gave it a wash, twice. And still there was that damn smell. If you put part in ziplock bag at open it after a while it was easy to find out smell wasn't gone.

I don't know about BBQs, but I do know from experience about cigarette smoke. I live in an old building and when my neighbour downstairs smokes, it wafts to where my collection is displayed. At first, I was very concerned, but it turns out the smell goes away by itself over time. I found something similar with some parts I bought on BrickLink that stank of cigarette smoke. I washed them in soap and water, dried them and put them on display. Within a couple of days the stench had completely disappeared and I have a very acute sense of smell.

Edited December 5, 2014 by AmperZand

[Israel Hands]

Exactly the same thing happened to me, this was a kitchen fire. (I still the have photos of the aftermath). I had my ships (Imperial Flagship and the Queens Ann's Revenge) on display in the next room. When I moved them to clean them up, there was a lovely silhouette of both of them on the wall.

To clean them I disassembled both and used a diluted solution of sugar soap. I scrubbed the bricks with a toothbrush. Since its designed to work on surfaces affected by greasy or tarry deposits, it should be ideal. While it should work on printed bricks I have no idea what would happen to stickered ones.

[Off the wall]

I'd give my insurance company the option of having the restoration company clean them and reassemble them or let the insurance company replace them with new ones. That's what's great about replacement cost coverage in a homeowners policy.

If you can't go that route, I'd think Israel Hands sounds like he may have a good, simple solution.

[rodiziorobs]

I would never use a Magic Eraser on LEGO. Magic Eraser contains a mild scouring agent. Sure, it will clean LEGO but you could very easily abrade the surface, dulling your LEGO.

I've used Magic Eraser before to re-whiten old yellowed bricks, and didn't have any issues with it being abrasive. It just isn't as good at cleaning as soap and water (or H2O2, in the case of whitening).

[Hauntedwebby]

Cleaning Legos, what an adventure.

I just picked up 167 pounds of Legos for next to nothing, but they came from a smoker w/pets home. Even if they came from a "clean freaks" home, I would still clean. I searched Google, and read many, many postings on how people clean their Legos. I tried several, and ended up combining several techniques.

Before cleaning, I spread them out in my garage to "air" them out. I wore medical latex gloves since I don't know who has done what with them. (something to make you laugh www.holytaco.com/25-smutty-lego-pics/ [adult humor, but not explicit])

Anyway.....

I separated out all the delicate, metal attached, sticker or printed pieces. I have been cleaning these all by hand, no soaking. I used a mix of liquid Dawn Ultra, warm water and Oxyclean with a toothbrush. Working well, and recommend for small batches, hard to clean or easy to damage Legos. Time consuming, but least damage and scratches.

I do not recommend Dishwashers. It just sprays water at the Legos, no soak. Hard to control position or temperature.

I went with my Washing Machine, but I'm not sure this would work for everyone. I have a newer Top Load washer, no agitator cone in the drum but has Jet Sprays. I used the Delicate cycle, Extra Soak, Low Spin, Eco-Warm Temp. I have washed 2 pounds at a time in a Delicates bag with a zipper close. I used a full scoop Oxyclean and one Cascade Platinum Dishwasher tablet (No laundry soap). I used the dishwasher tablet because of the antibacterial, and JetDry quick dry/no spot rinse included in the tablet. Because of the JetDry the Legos dried fast (over night on a towel) and didn't have any water spots. Since my washer has what they call "Smart Drum" technology it load senses the weight and position of what is in it, the washer was able to Low Spin the Legos without damage. The whole process wasn't noisy and the Legos came out clean and shinny.

DO NOT use a Dryer, even on Air dry. The tumble of the dryer can scratch or damage the Legos.

Towel dry is best, but if you're in a hurry use canned air to blow the remaining water in the underside.

So far, I'm averaging about 4 pounds a day base sorting, cleaning then final sort.

Cheers

Webby