Fixing console smell?

[dedalusdedalus]

Today, I bought a Gamecube from Craigslist. I should have known something was up because the guy I bought it from was morbidly obese and covered in cat hair. As soon as I brought the haul into my car, the unmistakable pungent tang of cat piss begins to permeate the air.

The Gamecube and the games all smell like cat piss. I'm currently dousing the discs in alcohol. Does anyone have any idea how to remove smells from consoles? Maybe I can leave a car freshener inside the GC overnight?

[aaron]

just clean it, dude. any scented alcohol or ammonia based cleaner (windex, 409, etc) will work just fine. good luck with the paper inserts and manuals, though.

[KholdStare]

Today, I bought a Gamecube from Craigslist. I should have known something was up because the guy I bought it from was morbidly obese and covered in cat hair. As soon as I brought the haul into my car, the unmistakable pungent tang of cat piss begins to permeate the air.

The Gamecube and the games all smell like cat piss. I'm currently dousing the discs in alcohol. Does anyone have any idea how to remove smells from consoles? Maybe I can leave a car freshener inside the GC overnight?

"I should have known something was up because the guy I bought it from was morbidly obese and covered in cat hair" unfortuantely I do not know any techniques, but that is hilarious. Sorry.

[AmishSamurai]

Yeah, the manuals are gonna be a bitch.

For the cases, I think Hobie put his in the dishwasher, but turned off the heat dry.

Alcohol should work for the discs themselves. Since it evaporates, maybe if you pour some onto a paper towel or cotton ball, and then rub down the manuals, that could clean it without ruining them. Just throwing an idea for the last one.

[Reverend Finch]

I've heard good things about lava rocks removing odors. You can put the manuals and whatnot in a dark box with the lava rocks (once activated by the sun) and in a week or two, the smell should be gone.

[dedalusdedalus]

I've heard good things about lava rocks removing odors. You can put the manuals and whatnot in a dark box with the lava rocks (once activated by the sun) and in a week or two, the smell should be gone.

That's a very interesting idea. I figured all the paper stuff was a lost cause, I was going to try burying them in baking soda...

[Limewater]

Be careful with the discs! Don't use paper towels on them, and if you wipe them down at all, make sure that you use only radial strokes from the center of the disc out.

[Luke]

Clean appropriately, and if the odor persists, I'd avoid using synthetic air fresheners near the console. Let that sucker breathe some fresh air outside while sitting on a towel. That, or you could pick up smoking and really make the GC stink.

Watch how you clean your discs too, sounds like might be damaging them. Check the repair thread jic.

[pepharytheworm]

For paper and cloth I find leaving them out for a long period of time the smell will improve.
I had plenty of video game manuals and such that smelled like smoke or animals. The only thing I find this dosen't work for are the foam inserts in Sega Cd, Saturn, and PS1 long box cases.

[Hobie-wan]

For the cases, I think Hobie put his in the dishwasher, but turned off the heat dry.

Yeah, that would probably work, though I had 63 of them to do. If its just a few games, just take out the inserts and everything and give them a quick go in the sink with warm water and a shot of dishwashing liquid. To dry them, open them up 'too far' a bit so you can get the plastic window to not be pressed against the rest of the case so it will dry faster. You might stand them up with a pill or tylenol bottle in where the insert would be so it stays open.