I’ve just taken delivery of a new (to me but it’s only 2 months old) work laptop.

The problem is that the previous owner was obviously a prolific smoker and both the case & the laptop itself absolutely reek of stale tobacco smoke, to the point where my colleagues are commenting one it.

I’m going to attack the bag with Fabreeze so that shouldn’t be too much of an issue but what can I do to ‘freshen up’ the actual laptop itself?

It smells so bad it’s actually making me feel slightly sick a the moment so any suggestions would be most welcome.

Cheers.

Wire brush and Dettol?

Just break it and ask for a new one. That sounds manky.

Just break it and ask for a new one. That sounds manky.

Not sure my boss would go for that unfortunately,

however

Wire brush and Dettol?

might help to break it 😆

https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/84073-deodorize-a-laptop

Cheers woody, that looks exactly like what I need.

Attack it with some baby wipes. Anything stronger than that you might wipe the printing off the keys!

Lint free cloth and IPA might get some of the sticky stuff off the case, I’ve also used the Car Glass Wipes from Halfords as well and they’re fairly safe on keys.

I suspect you’ll be stuck with the stink as the previous owner is likely to have smoked while using it and the smoke will have been drawn in and through the fans.

Small company or one with an IT department? We’d not give out one in a state like that and if anyone did then I’d expect it to come back and my boss giving the previous owner and the person who handed it out a bit of a stern word.

We have billed contractors for laptop damage before, would your boss be accomodating to billing the previous owner for deliberate damage? (Unlikely I know).

Surely he shouldn’t have been smoking when at his work laptop? If it is a work laptop then wherever he was working at it (even if in his own home) was his normal place of work and therefore he shouldn’t be smoking?

It doesn’t help the OP though…

Laptop in a carrier bag with a tub of bi-carb over night or weekend?

The previous owner was a contractor who had only worked for us (from home) from last November and left the company yesterday.

The laptop (which was brand new when he had it) was passed directly from his former manager directly to me yesterday as my current machine is about to go tits-up.

I don’t think they could be arsed with the hassled of charging it back.

there’s no visible staining or marking, it looks brand new, just stinks of stale tobacco.

Well if you’re not willing to ‘accidentally’ break it, then I reckon washing it with cat piss will mask the tobacco smell.

Surely he shouldn’t have been smoking when at his work laptop? If it is a work laptop then wherever he was working at it (even if in his own home) was his normal place of work and therefore he shouldn’t be smoking?

This can’t be right!

If he wants to smoke in his own home, working or not, he’s completely entitled to.

Or have we actually got to this stage?

I’d get the vacuum cleaner nozzle on the fan outlet and any other vent ports(obviously with the laptop switched off) surprising how much crape and detritus can be sucked out this way, I would also turn it upside down and carefully vac the keyboard too.

Wipe it over with babywipes as you may be surprised its not as clean as you think.

Also you could seal it up overnight in a bag with some neutradol to help kill the smell.

I refused to use a pool car that was permeated with tobacco smoke, have you tried a more militant approach ?

Ditch the bag, they’re not expensive – we buy them for a fiver trade, you’ll never ‘cure’ it.

Have a go at the laptop with alcohol wipes (not the screen) or wet wipes in a pinch.

However, the most effective solution may be to turn it on, get as many programmes running as possible and wrap it up in a towel, 30 mins should do it 😉 deader than a dead thing, fan must have failed – clogged with ask no doubt, shame that, it wasn’t very old. Warranty job probably.

Fire it back as unacceptable. If it’s cleanable, IT or whoever is responsible for issuing kit should be cleaning it before they allocate it out.

The bag needs burning.

Kill it with fire, it’s the only way!

Or, alternatively, new bag with some bicarb of soda in a cloth hanky in the bottom, store the laptop in there when not in use and Bob should be your mother’s brother.

johndoh – Member
Surely he shouldn’t have been smoking when at his work laptop? If it is a work laptop then wherever he was working at it (even if in his own home) was his normal place of work and therefore he shouldn’t be smoking?

are you actually serious? 😆

Just pop it in the dishwasher, totally overrated hype that laptops and dishwashers don’t mix. Just take the battery out first of course…

I like P-Jay’s idea.

Unfortunately I can’t just send it back as apparently I’m lucky to have got a laptop at all due to current cost cutting here.

Big IT company who are happy throwing away money on useless projects & customer support but won’t spend a bit of money to keep the staff who actually do the work working….

Will try some of the suggestions

You’re lucky to have the tools you require to do your job? What does everyone else have, quills and parchment and an abacus?

A little update in case anyone is interested.

Following a slightly too thorough clean the keyboard died on my stinky laptop, which has finally been replaced today.

And the smell has now completely gone!

A week of being stuck in a bag with Neutradol eased things a little bit but it still ponged quite strongly but this new keyboard as sorted it completely 😀

Cheers for all the suggestions folks.