"Tim Schwartz" wrote in message
...
Rono,

Having had some fire damaged equipment myself, I can say there is no
easy answer. Rubbing alcohol removes a lot of the soot very well, but
can damage some plastics and finishes. Anything mechanical, like a VCR
will probably have so much junk in the bearings and moving parts that
they are not worth the effort, as cleaning will remove all lubrication.
Also, however much cleaning you do, expect some residual odor forever,
especially in hot, humid weather.


Simple Green works very well for cleaning just about anything, just dilute
it with some warm water and scrub gently.