Yesterday a good friend (but regular smoker) dropped off one of those
USB/PC oscilloscopes. Bringing it in the house reminded me how much
stuff from his place stinks of smoke, because they both smoke (and
probably the only of my friends that do). ;-(

So, last night I stripped the unit down and washed the case and all
the cables / probes in hot soapy water, dried it all with some paper
towel and left it on an electric radiator on low overnight (to ensure
it's all dried), but *I* can still smell the 'the smell' on the cables
(especially) and things like the rubber front and back moldings. I
didn't notice any of the typical yellow gungy film you often see on
heavily contaminated stuff as I think all the cables were in a
cardboard box, so it really is the smell, rather than the gunge.

Now I've had a Google and watched stuff on Youtube and seen all sorts
of solutions that were confirmed as working by some but then not by
others and there is a good chance the success of any outcome may
depend on many things (depth of exposure to the smoke, material
concerned etc).

Like, washing it all down with white vinegar (don't have any atm) or
putting it with some 'Baking Soda' (is that 'Bicarbonate of soda',
don't have any of that either) but how would these work better than
washing any contamination off the stuff with hot soapy water?

So, can anyone explain at a molecular level what's happened (how this
habit has impregnated things like the plastic insulated cables) and so
help me understand how things like vinegar or baking soda might
completely remove the smell please?

My next step would be to put it all out on a try and leave it out in
the sun (UV / fresh air) but the weather is a bit unpredictable atm.
;-(

Whilst this scope and cables is 'better' after the washing, because
it's something you typically use close up, especially the probes, I
really don't want that smell under my nose every time I use it). ;-(

I'm particularly interested in solution as a while ago he gave me an
old TFT TV (that might be a bit intermittent ... and that's been in
the shed since he gave it to me in the hope it de-fumigates over
time). If it doesn't, I can imagine I could get the back off and wash
/ treat that (in the shower) but not something I'd want to do with the
actual screen or electronics, particularly if it doesn't help much?
;-(

Cheers, T i m

On Sun, 01 Nov 2020 10:42:00 +0000, T i m wrote:

Whilst this scope and cables is 'better' after the washing, because
it's something you typically use close up, especially the probes, I
really don't want that smell under my nose every time I use it). ;-(

Well probes are not exactly expensive...

As for the USB Scope, perhaps give it a gentle spray or wipe over
with a fabric refresher? SWMBO'd uses Febreze fabric refresher with
reasonable success but on fabrics not hard surfaces. She's not a
great fan of artifical scents so I suspect you can get these
refreshers "sans parfum" or at least with something overpowering.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Sun, 01 Nov 2020 11:09:14 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

On Sun, 01 Nov 2020 10:42:00 +0000, T i m wrote:

Whilst this scope and cables is 'better' after the washing, because
it's something you typically use close up, especially the probes, I
really don't want that smell under my nose every time I use it). ;-(

Well probes are not exactly expensive...

No, sure, but I'd rather not replace them if I don't have to, given
they are nearly new (as in usage). I think they are quite good, X1/X10
switch and with a matching capacitor thing in the plug.

As for the USB Scope, perhaps give it a gentle spray or wipe over
with a fabric refresher?

As mentioned, the (ally) sleeve case has been washed in hot water and
I think that be is pretty good now (I'm guessing it's down to the
permeability of the smell molecules that impact how persistent /
resistant to cleaning it stuff is).

It's one of these OOI:
https://www.hantek.eu/dso-6022be.html

SWMBO'd

(Did you know that slavery is banned these days Dave? g)

uses Febreze fabric refresher with
reasonable success but on fabrics not hard surfaces.

Yeah, I've used that on fabrics (and the room air fresheners) in the
past ...

She's not a
great fan of artifical scents

Nor am I, even requesting the Mrs put on any perfume as she goes out
the front door, not in the bedroom etc. ;-)

so I suspect you can get these
refreshers "sans parfum" or at least with something overpowering.

Pre lockdown we visited daughter and she had a couple of those oil
stick things in the lounge. I had to put a bag and electric band over
them as they were making me cough and my eyes sting. Same with a
particular brand of hand cream the Mrs would sometimes apply and I
could tell she had done it as soon as I walked in the room. ;-(

I smelled 'burning' in the house the other day and even went outside
and sensed it a bit stronger. 10 mins later I saw a fire engine go
past.

I should have some white vinegar and baking soda on the way as they do
seem to be regularly used (in various ways) so they may have some
special properties.

Cheers, T i m

Yes I'm afraid this is the only way to do it. No I cannot explain it, but
its obvious that there are micropores in most materials and these chemicals
do get deep into materials, even if they appear hard. All I can say is if
you can mask it, do so, but over a year or so, the smell does reduce, of
course it might be that the senses just get used to it. Its a bit like if
you have a dog in the house, you can tell as soon as you walk in, no matter
how clean the house is.
Brian

--

This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
idual.net...
On Sun, 01 Nov 2020 10:42:00 +0000, T i m wrote:

Whilst this scope and cables is 'better' after the washing, because
it's something you typically use close up, especially the probes, I
really don't want that smell under my nose every time I use it). ;-(

Well probes are not exactly expensive...

As for the USB Scope, perhaps give it a gentle spray or wipe over
with a fabric refresher? SWMBO'd uses Febreze fabric refresher with
reasonable success but on fabrics not hard surfaces. She's not a
great fan of artifical scents so I suspect you can get these
refreshers "sans parfum" or at least with something overpowering.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 1 Nov 2020 at 10:42:00 GMT, "T i m" wrote:

Yesterday a good friend (but regular smoker) dropped off one of those
USB/PC oscilloscopes. Bringing it in the house reminded me how much
stuff from his place stinks of smoke, because they both smoke (and
probably the only of my friends that do). ;-(
snip

Have you considered exorcism?


--
Roger Hayter

On 01/11/2020 12:37, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 1 Nov 2020 at 10:42:00 GMT, "T i m" wrote:

Yesterday a good friend (but regular smoker) dropped off one of those
USB/PC oscilloscopes. Bringing it in the house reminded me how much
stuff from his place stinks of smoke, because they both smoke (and
probably the only of my friends that do). ;-(
snip

Have you considered exorcism?


bleach is a good way to kill smoke smell


--
If I had all the money I've spent on drink...
...I'd spend it on drink.

Sir Henry (at Rawlinson's End)

In article ,
T i m wrote:
So, last night I stripped the unit down and washed the case and all
the cables / probes in hot soapy water, dried it all with some paper
towel and left it on an electric radiator on low overnight (to ensure
it's all dried), but *I* can still smell the 'the smell' on the cables
(especially) and things like the rubber front and back moldings.

Bit odd, in that washing clothes gets rid of any tobacco smells. Of course
since it's likely got ventilation slots, the inside bits could be coated
too.

--
*Cover me. I'm changing lanes.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 01/11/2020 10:42, T i m wrote:
Yesterday a good friend (but regular smoker) dropped off one of those
USB/PC oscilloscopes. Bringing it in the house reminded me how much
stuff from his place stinks of smoke, because they both smoke (and
probably the only of my friends that do). ;-(

My sister bought a car ten years ago and after she'd paid noticed the
smell of smoke. She tried everything, but every time I went in that car
I could smell the smoke. She got rid of the car a couple of years ago.

I bought a reclining chair from the BHF 18 months ago, and despite all
efforts it still sometimes smells of smoke.

Sometimes in the night I smell smoke, and when I look on the CCTV
someone's walked past, presumably smoking.

Bill

On 01/11/2020 11:42, Brian Gaff (Sofa) wrote:
its obvious that there are micropores in most materials

If ordinary TV cable is permanently immersed in water the copper braid
gets discoloured, and sometimes the cable becomes very lossy. Some
installers run cables along gutters and if the gutter isn't draining
properly and is nearly always full of water that's when it can happen.
It also happens when pillocks run ordinary coax underground,
unprotected. Also when underground cable is in a duct and the duct has a
point lower than anywhere where it can drain.

This is why we have 'direct burial' cables of course.

Bill

On 01/11/2020 15:46, williamwright wrote:
On 01/11/2020 10:42, T i m wrote:
Yesterday a good friend (but regular smoker) dropped off one of those
USB/PC oscilloscopes. Bringing it in the house reminded me how much
stuff from his place stinks of smoke, because they both smoke (and
probably the only of my friends that do). ;-(

My sister bought a car ten years ago and after she'd paid noticed the
smell of smoke. She tried everything, but every time I went in that car
I could smell the smoke. She got rid of the car a couple of years ago.

I bought a reclining chair from the BHF 18 months ago, and despite all
efforts it still sometimes smells of smoke.

Sometimes in the night I smell smoke, and when I look on the CCTV
someone's walked past, presumably smoking.

Phantosmia.

--
Max Demian

On 01/11/2020 10:42, T i m wrote:
Yesterday a good friend (but regular smoker) dropped off one of those
USB/PC oscilloscopes. Bringing it in the house reminded me how much
stuff from his place stinks of smoke, because they both smoke (and
probably the only of my friends that do). ;-(

So, last night I stripped the unit down and washed the case and all
the cables / probes in hot soapy water, dried it all with some paper
towel and left it on an electric radiator on low overnight (to ensure
it's all dried), but *I* can still smell the 'the smell' on the cables
(especially) and things like the rubber front and back moldings. I
didn't notice any of the typical yellow gungy film you often see on
heavily contaminated stuff as I think all the cables were in a
cardboard box, so it really is the smell, rather than the gunge.

Now I've had a Google and watched stuff on Youtube and seen all sorts
of solutions that were confirmed as working by some but then not by
others and there is a good chance the success of any outcome may
depend on many things (depth of exposure to the smoke, material
concerned etc).

Like, washing it all down with white vinegar (don't have any atm) or
putting it with some 'Baking Soda' (is that 'Bicarbonate of soda',
don't have any of that either) but how would these work better than
washing any contamination off the stuff with hot soapy water?

So, can anyone explain at a molecular level what's happened (how this
habit has impregnated things like the plastic insulated cables) and so
help me understand how things like vinegar or baking soda might
completely remove the smell please?

My next step would be to put it all out on a try and leave it out in
the sun (UV / fresh air) but the weather is a bit unpredictable atm.
;-(

Whilst this scope and cables is 'better' after the washing, because
it's something you typically use close up, especially the probes, I
really don't want that smell under my nose every time I use it). ;-(

I'm particularly interested in solution as a while ago he gave me an
old TFT TV (that might be a bit intermittent ... and that's been in
the shed since he gave it to me in the hope it de-fumigates over
time). If it doesn't, I can imagine I could get the back off and wash
/ treat that (in the shower) but not something I'd want to do with the
actual screen or electronics, particularly if it doesn't help much?
;-(

Cheers, T i m


stick it in an empty small room with an ioniser for a week....

On Sun, 01 Nov 2020 13:51:37 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
T i m wrote:
So, last night I stripped the unit down and washed the case and all
the cables / probes in hot soapy water, dried it all with some paper
towel and left it on an electric radiator on low overnight (to ensure
it's all dried), but *I* can still smell the 'the smell' on the cables
(especially) and things like the rubber front and back moldings.

Bit odd, in that washing clothes gets rid of any tobacco smells.

Agreed. When I was running my mobile disco, the clothes would go
straight in the clothes bin when I got in, and would smell Chan after
being washed but 'kit', always seemed to carry the smell, even after
being wiped down with a soapy cloth.

Of course
since it's likely got ventilation slots, the inside bits could be coated
too.

True, other than I took the insides out and wiped that down with a
damp soapy cloth ... and the ally case actually never smelled as bad
as say the PVC covered cables or the rubberised front and rear ends.

Lots of the Googled solutions to this seem to cover the absorption of
the smell once it's left the device but my question was how can it
continue to emit such, even after it's been thoroughly washed in hot
soapy water?

I mean, if you could imprint wire with some other fragrance you could
be onto some big money in the air freshener game!

Cheers, T i m

On Sun, 1 Nov 2020 15:46:58 +0000, williamwright
wrote:

On 01/11/2020 10:42, T i m wrote:
Yesterday a good friend (but regular smoker) dropped off one of those
USB/PC oscilloscopes. Bringing it in the house reminded me how much
stuff from his place stinks of smoke, because they both smoke (and
probably the only of my friends that do). ;-(

My sister bought a car ten years ago and after she'd paid noticed the
smell of smoke. She tried everything, but every time I went in that car
I could smell the smoke.

I know the issue.

She got rid of the car a couple of years ago.

You hear many people that do.

I bought a reclining chair from the BHF 18 months ago, and despite all
efforts it still sometimes smells of smoke.

Yup, daughter bought a reclining chair locally when stepdaughter was
first suffering from her cancer (3x enlarged kidney) and that came
from the house of a smoker and still stinks now,. She keeps a throw
over it but we might see if we can treat it with something (mind you,
the dog seems to have adopted it as his chair so not so much of an
issue).

Sometimes in the night I smell smoke, and when I look on the CCTV
someone's walked past, presumably smoking.

Yup, I get the same and used to smell it when the guy next door
smoked. When out in the back garden I know when another neighbour home
worker is on a break as I can smell her dope (and judging how often I
smell it it much cost her a bit)?

I can also often tell if anyone in any of the cars immediately ahead
is smoking dope or a cigar etc (you can *see* them smoking a vape as
it looks like a steam train)!

Cheers, T i m

On 01/11/2020 22:37, T i m wrote:
On Sun, 1 Nov 2020 15:46:58 +0000, williamwright
wrote:

On 01/11/2020 10:42, T i m wrote:
Yesterday a good friend (but regular smoker) dropped off one of those
USB/PC oscilloscopes. Bringing it in the house reminded me how much
stuff from his place stinks of smoke, because they both smoke (and
probably the only of my friends that do). ;-(

My sister bought a car ten years ago and after she'd paid noticed the
smell of smoke. She tried everything, but every time I went in that car
I could smell the smoke.

I know the issue.

She got rid of the car a couple of years ago.

You hear many people that do.

I bought a reclining chair from the BHF 18 months ago, and despite all
efforts it still sometimes smells of smoke.

Yup, daughter bought a reclining chair locally when stepdaughter was
first suffering from her cancer (3x enlarged kidney) and that came
from the house of a smoker and still stinks now,. She keeps a throw
over it but we might see if we can treat it with something (mind you,
the dog seems to have adopted it as his chair so not so much of an
issue).

Sometimes in the night I smell smoke, and when I look on the CCTV
someone's walked past, presumably smoking.

Yup, I get the same and used to smell it when the guy next door
smoked. When out in the back garden I know when another neighbour home
worker is on a break as I can smell her dope (and judging how often I
smell it it much cost her a bit)?

I can also often tell if anyone in any of the cars immediately ahead
is smoking dope or a cigar etc (you can *see* them smoking a vape as
it looks like a steam train)!

Are you sure this animosity of yours isn't due to your moral disapproval
of smoking?

I bet Victorian temperance enthusiasts spoke similarly about the odour
of booze.

--
Max Demian

On Sun, 1 Nov 2020 22:55:55 +0000, Max Demian
wrote:

snip

I can also often tell if anyone in any of the cars immediately ahead
is smoking dope or a cigar etc (you can *see* them smoking a vape as
it looks like a steam train)!

Are you sure this animosity of yours isn't due to your moral disapproval
of smoking?

Animosity?

I bet Victorian temperance enthusiasts spoke similarly about the odour
of booze.

They may well have done, except I CGAF if someone wants to set fire to
their money, till it impacts me, then I feel I have the right to have
a say in the matter.

We have a human need to consume liquids, albeit without flavourings or
alcohol, there is no need for us to suck smoke into our lungs and so
doing so is their *personal* choice.

Just in the same way people carrying *personal music players* should
keep them *personal*, and people using a *personal telephone* should
do the same (and hence the need for 'quiet carriages', just like there
was the need for non-smoking carriages, after enough people called for
such).

I don't care about smoking, I care about having to smoke (when just
going about my day-to-day business) or suffer the side effects of
someone else's personal choice (just as I would someone causing an
accident whist drink driving or not picking up after my dog and then
someone else walking it it).

Cheers, T i m

On 01/11/2020 10:42, T i m wrote:

Yesterday a good friend (but regular smoker) dropped off one of those
USB/PC oscilloscopes. Bringing it in the house reminded me how much
stuff from his place stinks of smoke, because they both smoke (and
probably the only of my friends that do). ;-(

[1] Put a fair amount of kitty-litter in a plastic bag that's easily big
enough to hold the scope

[2] Put the bag on a rigid surface that you could move from place to
place (see [7])

[3] Spread the kitty-litter evenly

[4] Place a single layer of kitchen paper over the kitty litter, to
match the footprint of the scope

[5] Place the scope on the kitchen paper

[6] Seal bag

[7] By means of the rigid surface, place somewhere warm, e.g. airing
cupboard

[8] Test for odour, say weekly

[9] When odour level has fallen away, remove scope and use. Dispose of
the bag and contents.

--
Spike

On 01/11/2020 23:58, T i m wrote:

I CGAF if someone wants to set fire to
their money, till it impacts me, then I feel I have the right to have
a say in the matter.

Then you won't be in the least surprised to hear that your
virtue-signalling campaign for a global vegan diet is treated in similar
fashion by those you seek to 'convert'.

--
Spike