Subject:
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Re: How do -you- clean your LEGO parts?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.parts, lugnet.general
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Date:
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Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:56:54 GMT
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Viewed:
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10477 times
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Jordan Bradford wrote:
> I don't think LUGNET has had any discussions about this in quite some
> time.
>
> How do -you- clean your LEGO parts?
>
> I'm interested in learning people's techniques, particularly ones
> that clean a lot of parts at once with little effort.
>
> LEGO that's been on display just a short time can be cleaned with
> compressed air. But for displays that have been sitting out for long
> periods, the dust tends to stick, so you need to get more aggressive.
>
> Then there's the issue of cleaning large quantities of parts that you
> bought from your neighbor's garage/rummage sale or from eBay. I'm
> always concerned about how dusty/sticky/whatever those foreign parts
> could be.
>
> How do you dry them after they're cleaned? Water usually stays
> trapped in the small crevices because of surface tension and takes
> forever to evaporate. This can also leave soap marks.
>
> I've tried the warm soapy water and toothbrush method and the
> swish-around-in-a-bathtub method, but they're both time-consuming and
> hard to do with small pieces. It seems to me that using a washing
> machine or a dishwasher could work, but I've never tried it due to
> scratches the parts could acquire and potential heat issues.
I've always washed my parts in soapy water. I will usually put the parts in
a bucket of soapy water at least overnight (sometimes several days). I
separate out the chrome and stickered parts. I usually do some sorting, with
the tiny parts and most interesting parts washed in a large plastic
container with a lid (such as a large peanut or cookie container, about a
gallon in size with a 6" lid, preferably round). The round container allows
good swishing of these parts.
After a good soak, parts are then washed a 2nd time in warm soapy water. As
I wash the parts, I watch for things that need an extra scrub. The parts are
rinsed and drained in a wire mesh colander and then dumped on a thick bath
towel. I pick up the corners of the bath towel (to make a sack) and give the
parts a good tumbling to drain them off more.
Then parts get laid out on towel covered trays, shaking larger parts out to
get any last water out. I then set the trays in the sun (out on the deck in
nice weather, otherwise near a window). As I lay the parts out, some will
need additional cleaning. Sometimes I will take the parts back to the sink
and use a toothbrush, other times they will go back in to soak. Some parts
may need to be turned or given another shake after a period of drying.
If parts smell smoky, the soak is in anti-bacterial soap, otherwise I just
use liquid dish soap.
As to cleaning dusty MOCs, if they need more than a simple brushing or
vacuum, then you may need to disassemble and go through the soak process, or
you might be able to soak the entire MOC.
Frank
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | How do -you- clean your LEGO parts?
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| I don't think LUGNET has had any discussions about this in quite some time. How do -you- clean your LEGO parts? I'm interested in learning people's techniques, particularly ones that clean a lot of parts at once with little effort. LEGO that's been (...) (16 years ago, 21-Feb-08, to lugnet.general, lugnet.parts)
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