Cleanup project: cat hair and tobacco tar inside! EEEWW!!!

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jmroberts70

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I built this machine about 3 years ago and finally got it back from the client. Apparently he has a cat (or two) and smokes. Strangely, it didn't smell like cigarettes but some sort of pipe tobacco -but he just smokes cigarettes. Anyways, there was enough airflow to start sucking all the stray cat hairs through the case and then all the tar in the smoke helped it all take shape. I spent the past week just cleaning that stuff out. In some cases (like the original chipset cooler) I just had to replace things...

cathairpc01.jpg

here you can see just behind the front bezel the extent of the... um... mess!

cathairpc05.jpg

As nasty as it was, I managed to peel it all off in a couple of pieces. Ewwww!!

cathairpc04.jpg

A shot of the CPU cooler and the extent of tar and cat hair is easily seen. I wound up replacing this fan as well.

cathairpc06.jpg


cathairpc07.jpg

All cleaned up and re-wired for a boatload of additional hard drives!!

cathairpc08.jpg

Lastly, I added a filter mesh that is removable and washable to the front of the system to prevent any further... um... damage!!

I've always heard about the "tar" in the smoke from cigarettes but I've never actually SEEN it. I was told about the old jet liners that used to allow smoking onboard and how they would seal up a lot better than the non-smoking planes. Now I really understand why!
 
Nice job cleaning the mess up. I've done the same with keyboards and systems... they didn't clean up that nicely, however.
 
For that, I would charge the person an extra $40..
biggrin.gif


kinda gross..
 
Yeah, I've got a friend of mine (female) who's always giving me grief about my cleaning habits, especially concerning dust bunnies.
The last time I got ahold of her computer, to put the guts into a new case for her, I collected enough dust from the inside to fill one of those clamshell hard drive cases that Seagate uses! :eek:

Needless to say, I've given her a bit of grief back about that one!! ;)
 
I dont think I would have the balls to touch that :eek:

Most excellent job with the cables though!
 
Wow :eek: I can't say I've ever seen another computer quite that bad. Good job cleaning that up. It looks brand new.
 
Where did you buy that kind of mesh material ? looks like it can really come in handy in situations as that.

Thats pretty insane - the cat hair and tar build up lol. Good work
 
altec said:
What mobo is that?
Click to expand...

Iwill P4HT-S


Zoio said:
Where did you buy that kind of mesh material ?
Click to expand...

It's actually the filter material used in just about any wet/dry shopvac. Comes in a cylinder shape and I just cut it to the shape I needed to fit in the front bezel. I think I paid $2.50 at Wal-Mart for it.


shoney said:
What did you use to clean it? what techniques did you use?
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Ahhh... Now that's a good question!! I use an air compressor normally used for air tools and the like. I keep it in the garage just for cleaning all the PC's I go through. In this case though, I had to practically remove all components that were in a "high-traffic" area and use the air-blower directly in just about every little crevice. The air cleaning process probably took about an hour. Mind you, there were some parts (like about 2-3 of the fans) that I just wound up replacing as they were just too filty to even bother cleaning. The CPU heatsink probably took the longest to clean as it's an Alpha heatsink.

Thanks for all your kind words! Coming from the [H]ardforum means a lot to me!!
 
:eek: Wow. I'm glad I don't smoke and have no cats. Do you happen to have any "before" pictures of the motherboard/CPU? You did a *really* nice job cleaning them. Kudos!
 
Mohonri said:
:eek: Wow. I'm glad I don't smoke and have no cats. Do you happen to have any "before" pictures of the motherboard/CPU? You did a *really* nice job cleaning them. Kudos!
Click to expand...

I sure wish I had taken more shots of the system before I cleaned it! Thanks again for the compliments.
 
There are 11 reasons I go outside to smoke, I have 2 kids and 9 computers... I don't want them ending up like that.


That is bad, I had one come into a shop I worked at, think it was an old IBM P166 or something, looked like it had been in an attic for 20 years. You could have planted corn in the bottom of this thing.
 
I'm lucky then I don't smoke and My Cat stays away from the room with the two PCs in It as She hates the noise from all the fans in the two cases, Total of 11 fans(3 cpus fans). It helps to keep the dust and hair down, But then so does regular vacuuming of the carpet too. :D
 
Im a real neat neat freak i clean my room every day my pc every week. every time my cat gets near my pc i throw it across the room. The worst thing is im only 13 and im a neat freak. Im a mail by the way.
 
Goat_187 said:
I can just imagine your client's lungs. :eek:
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Yea, I was hoping that some of the shots of the inside of the case would affect him but that's the insanity of addiction.
 
jmroberts70 said:
Yea, I was hoping that some of the shots of the inside of the case would affect him but that's the insanity of addiction.
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addiction schmiction....people need to learn self control!
 
Smokes. Has cat.

Solution for cat: PCs on top of desk.

Solution for smoke: Standing ashtray below desk level, washable filters on intake fans.

No problems.
 
When it comes to smoking I have one simple rule:
I don't smoke around-
1.) Women (a curtesy thing but my best friend is allergic to cig smoke as well)
2.) Kids (growning kids shouldn't be around this shit)
3.) PCs (a healthy PCs shouldn't be around this shit :) )

It's all about self control. :)

Nice job with that, I probably would have charged more for having to touch something as nasty as that. :eek:

Ewww!
 
Yeah, I've actually charged more for things like that. I did alcohol soaks for just about everything.. Followed by high compressed air spraying to blow off the chunks. Then of course I swabbed everything with q-tips. Needless to say, I had that board, cables, video card, sound card, and everything else looking brand new. The owner tried fighting me for the cost of cleaning the machine saying "That's not what I brought it in here for" yet I considered it a part of "FIXING" the machine. Seeing as that the Tar and dust and hair would cause more damage to any new or replaced parts. I ended up showing him before pictures of everything in the machine (Which I don't have anymore), and he paid but never came back.
 
I have 2 dogs, and my wife and I both smoke.

The computers are in our "mud room" which is where the dogs come in from outside.

The room has an epoxied concrete floor, and needs to be mopped every few days because of the dogs.

My computer looks NOTHING like that!

That guy seriously must be living in complete filth to get his computer that disgustingly messy.

I have dust, yes, but nothing near that. The only thing in my computer that shows any signs of cigarette smoke are my clear PSU cables. Again, both my wife and I smoke, and the computer room is the only room in the house in which we smoke.
 
wow, nice cleaning!! i have a cat.....i hope my PC dosen't get that messed up!
 
jmroberts70 said:
Iwill P4HT-S

Ahhh... Now that's a good question!! I use an air compressor normally used for air tools and the like. I keep it in the garage just for cleaning all the PC's I go through. In this case though, I had to practically remove all components that were in a "high-traffic" area and use the air-blower directly in just about every little crevice. The air cleaning process probably took about an hour. Mind you, there were some parts (like about 2-3 of the fans) that I just wound up replacing as they were just too filty to even bother cleaning. The CPU heatsink probably took the longest to clean as it's an Alpha heatsink.

Thanks for all your kind words! Coming from the [H]ardforum means a lot to me!!
Click to expand...

On the metal parts..like the actual heat sink....try automotive brake cleaner in conjunction with your air compressor........I keep a can on the bench....it could be damaging to plastic....but I use it to clean processors when the person who installed was of the mindset that it a little thermal compound is good.....a LOT is better..... :p
 
Mad Machinist said:
On the metal parts..like the actual heat sink....try automotive brake cleaner in conjunction with your air compressor........I keep a can on the bench....it could be damaging to plastic....but I use it to clean processors when the person who installed was of the mindset that it a little thermal compound is good.....a LOT is better..... :p
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That's probably true! I just didn't want to take the heatsink off the board at the time. Lookin' back that probably would have taken a LOT less time.
 
Qtip42 said:
addiction schmiction....people need to learn self control!
Click to expand...

Trust me......after killing myself for almost 24 years with those things, you really don't know what you're talking about, until you've been there. It's amazing......I'm now cig-free for 14 months, after quitting cold turkey, and still get the occasional craving for one. Luckily all I have to do is be around any of my smoker friends, and that kills the craving pretty quickly (I never believed how bad they smelled until I quit!! :eek: ).

Smoking is an addiction, pure and simple. Physical and psychological, and both have a heavy grip on the smoker. A friend of mine years ago, who has spent most of his adult life battling heroin addiction told me one time that the only thing he found that was
almost as tough to quit as heroin was cigarettes!! :(
 
TheAcorn said:
Smokes. Has cat.

Solution for cat: PCs on top of desk.

Solution for smoke: Standing ashtray below desk level, washable filters on intake fans.

No problems.
Click to expand...
Smokes. Has cat.

Solution for cat: Get rid of it.

Solution for smoke: Stop.

No problems.
 
Nivram said:
Trust me......after killing myself for almost 24 years with those things, you really don't know what you're talking about, until you've been there. It's amazing......I'm now cig-free for 14 months, after quitting cold turkey, and still get the occasional craving for one. Luckily all I have to do is be around any of my smoker friends, and that kills the craving pretty quickly (I never believed how bad they smelled until I quit!! :eek: ).

Smoking is an addiction, pure and simple. Physical and psychological, and both have a heavy grip on the smoker. A friend of mine years ago, who has spent most of his adult life battling heroin addiction told me one time that the only thing he found that was
almost as tough to quit as heroin was cigarettes!! :(
Click to expand...

As a fellow ex smoker.....4 packs a day when I quit cold turkey....25 year habit.....I have been with out for six years now...and haven't wanted one since I quit.....after two weeks into quitting I was gonna have a smoke or kill somebody. I had smoked menthol for 25 years...only smoke I could get was a Marlboro light........took one of those drags that go from tip halfway down to the filter........when I finally got the taste out of my mouth ...the desire left and I have't wanted one since :D ........and to Mr self control....hope he never has a problem with any kind of addiction.......
 
EnderW said:
Smokes. Has cat.

Solution for cat: Get rid of it.

Solution for smoke: Stop.

No problems.
Click to expand...

Still smokes. No longer has cat.

Solution for cat: Found chick at work to adopt the obnoxious, vile beast.

Solution for smoking: Smoking needs a solution? :confused:

No problem.
 
we have 2 cats, and i have never had a problem with cat hair in my computer, but all our computers are on the desk, so that probably has something to do with it.

I about gagged looking at those pictures, i can smell the tar now. Eew.
 
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