Stinking Robot - Help

[RotoBadger]

I just picked up a nice Apollo 2000 robot off of Ebay. Good shape and works pretty well. Here's the problem: When I opened the box I was assaulted with the smell of cigarette smoke! This robot REEKS of smoke! Does anyone have any ideas how I can get rid of the smell? I don't even want to put it in my case with the other bots at this point.

[Dirk]

Maybe you should smoke 2 or 3 good havannas - and you would not smell any differences after that ? :lol:

or - HAVE A LOOK: EXTREME SMOKING:

[Blechroboter]

You´ve bought a gunked robot? :blink: Well we all know that gunked robots have a high value. :lol:

Here is my hint: wash the robot with a wet drying-up cloth and detergent. And don´t forget to dry him quick.

[robothunter]

I always see eBay auctions where the seller makes a huge point of the fact that the item is coming from a smoke-free home. And since I've never had the bad luck of getting a stinker like yours, I guess I never really thought about the value of importance of a detail like that. I'm so sorry to hear you got this smelly toy! I wish I knew what advice to give you except that I'm always hearing people swear that baking soda works wonders in gettting rid of bad smells. Prehaps putting the robot inside a closed box with an open container of baking soda for a couple days might help?

Is it bad enough that you've thought about just sending it back? Have you talked to the seller about the smell? Don't be surprised if he, like most smokers, doesn't realize how bad his person, clothing, and home, all smell like a giant ashtray! Most smokers are just not aware so he might not have meant to pass off the robot and it could be an honest error on his part to not mention that it came from the home of a smoker. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you really should allow him the benefit of the doubt on this one. Good luck! ;)

[dratomic]

Wow. That sucks. You could try putting it in a small, enclosed space with a few open boxes of baking soda. Or maybe pour the baking soda on the floor of the enclosed space -- leaving some room in the middle for the robot -- as well... I don't know what else out there absorbs odor.

Actually, you could stick a bunch of odor eaters on the robot. (Use a rubber band to attach them.) I'm not joking -- it might work.

...Perhaps a combination of the two...

Good luck!

[Joe K.]

RB -

I had the same problem when I first got the PinBot pinball machine for The Museum, only on an even bigger scale, as you can imagine!

I did the two things already suggested here: clean the surfaces you can get to with rubbing alcohol or Windex and then use the baking soda trick. I put two open boxes inside the machine for months (years, actually!).

Finally, just leaving the piece exposed to the open air will eventually reduce the odor. I'd suggest keeping your Apollo 2000 outside of any case for quite a while. Once the smell is no longer noticable, then it'll be safe to add him to the group.

[tinluver2]

Get rid of it.I've tried everything.It will always stink and upset you.:(

[Kilroy]

Last year I bought a collection of Hong Kong robots and opened the box... Wahuugh

These were mostly boxed and I had to remove them from their boxes and leave them all air out at the warehouse at my work for a few weeks, after that they were tolerable but actually most of those boxes I had repackaged and put away into storage. It hadn't occurred to me until now what that may smell like when i reopen it.

[Sparkrobot]

RB,,,,,,,,,Display him next to a Smoking Spaceman Robot and give him the blame! :blink: :P :D

[RotoBadger]

Thanks for the replies guys. I guess I'll try the cleaning and then baking soda tricks.

[Kilroy]

LOL smoking spaceman. I like that.

Have you tried googling it? One page suggested removal of fire damage odor by an enclosed space with an ozone generator - I do believe that many household air purifiers (ionizers) work on this principle.