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View Full Version : The Fight Against Dust!


ClubNinja
12-05-2003, 01:40 PM
Dust. You know it, you hate it. It gets all over your stuff. What do you do?

About a year ago, I went ahead and purchased a feather duster for my collection. Every week or so, I'd frolic around the room dusting off my goodies. No big deal. The problem is that the dust is taking over. I can't beat it. Sometimes, I just don't have the time to run around with the old feather duster, either.

Good example of evil dust: The other night, I ran a finger across the top of my US Saturn. I'd say it's been about a month since I booted 'er up. My finger ended up *coated* in dust.

So, what do you do to defeat the dust monsters from engulfing your collection? For some reason, whenever I'm in ChristianScott's game room, I can never locate dust. It pisses me off, frankly ;) What's the deal?
chadtower
12-05-2003, 01:49 PM
Dude, you do realize that a duster only moves dust around, right? It doesn't clean a thing. Try a vacuum with a brush attachment. Either that, or you can stop shedding skin.
Raccoon Lad
12-05-2003, 01:51 PM
keeping your stuff in an enclosed case is the best way to prevent dusty games. Failing that, you could always wrap your shelves/bookcases in saran-wrap.
Ed Oscuro
12-05-2003, 01:51 PM
A while back I got ahold of a bunch of Master System games...took the insert and everything else out and washed them. Some of that stuff gets really nasty.

Dust...I hate it, really badly, but it's not as bad as stains or other marks left by dirty people :D

I usually keep all my non-used consoles packed away in boxes so dust isn't a big problem there. It's something that you have to commit do doing every so often, that's all. If I had some *real* money I'd go get a shelf with doors (the plainer looking the better, of course) to hold my games in.

Laughing thinking about a Pilgrim-hat wearing Pac-Man frolicking around the room with feather duster and beer in hand though ;) How hard is it to pry that VCS joystick out of his hand, anyway?
Ed Oscuro
12-05-2003, 01:54 PM
Either that, or you can stop shedding skin.

*shivers*

It's so true. I never just dust around...have to use a rag to pick up the dust and toss it. Vaccumn would be nice, I agree, but it's a big out of the price range. Still, clean room = healthy you, win on all counts right?

Here's another more funky thought. Has anybody tried one of these crazy things Sharper Image has, "electrostatic dust remover" or whatever? Looks a bit like an electric space heater.
chadtower
12-05-2003, 01:56 PM
Most people have a vacuum of some size in their home. I mean, all you really need is a dustbuster strength thing with a brush. It's not like you're picking up nails or anything, it's a light layer of dust. Hell, you could use static electricity to pick it up if you really wanted to be cheap. Just toss saran wrap around the room for a while.
christianscott27
12-05-2003, 02:02 PM
So, what do you do to defeat the dust monsters from engulfing your collection? For some reason, whenever I'm in ChristianScott's game room, I can never locate dust. It pisses me off, frankly What's the deal?


well of course i clean that place like mad prior to every trademeet, all part of quality hosting ya know! my secret, get a pen gals, its the swiffer! i use the cloth thing you put on the stick, minus the stick, then i go back for seconds with vaccum cleaner and brush attactment. even a little windex type stuff on a paper towel if i'm really feeling fancy. for those of us in the frozen north its not just dead skin making dust, its the furnace! we have oil heat here and for the first cold week i was getting mad gray dust on everything. then we had the oil burner guy come and do an overhaul clean out, things are much cleaner now.
ClubNinja
12-05-2003, 02:08 PM
Laughing thinking about a Pilgrim-hat wearing Pac-Man frolicking around the room with feather duster and beer in hand though ;) How hard is it to pry that VCS joystick out of his hand, anyway?

Very easy. He prefers his Neo Geo or Dreamcast joysticks much more.

I'm having the feeling that the vaccum w/brush is probably to way to go for me. I am curious about this electrostatic dust removers, though. I've seen them advertised too, but never in action. Perhaps they operate with a soothing hum, as well. That would make the perfect gadget indeed.
ehall
12-05-2003, 02:27 PM
Dusting? Isn't that a woman's work?

Just kidding, just kidding!!

Seriously, I use the swiffer cloths myself, and I also keep my systems in a cabinet w/ doors. That helps alot.
Ze_ro
12-05-2003, 02:39 PM
I'd be careful about using a vaccuum... they can stir up the dust pretty badly too. If you get a really good duster, it shouldn't have much trouble picking up the dust. Rub the duster with a cloth for a bit, and it should get enough static electricity that it attracts the dust (of course, be careful about cartridge slots... a little static electricity can cause problems). For really dusty stuff, you might even want to consider wiping it with a slightly damp cloth.

For about two or three months, I made it a point NOT to dust my N64, but just to take off the expansion pak cover and clean that, just so that I could get a bit of contrast to see how much dust accumulated on stuff. It was pretty nasty, the system itself was almost a dull grey compared to the black cover.

--Zero
Sylentwulf
12-05-2003, 02:53 PM
Endust for electronics
http://www.shoplet.com/office/db/g15032.html

I have a spray bottle actually, but those wipes look like an even better idea. It gets the dust off, and makes it a LOT easier to get it off the next time, protects and cleans!

Yeah, I actually typed that, that's not a commercial cut n paste.
Jorpho
12-05-2003, 05:17 PM
I suppose one could always get a dehumidifier or similar device with a dust screen inside.
Drexel923
12-05-2003, 05:27 PM
I use swiffers myself. A couple of sheets work wonders. The only problem is that dust seems to be a constent pain. Even the day after I dust it gets bad. Don't they make an air filter type thing to suck in and eliminate dust. I'd imagine it would be pretty expensive if they do though.
Neil Koch
12-05-2003, 08:17 PM
Yes they make air filters, I have one. You can get small ones (good to place near your systems) for around $30 at places like Target or Wally World.
ClubNinja
12-05-2003, 09:33 PM
Yes they make air filters, I have one. You can get small ones (good to place near your systems) for around $30 at places like Target or Wally World.

This, I will be looking into.
Ze_ro
12-06-2003, 04:45 AM
Endust for electronics

I've always been a little scared of Endust since something I did when I was a kid... while I was snooping around in the closet, where we kept all the chemical stuff, I found a VERY old can of Endust, and the entire can was cut perfectly straight across so that you could just lift the top half right off. The cut was exactly as high as the level of fluid left in the can.

I'm not sure what this stuff did exactly, but I was a little weirded out by this. Never take chemicals for granted!

--Zero
kai123
12-06-2003, 05:12 AM
I use endust on my stuff all the time. I found a small plastic bottle of it in my desk that hadn't been touched in around a year and it wasn't cut in half. Something fishy there. :hmm:
wberdan
12-06-2003, 09:19 AM
I use an air filter.. if you have a pet , i highly recommend having one in your bedroom too.

the air filter, not the pet.


willie
petewhitley
12-06-2003, 03:31 PM
Yes they make air filters, I have one. You can get small ones (good to place near your systems) for around $30 at places like Target or Wally World.

Yeah, works like magic. You rarely have to dust with one of those babies humming along.
WiseSalesman
12-06-2003, 04:02 PM
Yes they make air filters, I have one. You can get small ones (good to place near your systems) for around $30 at places like Target or Wally World.

Yeah, works like magic. You rarely have to dust with one of those babies humming along.

Really? In that case I make pick one up after christmas. Can anyone reccomend a brand or something so I know what to look for?
stargate
12-06-2003, 09:23 PM
who the heck wants to dust all the time? Just keep all your games and systems in storage units (preferably with shelves and glass doors) or plastic bins. Not the prettiest way to store games, but sure beats dusting.
wberdan
12-06-2003, 10:36 PM
Yes they make air filters, I have one. You can get small ones (good to place near your systems) for around $30 at places like Target or Wally World.

Yeah, works like magic. You rarely have to dust with one of those babies humming along.

Really? In that case I make pick one up after christmas. Can anyone reccomend a brand or something so I know what to look for?

i have three... it seems to be a case of "you get what you pay for" ..
also- when you buy one, check out how much the replacement filters will cost... some units are cheap, but their filters are expensive, and vice-versa.
keep in mind, once you get one you need to do maintanence on it every so often.

willie