Keeping your games safe from smoke..

[zektor]

I am a smoker, and so is my father. We both live together. I was wondering what people do to save their cartridge collection from becoming yellowed or smoke ridden...aside from quiting smoking that is! I am currently trying to quit, but I know my father will never stop. How can I store my carts to protect them? Something sealable I would assume...

[nesman85]

you can store them in the sealable stackable tubs, or if you want to display them you could have them in a shelf with glass or plastic covering them. or if you have a room dedicated to games, you can just display them like normal, and just make sure not to smoke in there and keep that door closed.

[maxlords]

Chances are, the smoke will leech in no matter what you do. Even if you keep them in a sealed tub, very few things are TRULY airtight, and once someone in a non-smoking house gets them, you can REALLY smell it. I can tell how much someone smokes and where by what their games smell like anymore :) I've gotten some games that are smoky, and it's a pain to get out! The only real way to protect your games is to keep them in a totally smoke free room that's not connected to that of a smoker (like a garage) and not smoke when you use them. Often, if you clean the cases of a smoker's games, you'll find that they have a tar residue on them, just from being in the smoke, and it prematurely ages anything made of paper too. Good luck!

[Tetsu]

Other than not smoking in your home, there is nothing you can do to protect your games against smoke. The additives in smoke get in the air, and eventually settle on carts, game boxes and systems. The additives combine chemically with the plastic and make them turn yellow, smell bad, etc. Even worse, the additives combine chemically with pin connectors, laser lenses, cd surfaces, etc. This forms a permanent film that keeps games and cd's from working properly, and cannot be wiped off! Don't even get me started on how smoking degrades vinyl. So, please consider the welfare of your games as yet another good reason for you and your dad to quit!

[BHvrd]

Air Purifier, and Smokeless Ashtrays.

[Raedon]

quit smoking

[Britboy]

quit smoking

then buy new games. Worked for me!


By the way dude, you can't "try" to quit smoking. Do, or do not. There is no try. Not flaming you, it's just a fact, that's all. Until you make the decision, you won't quit. Best way is to set a date in advance, a month or two from now. Then smoke your ass off until then, at least double your normal rate. You'll be happy to quit when the day comes. Trust me, it works.

Also, the money you save from quitting will easily pay for the new games. I can't believe that cigs are up to $4.50 a pack, outrageous!!!

When I quit, I pledged to use that money to buy PS2 games. That was last year, and I now have around 80 PS2 games. 'Nuff said.

[christianscott27]

I'm inclined to believe that things arent a dire as some of the previous posters made it seem. use common sense and regularly dust and damp wipe your game area, avoid smoking in the room, open a window once in a while. the consoles that will give the most concern are the light colored ones like a SNES, aside from the dust and tar you wont see many effects on classic gamings basic black and woodgrain. as for the games if you tub them or stack them inside a book shelf you will have reduced the number of surfaces for gunk to settle on. i smoke lightly and only outside so i havent had firsthand experience with this but i'd imagine good housekeeping will go long way. it all depends on how heavily you smoke, one of my arcade machines used to be in a bar and it took a long while to lose its smell, i think that was due to the wood in it though. you really should consider smoking outside, it will cut down on your butts and give you an excuse to say hi to neighbors, walk the dog, stare at the moon and so on. smoking indoors bugs me, ever since i fell asleep smoking 6 years ago, luckily i only burned my knuckles...needless to say i could have taken down the building in flames.
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[NESCollector75]

If you keep all your carts together, do the smokey ones make the non-smokey ones smokey? (I know this has nothing to do with the original question but I am still very curious to know)

[GENESISNES]

about how long does it take for the carts, boxes, etc to turn yellow, smokey?

[Raedon]

if its a first run SNES all you had to do was buy it :)

[Sothy]

i chainsmoke and never once had an ebay complaint.

But my games are kept in plastic drawers.

[zektor]

Speaking of those first run SNES systems...why do they yellow so badly?