deodorize smelly toy bricks

December 8, 2024 4:20 AM

We bought some Duplo bricks second-hand (same material as LEGOs) and did not think to check that they came from a non-smoking household. After two trips through the dishwasher, they still smell bad. I don't think they would be fun to play with like this, and it doesn't seem sanitary either. What should we try next?

(I'm not 100% sure that it's smoke-related. I guess it could also be petrol or something?)

posted by demi-octopus to Home & Garden (14 answers total)

Hand sanitizer/rubbing alcohol? Or put them in a pillowcase, secure it tightly and run them through the washing machine with detergent and oxyclean.
posted by essexjan at 4:25 AM on December 8, 2024

I don't know if this will work, but it did for me in another difficult smell. My dishtowels, although laundered regularly and with bleach, had a rancid fat smell. Some where on the web came the suggestion of adding Borax to the rinse. It did the job. It's still widely available and not expensive. (I'm old enough to remember the tv commercials for 20 mule team Borax.)
posted by tmdonahue at 5:03 AM on December 8, 2024 [1 favorite]

Do you have a garage you can leave them in for a few months? That's worked for me (and my super sensitive nose) with smokey 2nd hand clothing. They smell like garage at that point instead, but in my experience that's a much easier smell to remove by washing.
posted by Eyelash at 5:29 AM on December 8, 2024 [1 favorite]

Maybe put them in a sealed container with some activated charcoal?
posted by akk2014 at 6:25 AM on December 8, 2024 [1 favorite]

I've done this for lego! Bathtub + hot water + soap or oxyclean powder (dissolved in the water) - soak, stirring everything up with your hands from time to time. Leave it for a few hours if possible. Overnight is even better! Drain the tub, refill with water + bleach. Soak. Rinse. Spread everything out on a towel on the floor to dry.
posted by glorybe at 6:34 AM on December 8, 2024 [6 favorites]

I wouldn't worry about the sanitary aspect. They're clean now. The microplastics we can't see are probably way worse.
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:46 AM on December 8, 2024 [1 favorite]

Easiest and fastest way to get rid of cigarette stink is with an ozone generator made for purpose; we de-stank a room full of disgusting furniture and clothes with one. Expect to pay about $50 from vevor.com

Cheapest way is probably leave them out in the sun for a few weeks, turning them over from time to time, so the UV can get to them.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:11 AM on December 8, 2024 [3 favorites]

Yes. Ozone generator. You can rent little ones that you could just operate in an enclosed space like a rubber maid container. Note that ozone is both harmful to health so best done outside and will degrade plastics so moderation is called for.
posted by Mitheral at 9:36 AM on December 8, 2024

If you have access to sunshine putting them in UV rays for a few dayscan reduce odors and sanitize where you he rays hit.
posted by waving at 1:18 PM on December 8, 2024 [1 favorite]

Respectively, I would try the oxyclean or ozone machine but then I would ask friends to smell them, maybe you are just highly sensitive and maybe you should pass them on to kids who don't care.
posted by memoryindustries at 2:12 PM on December 8, 2024

I'd buy some super-cheap vodka, put it in a spray bottle, and repeatedly spray the bricks inside and out. It evaporates quickly and is used to deodorize, for instance, costumes used by actors between wearings (they are rarely laundered). If you were worried about the possibility of residual vodka, you could re-wash afterward.

I returned a rental car because it had a smoky smell to have it ozone treated. Twice. It didn't work, and smelled horribly of smoky bleach afterward. I ended up returning the car for another one.
posted by citygirl at 7:19 PM on December 8, 2024

Vacuum chamber?
posted by novalis_dt at 8:39 AM on December 9, 2024

Three things I'd try:

- Spread them on a garbage bag, spray them with an entire bottle of Dawn Powerwash, toss to coat completely, cover with another garbage bag to keep them moist, let them marinate for half an hour or so, then submerge in a sinkful of hot water a few times. Dawn Powerwash is very good at removing dirt, and also has a rather strong but not unpleasant floral scent that should help cover the ciggie smell.

- Buy a giant bottle of 99% rubbing alcohol (similar to the vodka advice but stronger and cheaper). Pour it over the Lego in a plastic container and toss around to wet all the surfaces, especially the inner parts of every brick. Let it air-dry.

- Soak them in a bleach-and-water bath.
OR
- Soak them in a vinegar bath.
BUT NOTE: DO NOT MIX BLEACH & VINEGAR, EVEN IN SMALL AMOUNTS, YOU GET CHLORINE GAS WHICH CAN KILL YOU. Someone I know literally passed out while cleaning and might have suffocated had a relative not found her, it's serious! So, try one or the other, not both together, and not even in sequence!

- Leave them outside, spread out and shaken periodically, so that UV light can take a turn.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 10:23 AM on December 9, 2024

Used coffee grounds, thoroughly dried and sealed in a box with the legos for a couple weeks should get rid of the cigarette smell. Obviously put them in a little dish or something so you don't end up with grounds all over the bricks.
posted by oneirodynia at 8:25 PM on December 10, 2024