Thinkpads Forum

I bought some hard drive caddies and I have a weird problem, the rubber pieces stink terribly!!

How can I get rid of that bad smell? I tried rubbing them with 100% alcohol, I left them two days outside in the balcony, used some cleaning foam I have for my TPs, but the bloody things still stink terribly. When I put them in any of my TPs, then the complete notebook stinks!

Any hints or recommendations will be really welcomed

Try using white vinegar which is good at neutralizing some odors. What I would do is take a zip lock plastic bag, lightly saturate a piece of paper towel with the vinegar, put the caddies in with the paper towel and seal the bag. Let it sit for 24 hours and then see how they smell. Hopefully better

Thanks for the hint, I'll have to buy some white vinegar, I dont think Aceto Balsamico will be an alternative

Tasurinchi wrote:Thanks for the hint, I'll have to buy some white vinegar, I dont think Aceto Balsamico will be an alternative

Aceto Balsamico is definitely the wrong choice. Distilled white vinegar is readily available in the UK but I can't remember seeing it elsewhere in Europe. White wine vinegar is an alternative but has a lot of 'imperfections' because it hasn't been distilled. Vokda might be suitable though. If not, go to a pharmacy and ask for a small quantity of pure ethanol.

killer wrote:white vinegar is readily available in the UK

Its definitely available in Switzerland too, as I bought some from a Co-op supermarket in Zurich to remove calcium/mineral deposits from a humidifier... but I have no recollection of what it was called in Swizerdeutsch.

Cheers,

Bill B.

What's the difference betweem "Distilled white vinegar" and normal "Wine white vinegar"?

bill bolton wrote:but I have no recollection of what it was called in wizerdeutsch

If Coop has it Migros will have it too, the german description would be "Weinessig", while Swiitzerdüütch would be something like "viiässig" or similar...

I wuerd' das Zueg im Zuerisee werfe, und neues Zueg chaufe vommene zuverlaessigi Quelle!

RealBlackStuff wrote:I wuerd' das Zueg im Zuerisee werfe, und neues Zueg chaufe vommene zuverlaessigi Quelle!

But the caddies are new and in good shape! It's just the rubber parts stink, and I don't want to harm the poor fishes of Zürisee

The rails come in black and grey versions.
AFAIK the grey ones are original IBM/Lenovo and made of a fairly soft rubber (or silicone?).
The black ones are made of a harder rubber, and they do smell a little bit.

I'm not aware of the white plastic -that's glued on the caddies- smelling of anything...

Yeah, I have the black ones... I left the rubber parts the whole weekend outside, on the balcony, as I was away during the weekend. Let's see if this helps. Otherwise I will have to run to the supermarket to but white vinegar.

RealBlackStuff wrote:I'm not aware of the white plastic -that's glued on the caddies- smelling of anything...

Correct, the caddy itself doesn't smell...

Is it the two rubber rails that encapsulate the drive? The ones that ship with the machine don't seem to have any significant smell... Dunno if they'd like being boiled though

Colonel O'Neill wrote:Is it the two rubber rails that encapsulate the drive?

Correct, mine have a strong smokey odor... Difficult for me to describe...

Where did you get those rubber rails from? Such a stink would indicate very cheap (quality-wise) rubber/plastic...

Marin85 wrote:Where did you get those rubber rails from? Such a stink would indicate very cheap (quality-wise) rubber/plastic...

Got them from Ebay China

Rubber quality doesn't look bad, it's just the smell. Right now they are swimming in vinegar, let's see the result later...

Tasurinchi wrote:Got them from Ebay China

I already knew that

Tasurinchi wrote:Rubber quality doesn't look bad, it's just the smell. Right now they are swimming in vinegar, let's see the result later...

You said it yourself: it is not about how it looks, it is about how it smells. And that comes from the finishing chemicals (probably you already know that)... (not that I am implying anything, but remember the affair with the chinese toys imported in EU some time ago?!) Rubber is not really prone to adapting arbitrary smells, that is, unless it has been treated with a specific chemical. On the other hand, if they can out-smell your cheese, they are a keeper Keep us posted about the effect of the vinegar. Worst thing that can happen, the rubber rails will simply dissolve in the vinegar, lol.

Well... short status:

I left the rubber pieces in concentrated vinegar for around 4 hours, the odor has gone a quite bit, but on a close smell is still there.

Marin85 wrote:Worst thing that can happen, the rubber rails will simply dissolve in the vinegar, lol.

The rubber did not dissolve and still feels stiffly as it did before. Next try will be to spray glass cleaner, got the tip from another forum... I'll keep the results posted...

Tasurinchi wrote:Well... short status:
I left the rubber pieces in concentrated vinegar for around 4 hours, the odor has gone a quite bit, but on a close smell is still there.

Sounds like you had a partial success. I would try a little longer soak to see if it will eliminate the remaining odor. You could also try warming the vinegar before the soak. Vinegar gets a little more aromatic when warmed up. I wouldn't warm it to a boil though as that may really dissolve the parts.

Tasurinchi wrote:The rubber did not dissolve and still feels stiffly as it did before. Next try will be to spray glass cleaner, got the tip from another forum... I'll keep the results posted...

Glass cleaner usually has ammonia or vinegar as one of it's prime ingredients which maybe why it helps with an odor problem. Using a straight vinegar solution will probably be more effective.

Majestic wrote:You could also try warming the vinegar before the soak. Vinegar gets a little more aromatic when warmed up

Doh! I left the vinegar (and the rubber pieces inside) outside on the balcony to avoid the smell inside my house. Temperature was about +1°C only

I'll try again today, this time I'll leave the vinegar inside...

Current status: after around a 4 hour submersion session in a mix of concentrated vinegar and warm water, the smell is almost gone!

There is still some odor if you smell the rubber very close, but I think I won't be able to get 100% rid of the smell. Before I could smell the things 10 meters away and now I have to put my nose directly over the rubber to notice the bad odor. For me the case is closed!

Let's see what will happen after installing them in my TPs, hopefully the heat will not make them smell again!

Thanks everybody for the tips and hints!!

Cheers

Tasurinchi wrote:Let's see what will happen after installing them in my TPs, hopefully the heat will not make them smell again!

Good to hear

Don't be afraid to give them another treatment if needed. Sometimes it takes more than one application to resolve the problem. Earlier this year my daughter moved into a home that had a kitchen cabinet with a heavy perfume odor even after a thorough cleaning. Each day I placed a small bowl of vinegar on each shelf, closed the door and let it sit for 24 hours. It took five days, but the odor was gone.

Something Majestic mentioned about kitchen smells reminds me that my mother used to swear by Bicarbonate of Soda to get rid of stinks. The chemical formula is NaHCO3 as it has various different names; bicarb, baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, etc.