Cleaning used Legos

Eseme · Post by **Eseme** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 3:43 am

I haven't the fainest idea what topic this falls under, but "general" should be safe.

Does anyone have advice on cleaning Lego?

A few years ago I bought a box of assorted Legos from a pre-teen selling his collection. I haven't looked at it in a while, for various reasons (no space for Lego, little money, grad school and no time...). I was inspired to continue sorting the stuff today, and noticed that a number of pieces are not at all clean.

What is the best way to take care of this? I'm talking about gunk in crevices (the recessed front areas of a rowboat, the corners of the stairs of an old-style spiral staircase). Reaching some of these areas is difficult. I'm not sure what this kid did to his toys, but yuck!

Also, what is the best way to deal with scratches in the printing? I've got some old castle walls with stone patterns around the windows, and one has a spot right in the middle of a "stone" where the darker gray has been worn off and the lighter base color shows through.

Thanks for the help.

Post by **architect** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 12:10 pm

First you should wash all of the non printed LEGO in very warm water and liquid soap. Stirring the soaking LEGO and letting it sit for a couple of hours should remove most of the dust. Then I would rinse the LEGO with hot water in a strainer. Let it dry on towels for a couple of hours.

When the pieces that have gunk like gum are rinsed, use a toothpick to remove the gunk. You may need a cloth and a sticker remover like Goo Gone to get the rest of stuff off. If your printing is scratched on the wall panel, you can not get it back.

Ben

Jacob C. · Post by **Jacob C.** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 3:11 pm

First you should wash all of the non printed LEGO in very warm water and liquid soap. Stirring the soaking LEGO and letting it sit for a couple of hours should remove most of the dust. Then I would rinse the LEGO with hot water in a strainer. Let it dry on towels for a couple of hours.

That's probably the best method.
It works for me!

use a toothpick to remove the gunk.

That's a good idea for those hard to reach places.

dJOLe_sk8 · Post by **dJOLe_sk8** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 9:55 pm

WOW! That is a good question...
I wanted to ask it myself recently

Thanx

So there isn't an easier way...
However you need a LOT of time and LOT of patience...

Greetings from Serbia

Remyth · Post by **Remyth** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 3:58 am

How I have cleaned some of my LEGOs in the past was to use an alcohol swab for the non-printed ones.

For little crevices, you can put the alcohol swab around a toothpick, and rub the pointed part of the swab, the part where the end of the toothpick is, on what you want cleaned.

P.S.-PM me if you want me to explain better.

dJOLe_sk8 · Post by **dJOLe_sk8** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 2:28 am

By the way,I have some other problems about cleaning...

I washed the my DM's capes a years ago (I don't know why I've done that,they were clean), and the,well I don't know the word

,may I say green things are show up on them...

Can someone teel me how I can solve this problem?
Thanx

Greetings from Serbia

BreadMan · Post by **BreadMan** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 5:18 am

I don't know if this will help or not but the best cleaning tool I have found is a toothbrush. I keep a couple old used toothbrushes on my workbench for getting rid of dust on lesser used pieces, and a newer brush of medium or hard stiffness combined with soap and water is good for getting more resistant dirt and grime out.

Peppermint Pig · Post by **Peppermint Pig** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 7:57 am

Everybody else covered most of it...

Just like Breadman, Stone Goblin also suggests using a toothbrush, but I've run across collections where chewing gum was stuck to pieces. In this case, Architect advises correctly: Use an anti-gum agent such as Goo-Gone. Use the Goo-Gone before putting the piece into the warm water and soap treatment.

Like Architect suggests, separate prints and sticker pieces from the general parts, then bathe the pieces in warm water (not too hot), and use a liquid soap. Anti-Bacterial soap might be recommended, though I generally use a castile or other mild liquid soap (Lego usually cleans very easily).

Again, as Architect suggests, dry your pieces for an extended period on some towels. But be sure to dry your pieces THOROUGHLY, else you'll run the risk of attracting mold. If it's a hot/arid day, you could perhaps lay out a towel, set out your pieces, then cover them with another towel to prevent sunlight discoloration.

kelderic · Post by **kelderic** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 2:23 pm

I tried using warm water, but I realized that while it does remove dust, it does not kill the germs. So I used hot water, and my pieces melted somewhat (probably too hot of water). So, now I use watered down beach. Add enough water so that it doesn't hurt your hands, and just let the Legos soak for 20 minutes. Then let them dry and they are very clean.

Kelderic

Kanduu · Post by **Kanduu** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 3:10 pm

This topic seems familiar to another we've had before. Try looking at this post for more ideas.

Good luck getting them useable again.