LEGO Cleaning

Spongey · Post by **Spongey** » Tue Dec 26, 2006 5:44 pm

I have just recently taken my LEGO out of my messy storage boxes. However, since much of it has been lying around, a lot of dust has collected on all of the pieces. Due to the studs, it is difficult/impossible to use a dust collector like a Swiffer pad, so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to how to remove the dust from my collection. Thanks in advance.

Recluce · Post by **Recluce** » Tue Dec 26, 2006 6:02 pm

Are they built sets you want to keep intact and clean, or loose brick?

If loose brick a washing machine will work, or, if you don't have one like me, I just put them in a plastic tub, use hot water and some laundry detergent, and allow them to soak. Use an old toothbrush to scrub the top stud areas if needed.

If they're sets you can use canned air, or even Q-tips.

Buck Mustard · Post by **Buck Mustard** » Tue Dec 26, 2006 6:21 pm

I washed alot of brick that I received off of ebay. I first separated all (well, most) of the pieces and then put them in a pillowcase. I knotted the case shut and then put that inside a 2nd pillowcase and knotted it. I put it in the washer with just a drop of detergent... one time I put in too much detergent and the bricks seemed 'slimy' when I took them out.... not sure if they didn't rinse well or what. I run the washer on a delicate short setting.

I dump them on a sheet on the floor and spread them out for drying. Due to all the nooks and crannies in the bricks, it is good to spread them out and move them around every once in awhile to let all the water out.

Took quite a few loads to get all of them washed, but it goes pretty quick.

Sure makes it more fun to play with the bricks when they aren't dusty and gross!

Good luck!

The Blue Knight · Post by **The Blue Knight** » Tue Dec 26, 2006 6:21 pm

Depending on the structural integrity of any MOC you can use this approach. I turn on the shower and let the warm water run for a minute or so. Serious dust bunnies (more like dust fish after the deluge) can collect in corners. Tip it back and forth to get it all. Nothing like a minifig size tsunami to clear out the dead wood. I have a hand-held shower thing that I use too.

Rec-You wash brick in your clothes washing machine? I hadn't thought of that. Now I just need to get the wife busy elsewhere in the house...

Recluce · Post by **Recluce** » Tue Dec 26, 2006 6:26 pm

The Blue Knight wrote:Rec-You wash brick in your clothes washing machine? I hadn't thought of that. Now I just need to get the wife busy elsewhere in the house...

I have before, yes. But now that I only have access to a laundromat (and that just breeds too many qustions, aside from being $1 a load) I do it all in the tub. I haven't tried the dish washer yet..... there's a possibility. Anyone had any success?

J1A3L5 · Post by **J1A3L5** » Tue Dec 26, 2006 8:00 pm

I find dust settles in two stages - At first, it's just sitting on top, but after a while it tends to stick on.

For removing the dust that's fairly loose, a moderate air jet from a compressor works well. Not high enough PSI to be unmanageable or blow MOCs apart, of course!

For the persistent dust, I usually hand-wash parts, using a fairly soft brush to get in between all the studs. After washing, they get laid out on paper towel to air-dry. Sometimes it isn't really necessary to even brush them - The water carries all the dust away.

In a washing machine I'd be afraid of the pieces scratching each other, getting small dents, etc. I find that black shows scratches extremely well.

-John L.

DARKspawn · Post by **DARKspawn** » Tue Dec 26, 2006 11:51 pm

The Blue Knight wrote:Depending on the structural integrity of any MOC you can use this approach. I turn on the shower and let the warm water run for a minute or so. Serious dust bunnies (more like dust fish after the deluge) can collect in corners. Tip it back and forth to get it all. Nothing like a minifig size tsunami to clear out the dead wood. I have a hand-held shower thing that I use too.

Although I have no doubt that would work - I find the idea hillarious, I'd hate to have to explain that to my wife lol

kelderic · Post by **kelderic** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 12:11 am

The Blue Knight wrote:Rec-You wash brick in your clothes washing machine? I hadn't thought of that. Now I just need to get the wife busy elsewhere in the house...

Be careful to check your washer first; in many, the hole where the water drains out are big enough for small pieces to fall through. I's lost many a piece that way, when I leave them in my pockets.

Kelderic

Saaz · Post by **Saaz** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 3:29 am

I've recently been doing a lot of Lego washing... (Most of my collection, including childhood bricks that haven't been washed in 30 years.) I've been washing by hand: Soak loose bricks in tubs with dish-soap for about 30 minutes, swirl around, scoop out and drop in a tub of plain water, swirl around, scoop out and dry.

To dry them, I spin them in a salad-spinner, shake the basket around, and then spin again. This gets a lot of water off, then I pour the pieces out into a towel and roll or shake them around to get a little more water off. (I should note that a salad-spinner full of Lego bricks has an incredible amount of kinetic energy. Do not try to open it or stop it suddenly. I did, and I'll probably be finding pieces all over the kitchen for weeks.)

This process is not too painful to me or the bricks, gets the loose dust off, and the pieces dry pretty fast. Like J1A3L5, I have found sometimes you get caked-on dust when a model has sat out for a long time or something - in that case I use a little vegetable brush on the top surfaces.

As far as I can tell, printed pieces stand up to this ok. But with stickered pieces or the thin plastic banners, I just give them a quick dunk. I don't think they'll hold up to a long soak.

DS9 · Post by **DS9** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 7:51 pm

well you do have to close all boxes to prefent dust in the first place, but when cleaning i recomment that you empty the box and clean em one by trowing in a towel or something and clean em in water, dry em and put em in a clean box.

For white parts you also can make them extra white again by trowing them into a bucket with bleech (euhm.. hope you know what i mean, i think i spelled that wrong).

J1A3L5 · Post by **J1A3L5** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 4:05 am

DS9 wrote:For white parts you also can make them extra white again by trowing them into a bucket with bleech (euhm.. hope you know what i mean, i think i spelled that wrong).

Careful with bleach - I found it changed the brick itself. I took a bunch of pieces in varying stages of fading, and kept them in bleach for a long period of time, until they returned to their white. This took a surprisingly long time; several months at least.

After cleaning off the bricks and drying them, I tried snapping them together with other bricks, and found the plastic itself had hardened and expanded. Pieces barely fit together, and in some cases needed excessive pressure to snap together...and then were almost impossible to separate again. Aside from that, the pieces had completely lost any shine they could have, and still weren't a perfect white colour...I don't think the process is very useful.

-John L.

DS9 · Post by **DS9** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 6:15 am

don't leave them in the bleach, at most 2 days at a time. use a sponge with rough side on it as sandpaper to get it clean. Wash em with water and soap, dry them over night and wash em then with clean water. Dry em again over night and they are already a lot better. dont try to keep the bricks in the bleach for longer, it really hurts your bicks.

You also can put the bricks in a closet cloth and trow that in the washingmachine, make sure that you ONLY add bricks or plates, DO NOT add special bricks or plates.

Buck Mustard · Post by **Buck Mustard** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 2:39 pm

You also can put the bricks in a closet cloth and trow that in the washingmachine, make sure that you ONLY add bricks or plates, DO NOT add special bricks or plates.

So... are you saying that plates can be put in the waster or not?
Also, I washed every brick I have in the washer, with no problems. Please provide an explanation for your statement as to why certain brick can't be washed in a washing machine.

Post by **JoshWedin** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 4:43 pm

Buck Mustard wrote:
You also can put the bricks in a closet cloth and trow that in the washingmachine, make sure that you ONLY add bricks or plates, DO NOT add special bricks or plates.
So... are you saying that plates can be put in the waster or not?
Also, I washed every brick I have in the washer, with no problems. Please provide an explanation for your statement as to why certain brick can't be washed in a washing machine.

I think he might be referring to pieces with printing, chrome plated pieces, etc. Some of those can be damaged by the aggitation.

Josh

J1A3L5 · Post by **J1A3L5** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 6:23 pm

DS9 wrote:don't leave them in the bleach, at most 2 days at a time. use a sponge with rough side on it as sandpaper to get it clean. Wash em with water and soap, dry them over night and wash em then with clean water. Dry em again over night and they are already a lot better. dont try to keep the bricks in the bleach for longer, it really hurts your bicks.

I don't see how you get much a whitening effect out of just 2 days - It took mine over a month to show an appreciable difference, and several months to return to a very white colour. I'd also be afraid of completely ruining any shine the bricks had, if the sponge was very rough. In the end, I don't think I'd ever get acceptably shiny & white bricks out, so they'll still end up in my misfit bucket.

JoshWedin wrote:
Buck Mustard wrote:
You also can put the bricks in a closet cloth and trow that in the washingmachine, make sure that you ONLY add bricks or plates, DO NOT add special bricks or plates.
So... are you saying that plates can be put in the waster or not?
Also, I washed every brick I have in the washer, with no problems. Please provide an explanation for your statement as to why certain brick can't be washed in a washing machine.
I think he might be referring to pieces with printing, chrome plated pieces, etc. Some of those can be damaged by the aggitation.

I'd be very afraid to put anything like antennas or plant pieces in the washing machine - They'd almost certainly be bent or broken, in my opinion.

-John L.