Bit of a weird one, which I debated putting under hardware... I recently purchased a Logitech wireless joystick off the old eBay. The controller works absolutely fine but has a very strong aroma of what can only be described as 'fat geek smell'. I've tried wiping it thoroughly with isopropyl alcohol which has only marginally helped. Has anyone got any advice?
I'd imagine vinegar would do the trick, though I probably would have initially recommended isopropyl and that didn't work, so maybe vinegar wouldn't either. The only other thing I can think of would be to just leave it in the sun for a bit, though I'm not sure how kindly the plastic would take to that.
-IP has already been mentioned. -Vinny too. -Sun. -Few drops of bleach in water and wipe down. Test it on an inconspicuous corner in case the plastics don't like it. -If you're comfortable opening it up then do so and wipe the joints and seams. How old is it? I'm thinking it could be the plastic itself or the rubber grips (if it has any) could be degrading in some way and giving off that smell.
Stick it in a box with a big dish of bicarb, leave it for a few days - is quite good at removing smells from stuff.
I came here expecting to see the results of a drunken one night stand with a flight sim. I'm only slightly disappointed. Grab some Milton fluid rather than bleach, it will sterilise the surfaces it touches in 15 minutes and won't hurt either hard or soft plastics.
Kick it it in he ovaries, and fill it with mustard . . . .oh wait it's a Joystick lol. Just could be the age of it like others have said, I've bought things used that have been a bit smelly but never as bad as stated in first post.
Before you use it, just think of all the things that the smell may be. All of the things "fat geek" may have had his hands on prior to, and even during use of the joystick. Sure, you may be able to wipe off some of the residue and even mask the smell, but you'll always know where it's been. Always.
dettol antibacterial is pretty nifty for removing smells ( or mearly overpowering them ) if you can get it apart ( you may need to remove abit of man-glue ) then just soak the case in Dettol for 24 hours before COMPLETELY washing it ( that stuff is irritant on the skin )
