Smoke Smell

[Nova227]

I was able to find a pre owned sx 900 unfortunately it smells of cig smoke. The seller said it was only the case but not so when I got it home. I have throughly cleaned all surfaces which helped but the speakers seem to be the big source .

Any suggestions to reduce the smell ?

Is it possible to pop off the speaker grills to clean them on the inside grill surface and deck the speakers mount on .
Thanks 

[travlin-easy]

The smell will eventually go away, however, this may take a few months or more. I would not recommend removing the speakers and wiping them down, mainly because it would be very easy to damage them.

You could mist them very lightly with an aerosol spray, deodorant then lightly blow them dry with a hair dryer set on low heat. Keep in mind that heat and moisture are the main reason electronics fail.

Good luck,

Gary

[overover]

I was able to find a pre owned sx 900 unfortunately it smells of cig smoke. The seller said it was only the case but not so when I got it home. I have throughly cleaned all surfaces which helped but the speakers seem to be the big source .

Any suggestions to reduce the smell ?

Is it possible to pop off the speaker grills to clean them on the inside grill surface and deck the speakers mount on .
Thanks

Hi Nova227,

The smoke smell issue is unlikely to go away with cleaning/wiping the speakers. The interior of the SX900 is ventilated, and the unpleasant odor has probably spread to almost all internal components as a result.

After removing a relatively large number of screws, the case can be opened up so that you have access to the speakers and the speaker grilles. Please check out some YT videos:
>>> https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=yamaha+sx900+repair


Best regards,
Chris

[Toril S]

The smell will go away, as Gary said. Avoid storing it in the case for a while, since the fabric of the case is even more likely to keep the smell for a longer time. Both case and keyboard need fresh air. Just be patient😀

[Joe H]

You might try lava rocks.  They are said to absorb all kinds of smells. They come in a netted bag... just leave the bag of lava rock near the keyboard or even set it gently on top of the speaker grills.

Joe H

[Joe H]

If you are in the USA you can buy the lava rock at Home Depot

https://www.homedepot.com/p/OdoBan-32-oz-OdoRocks-Natural-Volcanic-Rock-Odor-Eliminator-Unscented-Non-Toxic-Rechargeable-Odor-Absorber-Bag-for-Car-Home-979561-2P/318994859

It's worth a try.

Joe H

[Lacko]

If you don't plan to disassemble the keyboard and wash every little part of it, then the easiest and cheapest way is to leave it on fresh air for long time. Maybe even ventilate keyboard interior with some blower (not hot, not cold air). It takes time. Think about, how long was that keyboard ,,smoked". You cannot undo it in hours.

[mikf]

The residual smell of cigarette smoke infiltrates and hangs for much longer on fabric than on hard surfaces, so I think you are right when you say it seems mainly from the speakers. In fact once smoke infiltrates fabric it usually takes a deep laundering to get rid of it. I think you would be wasting your time worrying about cleaning smoke smell from the electronics and hard surfaces because it's probably 90% from the fabric in the speakers.
You can try to 'wait it out' - maybe even consider spraying lightly thru the grill some of the smell removing aerosols a few times - but if it lingers and really annoys you, then you could consider removing the speakers. Either remove and try to lightly clean up or more likely, just replace them. Loose speakers of that size and quality are not really expensive.
Mike

[Nova227]

Thank you all very much for your thoughts on smell.

I am  going wait it out . I had a PSR 3000 that was much worse  and it eventual cleared.

I do plan to try Laval rockets in a net bag that I bought years  ago.

Thanks

[BogdanH]

I'm not sure if odour will go away over the time.. more likely your nose will adapt to it.
Maybe some of you noticed that in rooms, where it's smoked a lot, everything (walls, curtains, etc.) becomes typical orange-brownish color? That's ultra-thin coat of tar and that's what smells bad (nicotine doesn't smell). The thing is, that coat of tar doesn't just disappear over the time -although smell might become less intense over the time.
The only "once for all" solution is, to take keyboard apart and wash all plastic parts (housing, keybed, padding foams) with water where you add a little dish washer liquid (that removes the tar).
Is it worth to bother? Well, depends on how much is keyboard contaminated. Take small glass of water and add a little dish washer liquid. Now try to clean the keyboard with a cotton swab and see how much will cotton become yellowish.. and then decide.

Bogdan

[Toril S]

Well, I lack the sense of smell, so maybe I should buy the keyboard?😀😀 To be serious, I would not risk damaging the keyboard by taking it apart. The smell will subside, and you will adapt.

[travlin-easy]

Bogen, the smoke smell will eventually go away. Years ago, I performed regularly in smoke filled pubs/bars where the cigarette and cigar smoke was so thick that when someone opened the entrance door, you would think the building was on fire. One particular location installed electronic smoke eaters, but the electrostatic noise was transmitted to my PA system, therefore, it had to be turned off when I performed. The smoke was so dense that it coated the inside of my mixer/amp, which was fan cooled, so badly that it shorted out the main circuit board. I sent it back to the manufacturer as it was still under warranty and they said the PC boards were so covered with cigar and cigarette tars that they would no longer honor any subsequent warranty coverage with this kind of damage.

It took about 6 months before the smoke smell was completely gone from my keyboard and keyboard case. I wiped the outside of the keyboard with alcohol wipes, and took the case outside and sat it in the fresh air and sunshine nearly every day.

I played at that location for about 7 years, and every night when I came home from the job, my wife insisted that I remove all my clothing and put it in the wash machine, and, I took a shower immediately. The smoke was so dense that it even clinged to my hair. After 7 years of performing every Friday night, they American Legion Post got a new manager, and they went to Karaoke instead of live music. After I left, the dance crowds dropped from about 90 ppl while I was performing, to about 20 ppl when the Karaoke guy was there. After two years, they asked if I would come back, but I refused.

Cheers,

Gary

[BogdanH]

hahahah.. that's a funny story Gary  -thank you for sharing
As it seems, it's the best just waiting a little and be patient.

Bogdan

[Michael Trigoboff]

I once moved into an apartment that smelled intensely of cigarette smoke.

I found a place that sold a little battery powered device that you could put a can of apple scent into, and a fan would blow the apple scent into the air around it. I was skeptical, but I didn't know what else to do, so I tried it. It worked like a charm!

I just checked around and there are apple scented candles available that claim to be able to counteract the smell of cigarette smoke.

Let us know the results if you try it.