[LIBRARYDIR] [EXTERNAL] Re: a laptop lending conundrum...

Thu Sep 1 16:22:03 PDT 2022

We wipe all of them down with disinfecting wipes. For stained or stinky covers we have used Scotch Guard Carpet Cleaner. Through the grapevine, I hear that once a staff person hung an especially stinky case out the window for a few hours. We have also thrown away a couple of really offensive bags.
Dawn

Dawn Hawley
Executive Director
Library, eLearning & Academic Support
Bellingham Technical College

From: LIBRARYDIR <librarydir-bounces at lists.ctc.edu> On Behalf Of Morgan, Heather via LIBRARYDIR
Sent: Thursday, September 1, 2022 1:28 PM
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Cc: Morgan, Heather <Heather.Morgan at sfcc.spokane.edu>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [LIBRARYDIR] a laptop lending conundrum...

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Hi Deb,

I asked my circ staff member because I have seen her using all sorts of different means to clean and deodorize laptops and their accessories. This was her response....

I use Febreze for laptop bags. Every bag gets a light spray because they almost always have some type of light odor or smell.  Sometimes if one comes back with heavy cooking odors, I'll have to almost soak the bag twice to get all the odors out. Occasionally we'll get a bag/laptop back with very heavy cigarette smells. Those are tricky. I recently had to toss a bag that I just couldn't deodorize after trying Febreze several times, along with a newspaper treatment. Nothing worked on that one! Obviously, I couldn't toss the laptop that was in it, so I tried a few things: I soaked a rag in Febreze and laid it across the keyboard and closed the laptop. Left it for a couple days, constantly re-misting the rag. I also tried putting the open laptop in a sealed bag with newspapers to try to eliminate the odor. Kinda worked? The smell was reduced but not completely eliminated. I believe that it sitting in the laptop cabinet all summer should help.

I have seen her tie up items in large plastic garbage bags with Febreze rags also and let it sit for a few days.

Heather Morgan
Library Faculty / Dept Chair
Spokane Falls Community College

From: LIBRARYDIR <librarydir-bounces at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:librarydir-bounces at lists.ctc.edu>> On Behalf Of Christie Flynn via LIBRARYDIR
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Cc: Christie Flynn <CFlynn at pierce.ctc.edu<mailto:CFlynn at pierce.ctc.edu>>
Subject: Re: [LIBRARYDIR] a laptop lending conundrum...

Hi Deb,
Here is what my circ staff says:

We haven't found a way to get rid of the really strong odors from Chromebooks or laptops.  It seems letting them just air out helps.  I asked IT and they said an Ozone cleaning would be the best, but it is relatively expensive and it doesn't fully get the smell out.  If the device were to get hot the odor could potentially be detected.

As for the bags, we had success taking bags home and washing them our washing machines at home, but we don't do this anymore. We haven't asked if facilities would let us use the college washing machines for this purpose.  Currently, we wash them by hand with dish soap and let them air dry. It works decently.  It doesn't completely get rid of all lingering odors, but it does help especially with cigarette smoke and musty/stale odors.

We have had a couple of bags that smelled so bad that we just tossed them out.  It wasn't worth trying to salvage them.  Planning to replace a certain amount each year would be a good way to address this type of issue. We could say that to a certain degree replacing a specific number of bags each year is a cost of doing business.

Happy end of summer, all!
Christie Flynn
Dean of Library and Learning Resources
Pierce College District

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Cc: Derylak, Deborah <Deborah.Derylak at cptc.edu<mailto:Deborah.Derylak at cptc.edu>>
Subject: [LIBRARYDIR] a laptop lending conundrum...

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Hi, all -

Your Clover Park colleagues are wondering if any of you may have some advice about a special challenge that comes with laptop lending...

How do you deal with odors that linger - on laptops themselves, on bags, and even on power cords and perhaps other peripherals?

  *   Have you had any success with various forms of odor-removal?  E.g., computer-safe cleaning methods and/or cleansers for bags and such?  Activated charcoal?  Ozone generators?  Other handy tools/methods?
  *   Do you charge your students for heavy odors that linger?  Or do you just eat the cost of, say, replacing a certain number of bags every quarter?

In our laptop lending policy, we include strong odors of smoke among the kinds of damage for which students may be charged, because smoke can cause harm to the devices.  But there are plenty of other scents that linger - perfumes, cooking smells, pet odors, etc.

This can be a subjective experience and a sensitive thing to address, and we very much want to err on the side of grace, so we haven't yet formally addressed this with a student.

But it's a thing.  And perhaps you experience this thing, too?  Any wisdom from the collective is welcome and appreciated.

Thanks!

peace,
Deb

Deb Derylak, MLIS (she/her/hers)
Learning Resource Center Coordinator
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