ASK HERE How to clean your LEGO sets/parts?

Karto · July 4, 2009

I had a old fig head with alot of fading and I was testing stuff on him and rubbing alcohol made the eyes come off. On old pieces avoid that stuff. If anyone has a good meathod for cleaning minifigures please post!

- For (rare) parts which have yellowed or faded, the best way to 'clean' them is to use bleach. To have a good result, you'll need the industrial type of bleach: a 100 Volume Hydrogen Peroxyde (H2O2 - with a concentration of app. 35% of Oxygen). This concentration is obtained by a complex organic process so it is probably only available at a pharmacy / drugstore.

You put this liquid in a strong closed box (Tupperware is good enough, but don't use it for anything else afterwards). If you have the 100 Volume concentration, the bricks will be cleaned within 24 to 48 hours, without any damage to the shape. Printed parts can easily be cleaned with this method without any risks for the printings (I've cleaned lots of yellowed flags this way).

The results are very impressive: a strong yellowed printed part will be shiny 'as new' afterwards (as long as the shape itself is not altered).

Note: This product can be dangereous as Hydrogen Peroxyde is per definition an unstable molecule. Use it carefully with gloves and avoid inhalation or long exposure. But most important of all: never mix it with other 'cleaning' products.

- For dusty parts, I've tried a lot of different ways and the best solution here, is the hardest one: clean them one by one by hand with soap and warm water. I sometimes use a washing machine but the parts will scratch each other, even if you put the bag with other cloths. If you're washing used bricks, this method is fair enough. But if you want to wash mint parts (coming for example, from a set that was only used for display) avoid the washing machine!

brickzone · July 4, 2009

- For dusty parts, I've tried a lot of different ways and the best solution here, is the hardest one: clean them one by one by hand with soap and warm water. I sometimes use a washing machine but the parts will scratch each other, even if you put the bag with other cloths. If you're washing used bricks, this method is fair enough. But if you want to wash mint parts (coming for example, from a set that was only used for display) avoid the washing machine!

I can second this - but just to note that it usually makes a big difference (esp for serious dust/grime) to leave the Lego to soak for at least a half hour first (this may mean you have to change/top up the water to make it warm again. Also I first wash all the parts, then rinse them in a new basin of warm water to ensure the soap is rinsed off (using warm water speeds up the drying). I just use dishwashing liquid (Fairy liquid). I usually towel dry any large pieces to avoid water spots, and after having left the rest of the pieces on the drainer for a while, I then move them onto a dry towel, tapping any trapped water out of pieces (speeds up the drying).

**Captain Green Hair** · July 4, 2009

I'll move this to the General discussion forum to get some more attention.

Dane of War · July 6, 2009

I recently came across a pretty good sized box of random pieces and had to go through them. They had been in an attic and were subjected to moisture, dirt, and insects for a good number of years, so everything needed cleaned.

I put them into a plastic container filled with hot water, added a generous helping of OxiClean, and let them soak for 24 hours. After that, I dumped all of the contents out into a net and rinsed them with hot water - than put everything onto a few towels to dry.

They came out very, very nice and clean (and fresh-smelling!).

As an addendum, none of the bricks had stickers on them, so I cannot say the same treatment would work on those.

Lord Admiral · July 7, 2009

It is soap and water for me as well. I actually try to keep as much of the sets intact as possible. So I'll split the set into chunks, dip the chunk in to soak for a bit, pull the chunk out, dip it back in in a different orientation. I repeat, changing the orientation each time, until I'm satisfied. Then I rinse afterwards by dipping the chunk into clean water, and pouring water onto it. Sometimes, I'll rinse it a second time with clean water. Hot water is a must, but it doesn't have to be scalding. It's a bit tedious, but it usually works very well. Soaking and rinsing only once will clean all of the surface bricks. To clean the bricks in between, a few more dip and pull repetitions would be necessary. But I figure, if water can't get in between the bricks, chances are, dust and such will have a hard time getting in as well, so I don't bother most of the time. And it seems OK.

gratefulnat · July 7, 2009

I'd have to agree with mild soap and warm water and washing by hand (a brush with too hard bristles will leave scratches) for the best results. Obviously this is a very tedious process, but if you love something it's easier to put a lot of work into it. I tend to take the models pretty much completely apart while washing, then I rinse with hot (but not too hot) water, put the pieces into a large (1m x 1m) cloth made of thin material, and then spin that cloth to get rid of most of the water. Afterwards I let them dry on a towel, giving it two or three shakes in the process, and viola -nice clean shiny LEGO.

As the water where I live has a very high calcium(lime?) content, the drying process is important as well, otherwise the LEGO will have milky spots on it after drying, and then you could start from the beginning again.

I always thought I was pretty crazy for doing this, as all my aquaintances also believe, so it's been good to read about how other's also care for their LEGO. :thumbup:

Karto · July 7, 2009

I always thought I was pretty crazy for doing this, as all my aquaintances also believe, so it's been good to read about how other's also care for their LEGO.

Don't worry about the cleaning. We are already considered as being crazy just by collecting LEGO :laugh:

I just went today to my bank to request a special insurance policy extention for my 'collection'. You should have seen the face of the woman...

gratefulnat · July 8, 2009

Don't worry about the cleaning. We are already considered as being crazy just by collecting LEGO
I just went today to my bank to request a special insurance policy extention for my 'collection'. You should have seen the face of the woman...

Very true about the craziness, and you know what, in march I did change my private insurance policy to calculate in my LEGO. I did it over the phone, so I can only imagine what the person's face looked like...

clean craziness has its costs... :grin:

escortmad79 · January 3, 2010

What's best to use to clean secondhand Lego?

Soap & water?

Washing up liquid?

Disinfectant?

**drdavewatford** · January 3, 2010

What's best to use to clean secondhand Lego?
Soap & water?

Washing up liquid?

Disinfectant?

Depends on what state it's in.

If the pieces look reasonably clean I don't bother.

If however they're obviously dirty or grubby I tip them (except any with stickers on) into a large bowl of hot water and washing up liquid, swish everything around for a couple of minutes, scrub any bigger bits which are particularly nasty, rinse a few times and drain in a colander. Then I spread the pieces out on towels and air dry.

If the pieces are discoloured, that's a whole different story......

Dr. D.

**Milan** · January 3, 2010

Few times I have bought used bricks, with just a little bit dirt on them...just warm water, little soap and pieces were like new!

The Green Brick Giant · January 3, 2010

I have a few pieces that look like a candy melted on them, what should I use? :laugh:

ILikePi · January 3, 2010

You should check out Eilif's Bargain Hunter's Guide to LEGO. He talks about how to find some cheap used LEGO, and how to clean it too! I highly recommend reading his article is it is very interesting.

escortmad79 · January 3, 2010

Nice one :thumbup:

metalgearsolid · January 3, 2010

What's best to use to clean secondhand Lego?
Soap & water?

Washing up liquid?

Disinfectant?

I use "Vanish Power O2". Works great and also whitens discolored white bricks (improves the yellowing effect but I've not experimented to see if a longer soak will restore the color even better). I usually leave bricks in for an hour, rinse, dry and they look great.

lightningtiger · January 3, 2010

Now this might sound odd - tooth paste - yes I have used tooth paste will quite some success. Of course you must wash the left over paste off but if it's good enough for our teeth, you can only try one piece first and see for yourself if helps or not.

Joe H · January 3, 2010

Now this might sound odd - tooth paste - yes I have used tooth paste will quite some success. Of course you must wash the left over paste off but if it's good enough for our teeth, you can only try one piece first and see for yourself if helps or not.

I've actually done the same thing and sometimes it works better than detergents. However, a note of caution when using toothpaste - make sure you clean all the paste off, else there will be residue left on the piece, which is quite unattractive. If need be, I usually follow up with some form of detergent after toothpaste for pieces deemed worthy for the extra effort :classic: .

Generally, though, I've found regular dish detergent (i.e. dawn, etc.) along with a toothbrush for general cleaning purposes to be the most efficient method, for me.

For those interested in trying out techniques for removing the yellowing off pieces (i.e. old gray, white, blue pieces), I've found this website to be a good resource. I've had some success with liquid whitening techniques, but have yet to make/try the pastes/gels out.

Edited January 3, 2010 by Joe H

**Milan** · January 4, 2010

One should be cautious when using tooth brush as it contains abrasive materials, which maybe can damage the surface of the part?

CP5670 · January 4, 2010

For those interested in trying out techniques for removing the yellowing off pieces (i.e. old gray, white, blue pieces), I've found this website to be a good resource. I've had some success with liquid whitening techniques, but have yet to make/try the pastes/gels out.

Very interesting, this is probably the best description of the bleaching techniques I've seen yet.

lisqr · January 4, 2010

How about dusty pieces that are not "dirty", just being sitting there for too long? Is there any way other than rinsing it in water?

**Milan** · January 4, 2010

How about dusty pieces that are not "dirty", just being sitting there for too long? Is there any way other than rinsing it in water?

I used a smaller industrial compressor, but only when you hold a piece with hand, otherwise the whole model can be blown away.

It does remove old dust form parts, but nothing can beat a little soaped water and tooth brush.

CP5670 · January 4, 2010

The Swiffer products work nicely for removing dust. I run those over my built models and it's a lot quicker than taking them apart and washing the pieces.