[kwlug-disc] fire damage to electronic equipment

[Znoteer]

Hi,

On Wed, Dec 13, 2023 at 12:01:46PM -0500, Steve Izma wrote:
> Hi folks,
> 
> We had a serious fire in our house on 2 December. We lost one of
> our two cats but the rest of us are fine and living in a house

Wow, my sympathies to you, and my condolences for the lost cat.

[snip]
> 
> Has anyone had experience with equipment damaged in this way? I
> could leave everything up to the insurance and restoration
> people, but I think they will tend to discard older equipment
> rather than fix those things up.
> 
> I'm particularly worried about several printers I have, e.g.,
> Xerox Phaser solid-ink printers, still the best thing around for
> printing in quantity, but they've been off the market for years
> and are likely irreplaceable. They are largely mechanical (and
> thus easily cleaned and re-adjusted), but have some circuit
> boards that may need treating. Would an anti-oxidizing spray be
> worthwhile here? I haven't been able to find this at Canada
> Computers or hardware stores, but I suspect I can get it from
> Orion Electronics.

I've been through fires in two apartment buildings in 2 different cities. Post disaster companies are really good at cleaning all kinds of different stuff up and getting rid of the smell too.

Whereas you might not want to leave some things to them, they, or a similar company for a 2nd opinion, could be a good source of advice as to how to clean up PCBs (and maybe a source of product, too). Also, it might be worth asking them when they come to pick things up whether or not they would restore this or that piece of equipment.

I wish you all the best in getting things back to normal.

-- 
Znoteer
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