is smoke damaging to computer equipment? (and electronics in general)

[ZippyDan]

Had a fire at a home office.

The fire was put out relatively quickly (by the fire department) and most of the computers and servers in the office escaped unscathed. I've powered many of them on and they seem to be working fine.

However, as the fire was ongoing, a lot of smoke got into the home and the office.

It is now coming time to make the final insurance claim, and I'm wondering: maybe the computers work fine now, but can smoke have any delayed effect on the lifetime of a computer?

Should I claim a percentage of the electronics as lost?

I'm trying to be honest with the insurance company here, but I also don't want to screw myself over.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Smoke damage usually shows up as higher temps. Unless there's visible buildup on the pcb's, you're probably good to go.

 

[Elixer]

If anything, the smoke & soot could clog filters and such, if the machine(s) had any in the first place.
Usually, they just need a good canned air blast to clean them up after smoke, but, soot is a bit harder to clean.
If you had HDs running, then, their filters might have grabbed everything, if not, well, you could find HDs not working after X days/months because if the soot dislodges from the filter, the HD won't like that at all.

 

[RLGL]

Heat is worse than smoke

 

[piasabird]

You could try some things like replacing the furnace filters a couple times since that is your main way of cleaning the air of dust. Of course you could have a lot of buildup in your air ducts as well. Of course the whole house could use some extra cleaning as well like drapes, rugs, floors, walls, bed sheets etc. A lot of smoke just causes all kinds of damage. Best to get rid of as much of the effects as possible.

 

[Rifter]

were they running while this was happening? if so check the fans and PSU's, the heat in the smoke can melt and disfigure the fan blades.

 

[sdifox]

Total the computer. You don't want to be exposed to the carcinogen deposited in your computer.

 

[Ken g6]

When I had a house fire an electronics cleaning company took and cleaned my computer.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I would maybe talk to the insurance and see if they are willing to give you a trial period, like say 6 months to a year. And if you start getting too many failures you can do a claim. They may or may not agree to do this but worth a shot. I would also clean them all out very good. I'm not really sure what is the best way to clean soot but may be able to find more info. I imagine you could get the worse of it out with an air compressor and vacuum, then maybe a brush of sorts for the surface. Replace filters etc, maybe fans too.

I know for furniture the restoration company will usually clean it all, then when the house is ready it gets put back in, but they have a 6 month period where the owners can decide they still smell like smoke. Sometimes it takes a while to really notice as you're so used to smelling that everywhere throughout the whole process and it takes a while for smell of paint etc to die down so you may not notice.

So maybe they can do the same with computers.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

He should assess which machines were in sleep or hibernate mode when the fire occurred, and focus attention on those that were running. Were they filtered? how long were they exposed to smoke particles? But I'd also work something out with the insurance company, as Red Squirrel suggested.

Open 'em up and put a flashlight on the innards! You should be able to tell if the smoke left any traces of itself.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Naah. Not too bad. It clogs filters and stuff, but it's not going to irrevocable destroy anything overnight. In all likelihood, your computers don't even have filters that would get clogged. (Most don't.)

I'd take a peek inside (or have a qualified tech do it) and make sure there's nothing untoward, but you're probably fine. Especially since the smoke was a one-time event and not an ongoing thing.

If you are a heavy smoker, I'm not working on your computer. That stuff gets nasty.

 

[bigboxes]

If you are a heavy smoker, I'm not working on your computer. That stuff gets nasty.

I've had a few machines I worked on where the inside was so disgusting. I'd clean them like I'd do any others, but that shiz was so gross.

 

[sdifox]

I worked at a place where the owner was a chain smoker. Every few month he would ask for his as400 terminal keyboard to be replaced. It got so filthy it stopped working.

And they had a service contract...

 

[Red Squirrel]

I remember when I used to work on computers while I still lived at my parents' house. I brought this machine to my room, turned it on and it immediately started to smell like cigarette in my room. That smell actually does not bother me all that much, but this was BAD. My cat also has this weird thing where she loves that smell, more than cat nip. She was practically humping the computer. I told the person I could not figure out the problem and they might have better luck bringing it at a place like Staples. (sorry Staples for sending you that crap. LOL)

There was a certain satisfaction in giving their computer back knowing it it basically got raped by my cat.

This was during the time I was kind of looking at getting away from fixing computers as I just had no time with college.

 

[VeryCharBroiled]

smoke from fire has all kinds of chemicals, depends on what burned. some smoke residue is acidic.

total them.

 

[HutchinsonJC]

Open the machines, if it looks plain black inside, I'd seriously consider replacing the machines. If some are laptops, use the desktops you open as an indicator of what the inside of any laptops may look like.

Take a picture of the inside of one of the Desktop machines and post it, if possible. (good lighting & camera pointed at motherboard)

 

[preslove]

Total the computer. You don't want to be exposed to the carcinogen deposited in your computer.

This.

At the most recent fire training at work they said that a ton of the smoke in house/building fires is flammable chemicals. Get rid of as much stuff as possible to avoid the toxic remains.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Naah. Not too bad. It clogs filters and stuff, but it's not going to irrevocable destroy anything overnight. In all likelihood, your computers don't even have filters that would get clogged. (Most don't.)

I'd take a peek inside (or have a qualified tech do it) and make sure there's nothing untoward, but you're probably fine. Especially since the smoke was a one-time event and not an ongoing thing.

If you are a heavy smoker, I'm not working on your computer. That stuff gets nasty.

Can you make a computer get high on THC? would it run faster? Or slower . . . . just kidding . . .