Any effective way to get rid of fungus on toys?

[jonwayne]

Recently found some fungus like stuff growing on some of my plastic toys, and also on the glass of my display cabinet.

I just use thinner to wipe them off the toys.

Does anyone knows any cost effective way of getting rid of them? Or at least make them stay away longer? Help appreciated.

[EXO]

That's a weird one... I'm guessing it's due to some kind of moisture build up but I'm not really sure. If it is try putting an open box of baking soda where ever you display or store your valks. I think Arm and Hammer has a box especially for this where you just unpeel part of the box and there's a bag inside that soaks up excess moisture.

[Graham]

I'm guesing you live somewhere humid?

I'd really recommend spending the money and buying a dehumidifier.

I keep my toy display case, books and computer all in one room and have a dehumidifier in there to protect them. This is absolutely essential during HK's humid summer months.

Graham

[jonwayne]

Yeah. It's humid in my country. Especially now during the raining season. I'm in Singapore.

By the way, what's a dehumidfier?

[Nani?!]

A dehumidifier is sort of like a filter that eliminates a lot of the moisture in the air in a room. It should do wonders, just as long as you keep it on consistently. You might also want to try to spraying anti-bacterial sprays in your room every day. Should help a bit.

[Neova]

Turn on your air conditioning and it would de-humidify the room for cheap. I recommend you try to buy one of those air cleaners from Sharper Image. It works by using magnets to filter the pollen, dust, airborne pathogens, and etc from your rooms. Its amazing and the air is much much cleaner. It cost about 150 USD for a nice 3-4 ft tall one though.

You can absolutely get rid of fungal or bacterial growth with a diluted bleach solution (the more bleach the faster the cleanup) but I would be very weary of trying it on plastic. You could find some plastic safe bleach but you would then worry about yellowing.

Or try some "orange" citrus based cleaners. They work on light fungal / bacterial growth and are almost everything safe.

Good luck

Edited December 1, 2003 by Neova

[Nitrous]

yep, tropical country like me and u are really humid, and its rainy season now... (i'm in KL).

You can actually buy some de-himudifier, I usually buy this brand called "Thirsty Hippo", which is a Calcium Cobalt (chemical) de-humidifier. However, it only works if you store your toys in a cabinet, not open air rack.

Hope this helps..

[Montarvillois]

I don't know if this would work on toys but I am combatting a fungus under my left toe nail (yeeech !) and tea oil seems to work pretty well. Dunno if it would work on plastic ?

[turd]

What about scattering sillica gel on the shelves? I mean an enclosed one of course.

[recon]

yep, tropical country like me and u are really humid, and its rainy season now... (i'm in KL).

You can actually buy some de-himudifier, I usually buy this brand called "Thirsty Hippo", which is a Calcium Cobalt (chemical) de-humidifier. However, it only works if you store your toys in a cabinet, not open air rack.

Hope this helps..

Yaps i used "thirsty hippo" too, very effective as it draw alot of moisture from the surroundings. Bear in mind this is effective best in enclosed areas or cabinets.

Hey Graham,

How much does a dehumidifier cost in HK? I may think of getting one to act as a reinforcement for my portable "thirsty hippo"

Must protect my precious and important Macross stuff as well as models. Afterall, they are so costly and expensive.

Cheers

[Montarvillois]

Thisty Hippo, Wonderswan etc...

Boy these names are hilarious... Are these Pokemons or something ?

[valkyrietestpilot]

the cheapest way to do it would be to get a box of desicator. this is usually sold at hardware stores or storage places that sell boxes for moving. it's similar to that silicate gell someone mentioned earlier,but much stronger. i actually use it to keep the bilge area of my jetski bone-dry from condensation all winter during storage. it'll make it arid in that cabinet you have.

[recon]

Thisty Hippo, Wonderswan etc...

Boy these names are hilarious... Are these Pokemons or something ?

Yah the names sound crazy, but what matters in the end the product really works. When i place them in my cabinet or closets, at the end of of 3 months, i usually get buckets full of water absorbed by them. It prevent moisture as well as fungus buildup and also removes smells due to moldiness of items. Its a cheaper alternative to protect your items especially in a hot and humid country and it cost about USD $2 per bucket.

Cheers

[Savannahtron]

A solution of bleach and water will kill fungus too. Just make sure you only use a cap full of bleach in a glass of water, and it should not hurt anything. I would also dip a towel in the solution and dampen it first, and then apply it to the affected area.