Cleaning Lego

ben_m_g

A bit of an odd question but I hope someone has experienced this in the past.

We where donating a few bits to a charity shop the other week and was surprised to see at least £90 of Lego being sold off for the tiny sum of £12.

It all looked fine, lot of variety couldn't see a problem, even came in a sturdy box, until of course we took it home.


How a parent let any child play with this is shocking, there is a mass of dirt, soil, batteries, washers, coins, sweet wrappers, scraps of paper and the amount of broken pieces makes me wonder how it was used at all.

DD is about the age where she can make a use out of this, but not in this condition.

So far:

We have set up a two bucket set up, take handfuls at a time, rinse them in soapy water, then dump them in a bucket of clean.

After 30 minutes , we where both soaked and had only got through 10%. And then we spent another 10 minutes picking up the bits that got away.

Has anyone tried to clean small toys, there must be a better way!

gayleygoo

I've put lego in the dishwasher before, in the cutlery basket. You could use a large sieve or colander for more space. If you put it all in a mesh bag it could quite possibly go in the washing machine on a gentle spin cycle, although make sure it is secure or else teeny pieces of lego will escape and probably wreck the machine.

How about in the bath? use a sieve to scoop the out quickly once they're clean.

[Deleted User]

Official advice - http://service.lego.com/en-gb/helptopics/products/general-questions/how-to-clean-pieces

LilElvis

gayleygoo wrote: »

I've put lego in the dishwasher before, in the cutlery basket. You could use a large sieve or colander for more space. If you put it all in a mesh bag it could quite possibly go in the washing machine on a gentle spin cycle, although make sure it is secure or else teeny pieces of lego will escape and probably wreck the machine.

How about in the bath? use a sieve to scoop the out quickly once they're clean.

Wouldn't recommend a washing machine judging by the state of a single piece of Lego that accidentally ended up in there a few weeks ago. The colour is now blotchy and the gloss has gone off the piece. Elsas Frozen castle will never look the same

ben_m_g

We don't have a dishwasher unfortunately, someone mentioned putting them in a mesh bag (?) in the washing machine.

Although this was mentioned that a friend of a friend tried it, I wouldn't want to risk it without knowing it works.

BJV

TBH I don't think that I would risk a washing machine just in case it damaged it. £12 worth of lego could cost an expensive repair.


Personally I would go with the soaking and cleaning method. P.S Good to see you got a bargain.

carly

When my children were small I and all my friends used to clean lego by putting in inside a pillowcase, tied very securel;y at the top, and giving it a 30 degree wash in the washing machine. It never came to any harm and was very clean afterwards. But thirty years ago we didnt have character lego that Lilelvis referred to.

Mr_Toad

I 'm a Leg Technic fan and I have a friend who buys a lot of used Lego at car boots and charity shops.

He's tried all manner of ways of cleaning it and whilst the by hand method works it isn't practical for large amounts.

He puts his in the washing machine inside a sealed pillow case, the pillow case has a nylon zip to keep the Lego inside.

He uses the lowest temp setting and a very small amount of detergent, he gets really good results.

ben_m_g

The pillow case sounds like a good option, the netting suggested to me sounded like a great way to ruin a washing machine.

If I can find one (aside from any other suggestions that crop up before then) I will try it tonight and report back.

I would love to get this clean, as it happens this lego has a lot of the bits and pieces I used to play with as a boy.

Lunar_Eclipse

ben_m_g wrote: »

The pillow case sounds like a good option, the netting suggested to me sounded like a great way to ruin a washing machine.

I didn't spot mention of using netting, but did see the suggestion of a mesh bag.

Mesh bags are often used in washing machines to hold powder capsules and underwear such as bras and tights (not together.) I use one all the time and is exactly what I would use to clean Lego, because it has a zip, unlike pillow cases I own.

A (washable) cushion cover, or basically any machine washable 'bag' that can be closed with a zip, would also work.

pinkteapot

ben_m_g wrote: »

The pillow case sounds like a good option, the netting suggested to me sounded like a great way to ruin a washing machine.

Mesh bags for putting delicate items (eg tights) in the washing machine are commonplace.

Someone earlier mentioned a dishwasher. I'd use that before a washing machine for Lego, as I can't image the spin/rotation of the washing machine being good for the Lego. Dishwasher would probably be gentler, but it depends what the dishwasher's lowest temperature setting is...