How To Get Roach Smell Out of Electronics

Roaches can enter places you can’t imagine, including electronic appliances like your freezer, game console, or oven. These insects love electronics because the heat they produce offers them a warm and secluded nest.

If these pests have left a stench in your electronic appliances, we will show you how to permanently eliminate the unpleasant smell in this article.

Below, we will explain the procedures to remove roach stench from electronic appliances in eight simple steps you can apply. We have also included a few tips to prevent these pests from returning to the appliances.

Steps for Getting Roach Smell Out of Your Electronics

As roaches continue to live and breed in your appliances, you may notice an unpleasant, musty smell. This often results in long-term deposits of dead roaches, eggshells, droppings, and exoskeletons.

Even if you get rid of the roaches, their unpleasant stench seems to live forever. This smell can cause a load of discomfort for you and create a wrong impression in the mind of guests.

While you are trying to rid roach smell from your appliance, remember that electronics are sensitive to humidity and water. Before stumbling on this post, you may have researched possible ways to eliminate the roach smell.

Other sources may have suggested cleaning your electronics with disinfectants or water-based products. However, we don’t recommend this, as it can damage your appliances, which we know you don’t want.

Step #1: Disconnect the Power Source

Before even cleaning your electronic appliances, the first thing to do is disconnect the power supply. You can do this by turning the power switch off from the socket. Alternatively, you can also unplug the power cable entirely from the socket.

This way, you eliminate the risk of getting an electric shock or damaging your electronic appliance. After disconnecting the appliance from the power source, proceed to the next step, carefully disassembling the appliance.

Step #2: Strip the Electronic Appliance

Next, you have to disassemble the electronic appliance to locate the source of the roach stench. To do this, get out the user’s manual of your appliance and check the manufacturer’s instructions.

If you don’t have the manual, don’t worry. A quick online sear can pull up this information. There are loads of videos and article guides to show you how to strip the specific electronic device with roach smell.

Whether you use the user’s manual or follow DIY guides online, ensure you dissemble your electronic device carefully to avoid damaging anything. Remove the lids and other detachable parts until many dissembled parts are lying before you.

Step #3: Remove All Loose Roach Debris

Once you have dissembled your smelly electronic appliance, you should see the source of the unpleasant stench. This can include lingering roach debris like eggshells, droppings, dead skin, and even roaches.

As these decomposes, they release a rotten stench that can get you sick. So, get a brush or vacuum to remove these roaches’ by-products.

If you use a brush, we recommend you go for the nylon-made types. This is so that you don’t scratch your electronic appliance, as many are fragile.

Step #4: Use Isopropyl Alcohol To Loosen Hard Debris

Depending on how long dead roaches have been in your appliances, their remains may harden. As a result, a nylon brush may not effectively get the debris. In this case, you will require something harder to remove the hardened remains.

This is where Isopropyl alcohol comes in. Spraying it over hardened roach debris will make them soft and easier to sweep off.

Unlike other products like rubbing alcohol, isopropyl has no water content, so it will not damage your appliance. Apart from isopropyl, we do not recommend using anything else to clean your appliance, as we can’t guarantee that damage won’t result.

Step #5: Allow the Electricity Circuit To Dry

Now that the difficult part is out, it is time to get your appliance ready for use. Once you have cleaned out the roach debris, leave the electronic appliance to dry.

This will only take a few minutes, as isopropyl alcohol is volatile.

Step #6: Reassemble the Detached Parts

After the cleaned electronic appliance has adequately dried, reassemble it carefully. Suppose you need help at any point. You refer to the appliance’s user manual again. Of course, you can also check DIY content through articles and videos that resolve the problem online.

Step #7: Reconnect the Appliance to the Power Source

Now that you have reassembled your electronic appliance, reconnect it to the power source.

Step #8: Prevent the Roaches From Coming Back

Getting unpleasant roach smell out of your electronic appliances only solves half of the problem. You can clean your appliances today and have roaches come back the next. To avoid repeatedly cleaning your appliance, you must end the roach infestation entirely.

Roaches are drawn to food, water sources, and warmth. So, cut out their food supply to prevent new roaches from entering the cleaned electronic appliance(s).

Next, face the lingering roaches head-on, using various extermination methods. These include blasting them with a canister of pressurized air, setting roach baits, glue traps, or manual removal methods.

You can also sprinkle boric acid on affected areas to kill off roaches. But if all fails, it is time to call professional exterminators. This is an expensive option, so it should be a last resort when facing a large infestation.

Conclusion

A roach infestation presents loads of unpleasant experiences and health problems. When you have these unwanted pests in your house, it is only a matter of time before they get into your favorite electronics in search of warmth.

The stench they leave behind can make you uncomfortable in your home. So, it would be best to eliminate the insects and their rotten smell.

We provided eight DIY-friendly steps to help you clean the roach smell out of your electronics. This should help you deal with the issue once and for all.