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Cleaning dusty LEGO

If you are displaying your LEGO creations on open shelves, eventually they will collect dust. However if you do a quick dusting on them on a regular basis, you can keep those dust-bunnies at bay.

The challenge of keeping LEGO dust-free is the studs on top of LEGO elements. It makes it hard to just wipe them off with a cloth, as you cannot get between the studs easily.

There are some other methods though, that are very successful in keeping your LEGO-displays clean. Check out the suggestions below! 😉

DUSTERS: natural feather dusters or synthetic dusters that are used to keep small display-items clean works quite well for LEGO cleaning. If you use this method, I would recommend dusting off you LEGO collection once a month. Here are some you might like listed on Amazon: Feather Dusters

BRUSHES: soft, natural fiber paintbrushes that artists use are very handy to get into small crevices. I would recommend getting a large brush for general dusting of your LEGO-displays, and a smaller one to get into small spaces. Makeup brushes also work wonderful! Again; I would recommend a once-a-month cleaning with this method. You can find them at local stores as well as a good selection on Amazon: Paint Brushes, Makeup Brushes

COMPRESSED-AIR DUSTERS: this is a product used to clean computer keyboards and other small electronics. It comes in a can, and provides a tremendous amount of air pressure to expel dust, yet it is safe for delicate items. Compressed-air cans are available at office supply stores. It is not cheap (about $5/can), but it does a really good job at cleaning away dust. My experience is that if you do a throughout cleaning of your LEGO collection with this method a couple of times a year, it will keep your displays in tip-top shape. Here are some examples: Compressed Air Dusters

VACUUM CLEANERS: Some small, handheld vacuum cleaners have an option of switching over to blowing out air, instead of sucking it in. They also have various large and small attachments to control the airflow. This is a good option for very large LEGO displays, mosaics, or sculptures, however because the airflow cannot be controlled nearly as well as with compressed-air dusters, it may blow off some of the LEGO elements that are not well attached. So, I would not recommend it for small LEGO displays with delicate details. Here is an excellent example of this type of vacuum cleaner:
Metro Vacuum MDV-1BA DataVac Pro 4.5-AMP Computer Vac/Blower

WARNING! Never use a vacuum cleaner in its normal, sucking setting to clean LEGO! Your LEGO bricks will end up in the belly of the monster! 🙁

You may also want to read these sections for further ideas:

{ 34 comments… add one }
  • Ann December 31, 2010, 3:44 AM

    Thanks for posting this topic, I’m searching around for an easy way to keep my boys’ Lego sets clean/dust-free and these are great, simple ideas using household items! I also came across a youtube video on a lego-cleaning tool, Brick duster. Have you tried it before?
    this is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1iL68inyoI

    • admin December 31, 2010, 10:31 AM

      Ann, thanks for sharing the video! No, I have never seen this before, but it seem to work great! The person has an eBay store where he sells these. Here is the link:

  • gina January 2, 2011, 3:33 PM

    Thanks, very timely.

    • admin January 2, 2011, 3:39 PM

      You are welcome, Gina! 😉

  • LegoMom June 7, 2011, 3:54 PM

    These are all great suggestions! I don’t want to lock my kids Lego away in some cabinet, and these are good ideas to keep them clean! the compressed air duster seems to work especially well! It is quite expensive, but you only have to use it a couple of times a year.

  • Tobymacboy January 2, 2012, 6:08 PM

    One thing you forgot. A toothe brush! Use a new never-used toothe brush and it dusts easity. Just dont brush the stickers too hard!

    • admin January 2, 2012, 7:04 PM

      Tobymacboy, yes that works too! Although what I don’t like about toothbrushes is the angle of the handle. I found it is easier to use regular brushes. Also, I’m wondering if the bristles of a toothbrush would be too harsh for LEGO. I guess a soft brush would be fine, but I wouldn’t use one rated hard. It may leave scrathes on LEGO elements.

  • Tobymacboy January 3, 2012, 3:53 PM

    yeh i use a soft kids toothe brush i got from the dentist in one of those stupid bags

  • Ashton6460 February 9, 2012, 1:52 PM

    Paint brushes… That’s a great idea;)

    • admin February 9, 2012, 8:25 PM

      Ashton, simple works best! 😉

  • Aaron July 27, 2012, 12:54 AM

    I like to use a camera duster brush. It’s like a little hand pump bulb that has a brush on the end so you can brush and blow air at the same time. And they only cost about $4.

    • admin July 27, 2012, 9:07 AM

      Aaron, that’s a grat idea I never heard being mentioned! Thanks for sharing! 😉

  • K July 30, 2013, 6:37 PM

    Another useful set of tips. tyfs!

  • Håkan September 4, 2013, 7:04 PM

    My mom used to sort out Lego pieces sucked into the vacuum cleaner when she emptied it. That’s quite impressive.

    • admin September 4, 2013, 7:19 PM

      LOL! Yeah, bless those moms who are willing to do that! 😀

  • Goofyhobbie June 5, 2014, 6:22 AM

    Admin,

    As you probably know, overtime dust can get underneath a Lego sticker that has been placed on a Lego element. As a result the underside of the sticker becomes dirty and more often than not will began to peel off of the element that the sticker is decorating.

    Naturally it is difficult to find replacement stickers and what to do about the peeling sticker is a mystery.

    Have you or other commentators developed a good method for salvaging the original sticker.

    One would need to know a practical and easy way to remove the sticker that has begun to peel away without damaging the sticker.

    Then one would need to know how to clean the underside of the sticker to remove the dust and/or dirt.

    That would then need to be followed up with a good idea about an appropriate way to re-apply the sticker to the element.

    Any good tips or ideas to resolve the above mentioned common problem would be appreciated.

    Goofyhobbie

    • admin June 5, 2014, 11:27 AM

      Goofyhobbie, there are some stickers that could be salvaged, however really best is to just replace them. You can find pretty much every sticker LEGO ever created on BrickLink. Yes, some of them can be a bit expensive on retired rare sets, but it often ends up being cheaper then buying special restoring materials.

      And for newly avaiable sets ALWAYS buy extra stikers sheets. These are readily available on BrickLink and only costs a few pennies. I usually buy 5-10 extra sticker-sheets for my favorite LEGO sets. If you store them in a ziplock bag, they pretty much stay fresh forever. I replace stickers on the set if and when they start to look bad, which could be many years. So 10 stickers sheets could last for like a 100 years! 🙄

      As far as restoring old stickers, those that are torned, brittle and discolored really cannot be salvaged. For others that are borderline, you can use similar methods for cleaning and restoring them as what stamp-collectors do. One thing I found useful for the paper stickers (not the clear ones) is to coat them with a thin layer of clear nailpolish top-coat. This makes the sticker much more durable and last longer. Also, by using this method the white part of the sticker doesn’t peel off (the notorious problem you find on some older LEGO stickers like on the LEGO Viking shields).

      For clear stickers the biggest issue is application. Once you touch the underside with your fingers they are already ruined. So it is best to take them off from the sticker sheet and apply them with something like the thin blade of an X-acto knife instead of your fingers. Once applied, and if never touched by your fingers, they are actually very durable – more so than the paper stickers. The reason dust goes under them is because of being touched by your hand and damaging the adhesive. If you don’t touch them, they apply much better and dust won’t go under them.

      And it goes without saying is to NEVER display LEGO sets with stickers under direct sunlight. That is the biggest enemy of stickers. The adhesive starts to deteriorate immediately. It is not good for ABS plastic either, so keep your LEGO out of the sun is the best advice I can give. Hope this helps some! 😉

  • Teenage Fan Of Lego December 3, 2016, 5:00 AM

    Thank you so much for these tips. Now I can finally clean my 2008 Lego Death Star properly.

    • admin December 3, 2016, 10:39 AM

      You’re very welcome! Have fun cleaning up the Death Star! 😀

  • Molly February 26, 2017, 3:19 PM

    My kids love playing with their Lego, and display some of them. They constantly collect dust, and I use my Dyson DC39 with it’s crevice tool or dusting tool. As long as your careful, you won’t suck up any Legos, however I have lost some to it’s strong suction. Oh well.
    On another note, when they play with their Lego on the living room floor, I tell them they have 10 minutes to clean up before I vacuum, and they tidy all the Lego up by then… Although there have been a few left on the floor, and I’ve just vacuumed them up.

    • admin February 26, 2017, 3:24 PM

      Molly, sounds like your family worked out a good system. As far as sucking up small LEGO pieces by accident, you can put the head of an old stocking at the end of your vacuum cleaner hose to make sure nothing gets sucked up. 🙂

      • Molly February 26, 2017, 3:32 PM

        That’s a good idea, although it does take away the excitement for me. They don’t have expensive Lego sets and they are not rare so I’m not to worried about them!

        • admin February 26, 2017, 3:37 PM

          Some pieces look little and insignificant, but they might be crucial to finish a model. Sounds like your children are good at cleaning up after themselves, and they might just need a little help to get everything tidy. I’m sure they would appreciate finding a lost piece they have been looking for. 🙂

  • Lauren February 26, 2017, 3:27 PM

    My child leaves his Lego all over the floor in his room all the time. I tell him before school to pick them up, but he dos not. So today I finally taught him a lesson. Once he left, I got my powerful Miele vacuum and sucked them all up. I vacuumed under the bed, behind the desk. I sucked up all the stray Lego, and some lost socks, some loom bands and even a small cuddly toy! I am a total savage!

    • admin February 26, 2017, 3:34 PM

      Hm… yeah, that sounds a bit drastic, but you know your child best and what works for them. I know I would cry and never leave my LEGO around again. 🙁

      • Lauren February 26, 2017, 3:37 PM

        They are still in the vacuum bag, and I might give them back in return for good behaviour. But I’m not afraid to do it again.

        • admin February 26, 2017, 3:40 PM

          He-he… this reminds me of a blog I ran across once. Its name was “Scary Mommy”. 😀

  • Jack November 11, 2020, 3:32 PM

    A couple of years ago, I used some 91% isopropyl alcohol on a small portion of a set without rinsing it off. Looking at the surface it looks completely fine, but I’m wondering is it ruined? Do I need to replace the set?

    • Thita (admin) November 11, 2020, 3:47 PM

      Jack, I would suggest checking the pieces carefully. Visually they may look fine, but their integrity could have been compromised. So try to bend them just a little bit and see if they break. If the pieces appear okay, then I would say you lucked out and just leave it at that.

  • jackobyuosf September 28, 2021, 3:15 PM

    My kids love to play with their Lego, and show some of them. They constantly collect dust, and I use my Dyson DC39 with its Crews tool or Dusting tool.

  • Cole Byrne November 26, 2021, 1:41 PM

    Thanks for sharing this! I’m delighted with this information, where such important moments are captured. All the best.

  • Genericbucket September 29, 2022, 8:16 AM

    Great article. Love reading it. Very great idea.

  • Genericbucket September 29, 2022, 7:40 PM

    Very nice article. Love reading it.

  • Genericbucket October 1, 2022, 9:58 AM

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