Was storing a bunch of games in a basement that caught on fire, any ideas to clean them?

My parent's basement caught on fire recently and I had a lot of big box PC games from my childhood in a room in that basement.

They were in a separate room from the fire so there was no direct damage from flames or heat and the CDs and floppies and manuals/boxes are still in fine cosmetic condition, however smoke filled the basement. Basically, all this stuff smells like smoke. Any suggestions for cleaning cardboard/manuals that smell like smoke? Would hate to dispose of excellent condition big boxes that are in great shape outside of the smell...

 

Put them outside (in a safe place so they don't get rained on) and lightly spray some deodorant around them from like 1.5 metres away, then leave them for a while. Come back 24 hours later and see if they smell the same - if they do, repeat the process.

 

Original Lysol is great for getting rid of smoke stank.

 

I've heard that dryer sheets are good for removing similar smells from arcade cabs, though I've never tried it myself. Could be worth a shot.

 

Ozone helps. If you can get a cheap generator seal them in a closet or bathroom for a few hours with it.

 

^This...but I like to add activated charcoal to the mix. A large, semi-sealed plastic container works well too for smaller batches.

 

Expose them to a warm summer breeze.

 

Great suggestions guys. Much appreciated. I don't think there is much there that is worth a lot of money, but the nostalgia factor is huge since these were my childhood pc games in the 90s. I've even got diskettes from the way early 90s for stuff like commander keen, cosmo's cosmic adventure and corncob 3d in this pile.

 

Dryer sheets (without parfume), all sealed in a big bag for 24h. I only do it with nicotine filled computer components though.
Works ok. Best is to to clean components with 99% ethyl alcohol and a toothbrush. But that wont be a good idea on paper boxes. :S

If you got a "ozone cleaner" near you (big box), try that !
Might be expensive, but defenitely worth it !

Warm summer breeze can do wonders...after some weeks...

 

I dunno, but generally spraying stuff on it at most is just going to cover the smell, not actually remove it. I wouldn't spray something like Febreeze on it. Definitely let it air out for a while.

 

wipe down EVERYTHING baby wipe are good for cleaning off the soot and smoke residue after everything is cleaned and dry put in a container with activated charcoal change every few days until smell is almost unnoticeable
your not gonna be able to entirely remove the smell but greatly reduce it

 

I have had a few things with really strong smells (like damp basement) i had tried all the usual stuff leaving them to air out for days, keeping them in a sealed container with a few different things like oxycleaner etc, but the smell was really stubborn and really stunk, so eventually i ended up just rubbing the boxes down with lavender perfumed dryer sheets which got the smells out pretty much straight away, no greasy stains or anything left