Smoking Near Apple Computers Voids Warranty

I smoke, and all of my electronic components are exposed to smoke. I've also worked on a large number of computers owned by other smokers. There's a huge difference between a system that's cared for by an enthusiast and one that's purchased to do internets, regardless of cigarette smoke.

The build up, if the equipment isn't cleaned every couple of months, is horrible. It's really disgusting and any PC repair shop should charge extra for performing any interior maintenance on a smokers computer. On the flip side, refusing to work on a machine because it's been exposed to smoke is simply throwing money and repeat customers away. Apple's so cool that they can afford to discriminate with extreme prejudice though.

I've never had a problem with any of my electronics failing due to cigarette smoke, but I can't say it's an impossibilty. Assuming regular cleaning, you would have to smoke an extreme amount of cigarettes over a very long period of time for the residue to be harmful to components.

The dangers of third hand smoke... lol, yeah ok. Bunch of nancies. Keep that iPhone glued to the side of your brain so you can tell everyone about the extreme hazard.

/lights a smoke
 
The Apple tech's are right. When I was a full time computer tech, I had worked on numerous computers owned by smokers. They usually had failed CPUs usually due to caked on dust on the fan and various other parts on the motherboard.

The smoke sticks to the existing dust, creating heavy and absolutely disgusting to clean caked on crap, it smells worst than an open sewer and can easily cause vomiting. We usually used the air compressor outside to clean the gunk. Truly disgusting. I am not a smoker hater by any means, I enjoy a cigar or cigarette outside once in a while, but watch what it does to your electronics if you smoke inside your home.
 
As a PC Technician and a smoker. I kind of agree with Apple (which I absolutely hate myself for doing).

Working on machines that are owned by people who smoke beside their PC's is completely disgusting. The tar and residue are caked inside, and I'm pretty sure it is a major reason for hardware failure, especially in PSU's.

I won't deny people work, but I will not work on it unless I charge them to clean it. I will not warranty parts that fail due to being completely filled with smoke/tar. You can absolutely tell a difference too.
 
I am all for an extra fee for cleaning a smokers computer. I have to clean one once a month. MINE. I smoke on in and around my PC's. I don't have these problems because I am a diligent cleaner. I'll bet most of what you guys are seeing is grease! It's not just the fact that they are smokers. The problem is compounded by the fact that they don't freaking clean anything, ever! Smokers computers can be nasty no doubt about it but I have seen way worse shit come from people who don't smoke. I can clean a smokers heatsink in 30 seconds with a sink and some dawn dish soap. Coke and Cheetos and bugs and dead animals and bird feathers and saw dust!! That is another matter.

Had they stated the fact that lack of cleaning and tobacco tar obviously caused the problems that this PC had then I would say more power to them. The fact that they cited the residue as a health risk makes me wonder how these people can even go to the bathroom.
 
Archer1212 said:
After working on several macbooks and iMacs that are in houses with smokers, I agree with apple on this claim. Some of that smoke/tar residue is disgusting and makes me gag. I can see it being a health concern for techs. The macbooks that came in from people with sweaty hands were bad as well.
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A agree. I built a new computer a few years ago for my wife's cousin - brand new everything in it. Both her and her husband chain smokes. About a year (almost to the day) after she got it she brought it back and told me it just "Died". I tore into it and believe it or not, every fan in it had stopped working (including the cpu fan) because of the smoke and tar residue on them. I wish I had taken some pictures of the inside of that computer - every one of you would have swore that there was no way in hell that computer was just a year old. This was back in the Athlon days - a 1.4ghz to be exact. When the cpu fan stopped turning it burned both the motherboard and the cpu up. Do you really think that I should have replaced that mess free of charge? :rolleyes: I called her back to show her what had caused it to "Die" and I told her "Imagine what your lungs look like".... She got pissed off but she knew I was right. I took it outside and drug the hose from my big compressor outside of my shop and you would not believe the shit that came out of that one computer. It looked almost like that huge dust storm from the Mummy movie. :eek:

The worst thing about this whole story is that they have a son that was just a little boy living in that same household with all that shit in the air. He will be lucky not to have lung cancer by the time he is 18..... :mad:
 
I smoke and I agree with apples stance. They should also void warranty for people with pets and dusty environments.

However, my equipment is cleaner than any of my non-smoker friends since I smoke next to a vent in my room.
 
SuperKeek said:
And your pity or non-pity on this matter has what to do with the illegitimate voiding of warranties by a computer giant?
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Nothing at all, but my single post above is probably worth more than all of the comments you've ever made on these forums.
 
This is another reason I love my e-cigarette. :)

Also, lol @ all the high-horse ex-smokers and second hand PC repairmen. Yeah, smoke causes shit to build up, huge surprise. Stop being a woman, grab some paper towels and alcohol, clean it and charge them extra. S'what I do. Stop complaining about more ways to get money from people.
 
Paper towels? Are you MAD man?! I'd trust nothing less than a strong thin finishing cloth that I could work into crevices.
 
Arcygenical If you don't ever re-fill your car with oil - I'm sure you void the warranty on your drive train... How is this any different? It's your job to make sure you take at least REASONABLE care of your machines... Or else you void the warranty - in just about *every* freaking piece of machinery or electronics you purchase. If your CPU burns out because of a gummed up heatsink - how is that said:
I'm sorry, how is the TYPICAL APPLE user going to know this. It DOE NOT STATE THIS IN THE MANUAL or WARRANTY for an IMAC. It may be common sense to you and me, but to APPLE users, it's one of THEIR selling points that they don't have to be computer oriented.

Also, opening a case from most computer companies, such as Dell / HP / APPLE typically voids the warranty as well.

So what is a customer to do? Void his or her warranty (which they may have paid EXTRA for) or not void it and take it in for repair as that is all the know how to do.

Also, APPLE macbooks are NOT meant to be opened up by the consumer for the most part. They are a self contained unit for the most part.

Personally, I find this whole voiding the warranty a bit of bullshit. Can't any of these apple care stores afford a shop vac? Seriously?! Take the dam shop vac, suck out all the dust, and call it a day with the 'hazardous' material bullshit.
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It is not contained in their hardware warranty documentation anywhere. It is time to try again, and if they refuse after providing them with their own warranty documentation, it's lawsuit time. Simple as that.
 
Tknojnky said:
about effing time...

I work on computers as a side business, and smokers computers are ALWAYS full of this fucking gross yellow shit all over the insides of the cases.

Good for you Apple, lets hope all the other manufactures follow suit.
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advertise the caveat, grow some balls and publish this shit, or say "Apple is for non-smokers ONLY!"
 
djgizmo said:
I'm sorry, how is the TYPICAL APPLE user going to know this. It DOE NOT STATE THIS IN THE MANUAL or WARRANTY for an IMAC. It may be common sense to you and me, but to APPLE users, it's one of THEIR selling points that they don't have to be computer oriented.

Also, opening a case from most computer companies, such as Dell / HP / APPLE typically voids the warranty as well.

So what is a customer to do? Void his or her warranty (which they may have paid EXTRA for) or not void it and take it in for repair as that is all the know how to do.

Also, APPLE macbooks are NOT meant to be opened up by the consumer for the most part. They are a self contained unit for the most part.

Personally, I find this whole voiding the warranty a bit of bullshit. Can't any of these apple care stores afford a shop vac? Seriously?! Take the dam shop vac, suck out all the dust, and call it a day with the 'hazardous' material bullshit.
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what he said, definitely
 
*sigh* This is utterly insane.

I understand that cigarette smoke can damage computers. I'm not arguing the fact that the damage may or may not have been caused by the cigarette smoke residue.

What I find insane is the fact that it "voids the warranty."

If the contract stated that smoke damage was not covered, or had some kind of warning about smoke damage, or anything of the sort, I could understand Apple's reasoning.

I find their "OSHA lists this as a bio-hazard" excuse to be complete bullshit.

I'm am NOT a smoker, but I still think this is bullshit.
 
Cleaning the smoker systems is definitely gross, but I wouldn't say it poses any sort of health risk to a technician aside from making them nauseous. The residue is mostly condensed and will barely budge from an air compressor, much less be freely airborn and breathed into the lungs. It's systems that have been sitting on the floor of garages that are absolutely brutal for breathing in dust. Heh... the last time I cleaned a tarred system I ended up pulling the mobo out and let it soak in warm water and detergent for an hour.

As for voiding the warranty, it's really up to the manufacturer if they want to eat the warranty cost from systems in poor environments. If someone has an extended warranty plan, and their fans and heatsinks are caked with tar, and the motherboard and RAM are coated, is it reasonable that the system should be functioning long term in those conditions? It would seem to me that the manufacturer could simply add a condition in their warranty that they have the right to void it if the system shows signs of "severe residue build up as a result of air contaminates" or some such legal speech. Either that, or start building in replaceable filters into all the intakes and make their regular replacement a condition of the warranty. The laptops though I don't think you could do much about in that regard.
 
I had to fire a customer who had 7 cats.
I opened the case and had to go to the hospital because my asthma was that bad.
I had to have a friend come over and remove the computer and return it to her and gave her a friends number to have him look at it.
I can see some people being badly affected by it.
That said it should not void the warranty unless pet dander/hair does also.

Cleaning the computer every 6 months was a service I offered my clients until my asthma got real bad.
I did charge extra for really bad ones including heavy smokers and replaced the fans once a year including the PSU fan.
I explained to them why, some paid the extra fees and others stopped smoking around the computer.
 
This is ridiculous. Warranty shouldn't be denied/pulled. Though I do sympathize with the repairers about working on smokers machines. I just finished working on two smokers machines and they were terrible. The smell is overwhelming and the gray/brown funk that covers everything sucks to clean. Hell, my entire basement still smells and the machines have been gone for 8 hours already. Time to empty the trash and deodorize everything.:mad:
 
Refusing work is extreme.
If the build-up whatever it was do to this person neglecting his computer was the cause of its failure then I see no reason to replace it for him.
Cig build-up is fuckin nasty in anything and anyone that smokes a ton indoors or in their house is fuckin nasty....I don't care if you are a smoker or not you have to know how much that shit stinks of fucks up everything around you
 
I refuse to service for super nasty computer that the inside is yellow and sticky and stink up our lab to the point we had to put a plastic bag over it and seal it!

I have tell customers that even though the system is under warranty, I and my co-workers refuse to service the PC due to the heath risk in working on that system.


They can bitch all they want, I just tell them as a worker, I have the right to a safe work environment and have the right to refuse work that is dangerous to my or my coworkers heath.


I tell them they are free to bring it to a different store, but expect the same result. :D
 
I'm fairly confident that that unsafe environment bullshit is a copout. Damn this thread was a fucking chore to read through.
 
I would love to see someone get fire for refusing to work on a smokers system, I see a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal if that happens.


smokers have the right to smokes, I agree with that.

but Techs have the right to refuse service to smokers, I only wish more tech would do that!
 
fallengod said:
I would love to see someone get fire for refusing to work on a smokers system, I see a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal if that happens.


smokers have the right to smokes, I agree with that.

but Techs have the right to refuse service to smokers, I only wish more tech would do that!
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So you would make more money for being the tech that doesn't refuse them? :p
 
Oh and ya, I've worked on the smoking and cockroach infest crap....I've had to vacuum live roaches out of computers before. Yes its gross as hell, but the computer still functions fine.
 
GoodBoy said:
Actually yes. I forget where I read this...



Dust can be easily vacuumed out, but I would surmise to say that yes, a really bad level of dust contamination could possibly void a warranty as well. Lucky for you this can be easily cleaned out, preventing overheating, or cleaned out before sending something in for repair.

Smoke residue, especially as thick and gross as I know is possible since I;ve seen it myself, is a nasty coating on everything. Your PC is air cooled. With Fans. The Fans are sucking this stuff thru the machine and past all the components. It really can do harm to the pc if someone was a really heavy smoker. DVD rom drive lenses for example. Also, the sticky tar coating from smoke attracts even greater amount of dust than a clean component...

If you are a smoker, water cool your stuff. And be prepared to pay to replace your own dvd drives when they fail.
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THIS ^

I am a smoker and i have to constantly clean the inside of my pc as it gets a build up of brown shit every now and then and dont even ask me how much dvd drives i have went through, every six months they seem to die :(
 
As someone who repaired PC's for years, and who HATES Apple, I gotta side with them on this.

I have worked on PC's that I know shortened my lifespan, let alone the hardware. Get a heavy smoker near a PC, and I have seen that shit kill fans, and carrode many parts. It never fails. You can spot these machines a mile away, and they smell BAD. Also, everything is coated in a sticky yellow film.

Its just nasty. But since I worked on PC's, I had to do it. I didnt get to tell the customer to butt out like Apple does. I wish I did. CPU fan sieze because of your smoke? You broke it. Why should I fix it?
 
P.s. I had someone set off a BUG BOMB in there own PC because they saw a roach crawl into in, WHILE IT WAS ON!!

I still had to repair it...... A few more years off of my life.

Luckly, its only the shitty years at the end.
 
Legit excuse, next step, force smokers at least 20 metres away from and downwind of non-smokers.

Oh to dream of not being forced to smell that crappiness!
 
I say good on them. I worked on my brother's computer a few weeks ago and as soon as i powered it up it made the whole room stink. It was so fucking disgusting i did not dare open it up. I told him never again.
 
Oh yeah who cares about smokers they're killing themselves anyways right?

What about all the fat slobs that eat Mc Donalds till they barf? We should refuse them medical treatment! I mean they did it to themselves right?

Or the guy that drinks every day and his liver gives out, let him die too.

Everyone is killing themselves somehow and the Non smoking hyprocrites are just too dumb to see the reality of things.

Smokers pay ridiculously high taxes for their passtime and are forced out onto the street while others engage in their own vices and look down on them. Time for certain people to take a good hard look in the mirror (including apple)
 
jwalk6 said:
Cigarette smoke can shorten the life of components as it gums up fan bearings and forms a nicotine coating on every surface. I saw the effects of it with a number of customer pc's that came in to the computer store I used to run with a friend of mine.

I've never heard of the second hand smoke argument though. Must be a radical ex-smoker with a hyperactive nose. Nothing's worse than an EX-smoker. They'll rag on about flatulence they picked up a mile away.
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HEY! I'm an ex-smoker, and I really don't give a crap about the smell of smoke and I don't rag about flatulence unless it's in the same room :).

That said, I think the whole 2nd hand smoke argument is BS, BUT . . . if I were calling the shots, anything that could be considered poor maintenance would void the warranty, just as it does with a car. If you don't change the oil in your car and the engine freezes, warranty isn't going to cover it. I think the same should apply here.

If you don't clean the dust out of your computer and it caused something to fail, it shouldn't be warrantied. If you smoke and the tar build-up on components causes something to fail, it shouldn't be warrantied. If you water cool, and the system leaks and screws something up, you shouldn't be warrantied.

All are non-standard situations that are outside of the manufacturers specified operating conditions.
 
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