White DS Lite Problem

Ive seen this problem not only with my white ds lite,but with others as well including my friends. My white DS Lite has the tendency to collect dirt/dust inside the small plastic edges of the DS. Im just wondering if anyone has this same problem. If you do, can you post how you fixed this problem?

Heres a picture below to demonstrate what im talking about.

i noticed the same thing with my friends white ds, as well as the USED white ds's in my local gamestop. No other DS has the same problem, only the white one has this problem . after all, it is "crystal white" (clear ipod white).

This problem is very annoying, since it makes my ds look dirty and nasty (sometimes the residue inside the edges give off a yellow color on the DS). The only place i put my ds is in my pocker or my desk, yet it still collects all this crap in the edges. Its even more annoying trying to take off all this dirt/dust from the edges. I either have to use my super small flathead or my nail to take some of the dirt left inside these edges (and it STILL doesnt completely take off all of it). Its even harder trying to take off dirt from the corner. Due to how hard it was trying to take off dirt from the corner, a bunch of dirt collected around the corners of my DS to the point that the corners of my ds look BLACK.

Yesterday i took manners into my own hands and tried taking all this dirt off from corners of my DS using a flat head. Once i used the flathead and took some dirt off from the corners......some plastic cracked off (edge plastic). Now my freaking DS has a piece cracked off from the corner all because of this dumb problem. Im very disappointed that only the white ds has this problem...now i wanna trade in my white ds and pay the rest for a different color....

Enamel Navy > White :D.

Yeah my sister gets the same problem with hers, like other people have said, use a razor.

gah, i have the game problem

i thought of just taking it apart

And right when I was thinking to get a white DS to match my Wii :(

Just get the black color or w\e its called

And right when I was thinking to get a white DS to match my Wii :(

Just get the black color or w\e its called

DarkAlucard666

Wait I notice that my Wii remote collects dirt around the edges which looks gross. I don't know why it does that

Im startin to get dirt and nasty stuff in the edges now after ive had my ds for a long time now (i havent kept track of how long)but its gross havin to look at dirt adn stuff while playin and its really buildin up. Ive gotta clean it out now:(

Don't forget to mention that the DS Lite White breaks a lot at the right hinge. On on my third DS lite, and it's broken, but still playable. The first two broke in the same spot, and I had Nintendo replace them. None of them lasted more than a few months, while my wife's pink DS Lite has lasted over a year and a half and doesn't have any problems. Soon I will get my Gloss Silver DS Lite I ordered on Ebay!santiagochile

omg no way. i was just thinking of getting the gloss silver ds as well! tell me how it turns out lol

but yeah, i was considering having nintendo replace my DS since my L button wasnt working (working now). but before i was gonna ship it to them, my L button started working again, so there wasnt any reason for me to ship it to them.

I have a black DS Lite (bought used) and I have the same problems of dirt and gunk, just in different places; mines at the hinge. It'd be nice if there was a quality way to remove any DS gunk.

P.S.

NEVER EVER EVER eat doritos while/going to play a DS. I ate some at a party and picked up my friend's DS and played it... it didn't look pretty when I was done lol. (the good thing is he doesn't know it was me :oops: )

b

it sucks

a

Don't forget to mention that the DS Lite White breaks a lot at the right hinge. On on my third DS lite, and it's broken, but still playable. The first two broke in the same spot, and I had Nintendo replace them. None of them lasted more than a few months, while my wife's pink DS Lite has lasted over a year and a half and doesn't have any problems. Soon I will get my Gloss Silver DS Lite I ordered on Ebay!santiagochile

That's not an exclusively White DS problem. How the hell does colour influence whether it breaks or not? It is a noted DS Lite design problem. The hinge of my DS Lite is cracked, but it still functions as if it isn't (it snaps open and closed properly.) I got the crack because I threw my DS in my backpack and it had a bunch of textbooks pushed up against it.

As for the dirt problem, that's not an exclusively White DS problem either; EVERY DS Lite suffers from this, it's just that you can see the dirt easier against White. And it doesn't matter where you keep it because the dirt is condensed sweat and oils from your hands. You can see the same stuff collect on your Wiimote when it doesn't have the jacket on after a long play session with a strenuous game.

I have a light blue DS Lite and so of course I suffer from the same problem as you. I wouldn't suggest using a flathead or a razor or ANYTHING that is hard or sharp and might break your DS. What I did was I ripped off a thin ribbon of standard blank white paper and, sometimes folding it in two when extra thickness was needed, inserted it between the DS Lite proper and the clear plastic shell. You can push the dirt up and out, and you can scoop it out from the corners using this method. If you're having trouble scooping it out, then give your piece of paper a wedge shape so that there is an angle and the flat bottom of that angle is touching the bottom of the crack while the dirt is being guided up the angled edge, as you pull the paper slowly up while gliding it along.

I supplemented this technique with using a very fine-point needle used for embroidery, but you must be very careful not to scratch the clear plastic coating when you use a needle. It will result in an opaque white look if you do scratch it, which probably won't be noticeable on a white ds, but might be somewhat noticeable on other colours.

i know EVERY ds has the same problem. its just that you can actually SEE IT clearly on the white ds more than any other ds. you dont see all the dirt and stuff on a black ds because the edges arent "see through clear". instead the edges are just full color coated edges, unlike the white ds.

but yeah thanks for the tip, ill try it out.

Try canned air.CairAndros

canned air? whats that? O__O

I have the same problems and I always have. One solution I've found is to use a piece of paper to slide it down in that crack and push it out. But it all gets bunched up around the corners, so I have no idea what to do now. =\ Well I'm replacing my DS Lite housing next week with this: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10858 It'll get rid of the problem and it'll make it look more unique. =PMeleeboy

Yay, you're using my trick!

Okay, in order to get it around the corners, make sure the piece of paper is unfolded (minimum thickness) and perhaps even switch to lined paper as it is usually thinner than blank paper. Play around with the widths. I can't remember exactly now, but I think that if you can get the paper at a larger width, it won't bunch up around the corners.

I'll clean my DS again today and see how I did it.

And typically, vacuuming doesn't help because the dirt gets caked down. Same with computer keyboards. I've found that I need to remove all the keys to clean my keyboard because vacuuming doesn't work.

yeah i had that problem.. I tried using toothpicks to clean out the dirt but they ended up breaking.. still I got some of it out.Apocalypse97

lol my friend does the same thing. he uses a toothpick to clean it own. but im afraid it will break and stay in the edge.

Aside from taking the DS apart like Meleeboy said, you can use a few different approaches:

1) use a thinner piece of paper wherever your normal piece of paper bunches up because of the dirt. The reason it's bunching is because it can't fit behind all the built-up dirt. Using a thinner paper might mean you can loosen up the dirt and pull it out. Try lined paper and cigarette-rolling paper, for example.

2) use a corner edge (but make sure the corner is less than a 90-degree angle - make it a sharp corner) of a thickish piece of paper to break up the dirt. Try blank paper or even some sort of cardboard.

3) if you still have difficulty getting in there, try shoving your fingernail in between. You probably won't be able to get the dirt out like that, but by doing so, you have pried the clear covering a bit apart from the DS, and now you'll have an easier time fitting the paper or cardboard in to clean the dirt out.

If ever a piece of paper rips off inside, don't panic. Simply use your fingernail or a piece of paper to push it out of a corner (if it's in one) and so that part of it is sticking up. Then jam your fingernail in right near it (so that the shell is pried apart a bit) and use a pair of tweezers to pull it out. You'll find that you actually cleared out a lot of dirt like this - especially around the corners, all by accident.

Aside from taking the DS apart like Meleeboy said, you can use a few different approaches:

1) use a thinner piece of paper wherever your normal piece of paper bunches up because of the dirt. The reason it's bunching is because it can't fit behind all the built-up dirt. Using a thinner paper might mean you can loosen up the dirt and pull it out. Try lined paper and cigarette-rolling paper, for example.

2) use a corner edge (but make sure the corner is less than a 90-degree angle - make it a sharp corner) of a thickish piece of paper to break up the dirt. Try blank paper or even some sort of cardboard.

3) if you still have difficulty getting in there, try shoving your fingernail in between. You probably won't be able to get the dirt out like that, but by doing so, you have pried the clear covering a bit apart from the DS, and now you'll have an easier time fitting the paper or cardboard in to clean the dirt out.

If ever a piece of paper rips off inside, don't panic. Simply use your fingernail or a piece of paper to push it out of a corner (if it's in one) and so that part of it is sticking up. Then jam your fingernail in right near it (so that the shell is pried apart a bit) and use a pair of tweezers to pull it out. You'll find that you actually cleared out a lot of dirt like this - especially around the corners, all by accident.

clicketyclick

thanks for the advice =D. once it gets dirty again, ill try these methods.

Ah I have a green one and that hasn't happened to me but I keep it in my ds bag a lot and when I play it, I always make sure my hands are cleanbeforehand.I bought a second hand one for mum - a pale blue one and it had dirt in the edges which pissed me off so what I did was, I got a thin sewing needle and picked out all the crap, including the corners. Some of the gunk built up in the corners but I flicked them out with the needle, took a good one hour but the ds was almost lovely clean so I thank the needle for that. Try that one.