Dust and cat hair magnet

General Discussion
1

I think I have discovered an undocumented feature of the Tablo device-- it is a dust and cat hair magnet that puts the swiffer rags to shame!

I live with a cat, or rather a cat has deigned to live with me!  As such I am forever resigned to daily dusting in my home just to keep up with the unrelenting assault of cat hair.  I have a desk in the corner of my great room (sort of a combined living room/dining room/den) which houses my equipment on a small shelf.  It has a pc, an Ooma VOIP device, an Ethernet switch, a Raspberry Pi, a printer, and of course a Tablo.  Each day I notice that the Tablo is covered in dust and cat hair, while the other equipment is not.

I suppose this is because the Tablo has more of an electrostatic charge on its surface.  I wonder why?

2

Have you tried using Enddust or some other anti static electronics cleaner ? … its the plastic shell is highly attactive to things like that… you could also try gently wiping down the tablo case with a spare clothes dryer sheet.

3

@ddd671 - That is very much an undocumented feature… We actually spend a LONG time on finishes for the plastic to make sure that it wouldn’t look smudgy/fingerprint-y. We didn’t test with cat hair though.  


Obviously your kitty is making it abundantly clear that he/she owns everything within his/her domain :D 

@ericgus has a good idea with the Endust though.


4

@TabloTV Sorry, the geek in me is coming out. I assume your using some type of PC/ABS for your enclosure as that is the most widely used injection molded plastic in the world besides Polypropylene.


Are you using a grade suitable for electronic applications similar to this? There are many grades that would resist electrostatic buildup.

http://www.sabic-ip.com/gepapp/eng/weather/weatherhtml?sltRegionList=1002002002&sltPrd=1002003024&sltGrd=1002013628&sltUnit=0&sltModule=DATASHEETS&sltVersion=Internet&sltType=Online
5

@roraniel - That is a damn good question and not one that has ever been asked. Will have to consult with our hardware guru. 

6

@TabloTV I know the guy that developed PC/ABS at Dow Chemical if your guru wants to consult with him. I know just enough to be dangerous.

7

I think that the culprit is the over-the-hair tuner. :wink:

8
I think that the culprit is the over-the-hair tuner. ;)


9

@roraniel - According to the folks who know about these things, we use a Polycarbonate/ABS blend.

10

@TabloTV, how about specialty ordered cases? Like make mine look like a bobble head


 
11

@Jestep - HA! That would be hilarious!!!


We actually considered doing two versions: a white and a black but abandoned that idea when we couldn’t get the right plastics/printing combo with a white option. 

Someone needs to start an Etsy business creating Tablo decals just like they have decals for KitchenAid mixers.


12

@TabloTV That is what I thought. That is the PC/ABS I mentioned in my original post. They come in thousands of blends for hundreds of applications. I’m sure there is a cat hair resistant blend.

13

I like the Endust idea; I’ll have to give it a try. 

I’ve only had the Tablo for six days, and I just cut the cable on 2/14 (turned in my hardware to Time-Warner today).  So far I’m very satisfied with my Tablo and the only irritant is the lack of an AFTV app which I know is coming soon.  I can’t wait. 

@TabloTV  Actually my cat’s favorite show is the on-screen fireplace app from Amazon.  Go figure. 




14

Wipe it with a dryer sheet. 

I have FIVE cats - Pickle and Yawnie are “tabbies”, 
Koko and Tuvak are Tonkinese (short fine hair) 
and Lucky, AKA fluffy-butt - long fine hair and a lot of it… 
No hairy Tablo…
15

+1 ShadowsPapa - Used dryer sheets are a great way to make old CRT monitors and most plastics dust/static free for at least a short period of time.  All these anti dust products are the same thing but packaged to be more expensive (and less smelly).

16
+1 ShadowsPapa - Used dryer sheets are a great way to make old CRT monitors and most plastics dust/static free for at least a short period of time.  All these anti dust products are the same thing but packaged to be more expensive (and less smelly).

Yes thats why I originally suggested a dryer sheet after my endust suggestion in the second post… but its nice to have options.

17

The Tablo runs warm. It’s winter. Your cat is cold. 


Heck, even if it wasn’t winter I’m sure the cat would be sitting next to the thing because its warm.
18

My cats ignore it - treat it like it’s just another thing to walk around or step over…

None of them have laid on or near it, Lucky runs around and knocks it around a bit but otherwise it’s just stuff to “walk over” to them.


19
I think that the culprit is the over-the-hair tuner. ;)

No kitten (kiddin)?

20

Where’s that “slap forehead” and groan icon…