What to use to seal ikea Detolf? Mine is caked with dust inside

[Thegreywizard]

So I have an Ikea Detolf and the inside is about as dusty as it would be if I had the door wide open.

What can I do to seal these thing up better so that everything inside isn't layered with an inch of dust?

The only open spots seems to be the seam on the front door, left, right, top & bottom.

The back is sealed up pretty nice with some clear plastic strips that run from the top to the bottom.

What have you guys found to use to seal the 4 sides of the front door to completely seal these Detofs off?

[UnicornPegasus]

People use weather stripping, either foam or "brush" style around the edge of the door. I'm toying with that idea myself right now, after I just upgraded all my lighting to Luke Lights.

[Thegreywizard]

Ahh yeah the brush stuff might work, but it would be highly visible with the glass.

I'll have to see if there's any clear weather stripping that would work.

Someone please chime in if you've found a great solution.

Thanks!

[nbr3bagshotrow]

Have you tried a whole house air filter? I’ve got 7 detolfs and mine hardly get dusty inside.

[Mister H]

If you have central heat and air, getting the ducts cleaned really helps. Keeping everything dusted in the house also helps. I do that because of allergies but it'll help with other things too.

[jeremydmc]

Originally Posted by nbr3bagshotrow

Have you tried a whole house air filter? I’ve got 7 detolfs and mine hardly get dusty inside.

Same here. I have 6 Detolf's. I change my main air filter every other month and hardly ever have dust in there. Nothing for sure like the amount Thegreywizard seems to be getting.

[ukshaun]

I dust proofed mine back in 2018. Since then and now i decided to keep just one unit, and the 9mm weather strips are doing a super job of keeping the dust out

Here is a photo of my one remaining Detolf used to house Hot Toys
(as i disliked the the original idea of housing 1/4 scale PF's as i feared breakage)



Post(s) from 2018:

Originally Posted by ukshaun

Today I decided to dust proof 2 of my IKEA Detolf unit‘s. It has been on my to-do-list ever since picking up my first unit (I currently own a total of 5) and discovering that there is a 5mm gap around the edge of the glass door that lets in a small amount of air, leading to dust build up, which no collector wants.

Having watched various videos on YouTube tackling the problem, which included, rubber strips, foam strips, synthetic fibre strips, I decided to pick up a 10 meter roll of 9mm x 9mm grey self adhesive synthetic fibre strip (weather strip). This was enough to do 2x Detolf units, with some leftover’s.

The grey color of the synthetic fibre strip blends in well, and isn't all that noticeable.

The process is quite straight forward:
1. Remove glass door
2. Clean glass
3. Stick one strip from top to bottom on the left side and repeat on the right side of the unit
4. Stick one strip from left to right at the top and bottom of the unit
5. Attached glass door

I have discovered one small problem. The magnets that hold the glass door closed, are not strong enough to hold the door closed, as the door now pushes tight against the synthetic fibre strips. As a temporary measure, I’ve used 2 pieces of clear tape. One idea have thought of, is adding 2 fabric straps around the unit, that could be placed at the same height as the shelves.

Originally Posted by AlexLothos

Thanks for sharing this process! I considered doing this, but I'm curious how well it works on cutting down dust. Also the problem with the door magnet was also a documented issue I was uncertain if it was worth dealing with. I look forward to your thoughts on how well it's doing in a few months.

[AlexLothos]

Since the ukshaun experiment, I am still considering the weather strip option. Right now I'm doing the slow process of adding lights and adjusting shelf heights (which is tough to do before getting pieces in hand as the company listed dimensions for pieces usually are terribly wrong/inaccurate or incomplete).

I'm also still a bit concerned about the aesthetics of seeing the strips through the glass. I'm having a hard enough time dealing with seeing the LED strips (but I'm getting used to them and they don't distract that much). Maybe over time the weather strips won't be that bad.

Originally Posted by jeremydmc

Same here. I have 6 Detolf's. I change my main air filter every other month and hardly ever have dust in there. Nothing for sure like the amount Thegreywizard seems to be getting.

I also have 6 Detolfs (and my wife has 2) and we change our air filters every month. In 2ish years we don't have much of a dust problem. A few months ago I noticed a few particles on the lower shelves closest to the floor which could be due to walking or sweeping nearby.

[jeremydmc]

Originally Posted by AlexLothos

Since the ukshaun experiment, I am still considering the weather strip option. Right now I'm doing the slow process of adding lights and adjusting shelf heights (which is tough to do before getting pieces in hand as the company listed dimensions for pieces usually are terribly wrong/inaccurate or incomplete).

I'm also still a bit concerned about the aesthetics of seeing the strips through the glass. I'm having a hard enough time dealing with seeing the LED strips (but I'm getting used to them and they don't distract that much). Maybe over time the weather strips won't be that bad.

I use these Dioder LED's in my cabinets. I placed 4 on the top of each cabinet. It's funny I cannot find them on Ikea anymore but they sell them on Amazon now. LOL


https://www.amazon.com/IKEA-DIODER-m.../dp/B01CCJEUCA

[AlexLothos]

Originally Posted by jeremydmc

I use these Dioder LED's in my cabinets. I placed 4 on the top of each cabinet. It's funny I cannot find them on Ikea anymore but they sell them on Amazon now. LOL


https://www.amazon.com/IKEA-DIODER-m.../dp/B01CCJEUCA

Whaaat? I think I saw the Dioders at Ikea last time we went, but I'm not sure. Depending on how well the LED strips illuminate the area, I might add Dioders to just the wood top (well, if Ikea still has them available when I go). They seem to be a good idea for anything on the top shelves, but how does it work for seeing the lower shelves?

I've seen some displays where they've used these for the top of each shelf... and seeing the wires below the glass triggers my OCD. I like the Detolfs because with the all around glass, you can see in each cube from nearly any angle without restrictions. Those wires interrupt that flow for me.

Oh, and speaking of crazy Ikea listings on Amazon... the Detolf on there is hilarious.