Remember when people were licking the game cartridges from their Nintendo Switches back in 2017? The actual company had to make a post on their support page telling people to not do that. Doing so wasn’t harmful, but it still shouldn’t be done. Now it seems that we’re in a time where people are huffing those fumes coming from Valve’s Steam Deck.
A recent Reddit post went viral where someone asked Valve if it’s safe to inhale the exhaust from the Steam Deck’s vents. The original support claim was made on December 8, with Valve responding on the day of the post. This post was (hopefully) made as a meme just to see what they’d say if anything.
Valve responded to this post with the following:
“As with all electronics, it is generally not recommended you inhale the exhaust fumes on your device. While there are no safety concerns with general usage, directly inhaling the device’s vent fumes should be avoided. We understand that it may be a meme, but please refrain from this behavior for the safety of your health.”
It’s a safe response overall. You wouldn’t expect anyone to do something like this, yet here we are. The Steam Deck does tend to get hot, so those vents really come in handy to prevent the thing from storing heat and getting damaged.
One popular response in this Reddit thread by a user named Andrei-Balan says, “I’m afraid it’s already too late for 80% in the sub. See you all on the other side.” Many others jump in on the joke, admitting in some form that curiosity killed the cat (though no one has fallen ill due to this).
Valve did state that “there are no safety concerns”, so it should be fine if you caught a smell from afar. Besides, if science classes in grade school taught us anything, at least use the whiff technique if you want to know for yourself. Use your hand and gently fan the odor from the source towards your nose.
In short, if you have a fancy new gaming device that emits a bunch of hot air for cooling purposes, don’t put your nose right into it. These things are for entertainment, not filling our lungs with metalloids and dust.
