If you really, really want to clean it then you need to fill a small tub with 50/50 rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide. You must ensure every capacitor is discharged before doing this.
Let everything soak for 24 hours, afterwards let everything dry for at least another 24 hours with fans blowing on everything.
If you don't ensure the caps are discharged and that everything is dry before putting it back together you can ruin your tower as there is water in hydrogen peroxide. Well at least the kind of hydrogen peroxide you buy at the store, 100% hydrogen peroxide will spontaneously combust from your skin oil, as well as many other things.
Any advice for either late 2009 unibody mbp or 2013 mbp retina? less concerned with smell than damage or potential damage after continued use even in a smoke free environment. both were owned/used by a heavy smoker, the newer one (retina) was used in a smaller space where my friend, prev owner smoked, so likely worse off, and it's begun overheating rather regularly.
2009 unibody is way out of warranty so no fear to carefully try stuff on that one. '13 retina is under applecare still but...
Short version: apple won't help with anything they have to touch inside the computer because of nicotine. Long version below for reference, but basically wondering about opening up and cleaning both laptops.
Thanks in advance for any advice on how to do this.
Long Version: My friend (prev owner) and I took it in and "genius" spent time in the back with it, then came out with a photo on his iphone (lol) of nicotine-covered fan. Genius said they "cleaned" it out, but then said they wouldn't try to deal with the residue - the main prob obviously - only the dust which as we all know will come right back. Genius then said that "if it get's worse there will be nothing we can do, warranty won't matter" which I guess meant the nicotine not the overheating, which genius insisted was not happening despite istat levels and smc app (literally deleted one and installed the other while we were there to get a clear reading from each) were 122 on start up and 189-195 upon opening several tabs in any browser.