Steam Deck maker Valve has made a plea — in the form of a support response — that users not deliberately inhale the exhaust fumes from the Steam Deck's vent. Apparently sniffing Steam Decks is a trend currently making the rounds on TikTok.
Here's the exact wording:
"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."
We're not sure how much Valve's warning will discourage TikTok users given that the internet has a history of intentionally following bad/unhealthy/downright dangerous trends (and it's not limited to TikTok users). But just because you can... doesn't mean you should.
A Stories from Vent Sniffers is as Old as the OG Steam Deck Itself!
Steam Deck "vent sniffers" have been steadily increasing since the Deck launched in 2022 — at least, according to multiple discussion threads, posts, and tweets. People apparently can't resist the temptation of inhaling the fumes from the Steam Deck's exhaust vents, jokingly claiming that said fumes smell like fresh laundry and Cheetos, and cause hallucinations of Gaben himself. And the trend seems to be continuing with the newer Steam Deck OLED.
While most discussions on Steam Deck vent sniffing are, understandably, not very serious, Valve's response shouldn't be ignored. While some people claim it's harmless, like any vents pushing air out of any device, there's a chance of micro levels of toxic fumes, dust, or impurities that would probably be better not directly inhaled into your lungs. This advisory from Valve applies to any portable device (or, well, any device) with a vent.
This wouldn't be the first time people took a sniff from their electronic devices — though it's not always intentional. A quick look at Apple's support forums shows that there have been reports of Macbook Pros smelling like lemons and the iPhone 13 smelling like battery acid/nail polish. In those cases it seems like something was almost certainly wrong, so make sure to take action if you notice a strange smell emanating from your device, whether you're inhaling intentionally or not.
