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Cleaning your computer will remove dirt, dust and grime that could cause the components in your computer to overheat, operate abnormally and cause damage to your system.
Computer cleaning will protect your computer against equipment breakdowns and extend its life.
Dust build-up inside your computer and its components acts as an insulator. This prevents the dissipation of heat which will cause the components to overheat.
Overheated components may cause unstable operation or eventually fail.
You should make regular checks of your computer power supply fan to ensure that it is working. An inoperative fan can cause your power supply to overheat and fail. Click here to read my Cheap Computer Power Supply Guide.
Computer Cleaning - Items that you will need:
- Anti-Static Wrist Band - Worn to protect your delicate computer components from static electricity damage. You can read about Static Electricity here.
- Compressed Air - This will release air to blow away dust and debris from hard-to-reach areas of your computer such as your motherboard, memory cards and fan blades.
- Non-static Vacuum Cleaner - This will be handy to suck out dirt, dust and other particles from your computer. You should only use a non-static vacuum cleaner. Do not use ordinary vacuums (household vacuum cleaners and shop vacs) since they could generate a massive buildup of static electricity that could damage computer parts.
- Phillips Screwdriver - To open your computer case.
- Soft (lint-free) cloth - To clean off your components and the exterior of your computer.
- Rubbing Alcohol (Isopropyl) - Alcohol is the only solvent that I would recommend since others might not work well with the plastic that makes up your computer. Isopropyl Alcohol is a high quality rubbing alcohol that can be found in most drug stores and is excellent for cleaning off thermal compounds.
- Water - To help to clean the exterior of your computer.
- Lint-free cotton swabs (tips) - Used to clean areas of your computer that are hard-to-reach.
Let's start Your Computer Cleaning
- Before starting to clean your computer you should turn off and unplug it and allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes.
- Unplug your processor (CPU) along with all the connected cords and cables.
- Before handling any component or touching anything inside your computer, wear an anti-static wrist band during cleaning to protect your delicate computer components from static electricity damage. Click here to view my Static Electricity Guide.
- Your computer and its peripherals are very sensitive devices and a small amount of soapy water along with a damp cloth (not wet!) might be all you will need to clean their exterior surfaces. The water and damp cloth should be used to clean exterior surfaces only...it should never be used to clean your internal computer parts.
- During computer cleaning, do not spray liquid directly on the item; instead, spray the liquid on a moistened, soft, lint-free cloth and cotton tip swabs.
- When using compressed air, make sure that the can is held upright and use short bursts to prevent freezing.
- Use alcohol and a lint-free cotton swab to clean the inside of some of your components.
- During computer cleaning, do not allow alcohol to get on lubricated moving parts such as the gears and the drive motors in floppy drives, CD ROMS, DVD ROMS, etc. The alcohol will remove the lubrication from the moving parts.
Cleaning Your Computer Case:
Clean your computer case regularly. Moisten the cloth (with a diluton of alcohol and water) and thoroughly wipe the case. Ensure that all air holes and vents are free of particles by wiping these areas with the cloth.
Using compressed air and your non-static vacuum cleaner, blow out and suck out any accumulated dust in these air holes and vents.
You need to remove any accumulated dust from your case fan to improve its performance and to keep your system cool.
Never use abrasive or solvent cleaners.
Computer Cleaning extends the life of your computer
Cleaning Inside Your Computer:
Remember to wear an anti-static wrist strap or touch the metal chassis of the computer to decrease the risk of static electricity.
Open your computer case and, using your non-static vacuum cleaner and a can of compressed air, spray and suck the dust away from your components such as fan blades, circuit boards, heat sink and chips. Try to spray and vacuum into every area that you can see.
Examine all cables to ensure that they are in good condition.
The fans inside your computer system help to prevent overheating by sucking in cool air and exhausting warm air.
You should ensure that you clean the power supply fan, CPU fan, the case cooling fans and other component fans. To get maximum performance from these fans, you should try to minimize dust accumulation from them by cleaning out the dust as often as required.
While using your non-static vacuum cleaner, watch out for items that could be accidentally sucked up into it.
You should ensure that when you are using the compressed air, that you are blowing the dust completely out of your system (going in one direction) and not around in your case. Dust that is not easily removed should be cleaned with a soft and dry cloth.
Computer Cleaning Tips:
- Put a preventative scheduled maintenance plan in place....Clean it before it is broken.
- Keep your computer off the floor to avoid possible damage and dust build up thereby lessening your computer cleaning.
- Try to keep your computer away from dust, dirt, pet air,etc.
- You should not smoke, eat or drink at your computer.
- Your computer must be kept away from direct sunlight.
- Your computer should be kept in a cool, dry place.
- Allow air to circulate easily around your system and its peripherals by leaving space (ventilation) behind and above your computer.
- If your computer is in an enclosed cabinet, you should cut a hole in the back of the cabinet where your cooling fan is located.
- Ensure that there is good circulation of air behind the back of your system.
- Keep the area where your computer is located clean and free from as much dust as possible. Clean the location frequently to prevent an accumulation of dust around your system.
- Always store your computer components in a cool, dry place and in an anti-static bag.
- Before starting your computer cleaning, for proper grounding, you should clip the anti-static wrist strap along an unpainted metal edge of your computer case. This will ground you to the case and minimize the possibility of static electricity damage to your components.
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