Hey Guys,

REALLY simple cleaning question.

Last week I installed an additional HDD, but I was surprised to see quite alot of dust/hair within the computer case (I've got cats before anyone says anything :razz

Also the computer is floot mounted.

How do people SAFELY clean the inside of their computers ie get the hair and dust out of the heatsinks or fans on the CPU and graphics card.

Cheers,


Dru.

The best way is to get a can off compressed air and blast the dust away, although i use a good blow (do not recommend it though!).

lol we have an air compressor, we have all sors of air tools like impact wrenches needed when resoring a 21 year old off roader(range rover),so we blast them with that but what i do aswell is have a hover on hovering over the case so as the dust gets airborn it gets sucked strait in the hoover

I use my lung! Not so healthy though...

I blow the worst off (shut your eyes first) then hoover with a thin attachment.

You don't need to get the hoover nozzle right onto the parts, just close enough to suck up the dust. Also for fans etc, I have read that it is best to hold them in position with something to stop them spinning whilst cleaning.

Does your case have the facility for an air filter ?
My old one didn't but my current one does...a lot less buildup of crud in the new case

(Hmmm, maybe an aftermarket one will improve performance )

Quote from james12s :

lol we have an air compressor, we have all sors of air tools like impact wrenches needed when resoring a 21 year old off roader(range rover),so we blast them with that but what i do aswell is have a hover on hovering over the case so as the dust gets airborn it gets sucked strait in the hoover

Keep the pressure low though - 120psi air might do more harm than good.

yh obviously i turn the pressure down and dont hold it right to the pc, i do know someone who didnt and wrecked there mobo lol

Well tbh, you want to have the vacuum and the air right together, I scrwed up something one time by getting dust and crap inside. So with your blowing the dust off you want the vacuum to be sucking it out as the air is blowing it if you have enough room inside your case.

About ten years ago or so, when I was doing alot of computer servicing for companies that hadn't grasped the fact that computers should not be brown and full of cobwebs inside, I bought one of these:


Just make sure you go outdoors.

Quote from scoobyrbac :

Well tbh, you want to have the vacuum and the air right together, I scrwed up something one time by getting dust and crap inside. So with your blowing the dust off you want the vacuum to be sucking it out as the air is blowing it if you have enough room inside your case.

lol yh then the dust gets blown in to the air and straight into the hoover, as i said

lol at the leaf blower

Vacuum hose and a brush will be good enough. Obviously, make sure you "ground" the static from the computer before you clean it. I clean mine every 2-3 weeks (have a couple of dogs, and due to it being summer, they are malting like crazy! ). I just take the 2 panels off my case, and then just use a small paint brush and the vacuum hose to get it up. Then, every 3-4 months, i do a major clean on it, like taking the CPU apart and clean that (its good to do that. You will find that the heatsink will be filled with dust if you dont do it regularly) and i then apply some new paste. I also do the same with my graphic cards, but both of them are right at the bottom so they dont collect too much. I then take the fan guard of my PSU and clean all inside that.

Quote from Nathan_French_14 :

Vacuum hose and a brush will be good enough. Obviously, make sure you "ground" the static from the computer before you clean it. I clean mine every 2-3 weeks (have a couple of dogs, and due to it being summer, they are malting like crazy! ). I just take the 2 panels off my case, and then just use a small paint brush and the vacuum hose to get it up. Then, every 3-4 months, i do a major clean on it, like taking the CPU apart and clean that (its good to do that. You will find that the heatsink will be filled with dust if you dont do it regularly) and i then apply some new paste. I also do the same with my graphic cards, but both of them are right at the bottom so they dont collect too much. I then take the fan guard of my PSU and clean all inside that.

so as long as i use the power cable to plug into the mains (but have the plug and hte computer off) the computer is correctly earthed and I can 'quote' unquote - give it a blow?

Thanks all for your answers btw

To earth it, you need to unplug the power wires (imo, would be best to unplug all, as there will still be currents running through) and then, holding your computer in one arm, place your hand onto something metal, like a radiator and do that for about 5-10 seconds, then it will be earthed properly.

Quote from Nathan_French_14 :

To earth it, you need to unplug the power wires (imo, would be best to unplug all, as there will still be currents running through) and then, holding your computer in one arm, place your hand onto something metal, like a radiator and do that for about 5-10 seconds, then it will be earthed properly.

cheers

To get the dust out of the PCs at work (which are locked shut) we just put a bit of paper in front of the front intake fan and wait for the fan speeds to go mental. Then take the paper away and all the dust blasts out of the back

Drop it into a basin of soapy water!

Quote from Richie Cahill :

Drop it into a basin of soapy water!

who do i send the bill too?

I just stick to can of compressed air, much less hassle and the air itself is dry.

At work we use cans of compressed air (go through about 3 cans a week of it!) and a hoover to suck out the dust. It's the best way of doing it. To get some of the worse dust out of the fans, a paint brush is good to loosen it up before using the compressed air.

Quote from Dru :

who do i send the bill too?

If the computer doesn't have any electricity running through it, nothing will get damaged. Just make sure everything is dry before you turn it on again.

Quote from MINIz guy :

If the computer doesn't have any electricity running through it, nothing will get damaged. Just make sure everything is dry before you turn it on again.

Careful MINIz guy, I was once being sarcastic in this very sub-forum (as I hope you are being right now) and I got yelled at, lol.

I'm serious. Drop your cell phone in the toilet when it's off, or turn it off right after and let it air out for a few days until it is completely dry. The phone should be fine after.

Quote from MINIz guy :

I'm serious. Drop your cell phone in the toilet when it's off, or turn it off right after and let it air out for a few days until it is completely dry. The phone should be fine after.

Or try with your keyboard.

A friend of mine knocked a rather large glass of red wine all over his once, quickly powered off the PC and ran the KB under the warm tap for a little while.

He put it on top of a radiator for a few days to dry out properly, and it is still working fine as far as I know.

stuart that only works with older keyboards, new ones will break that was, but like i said an older one do what stuart said should be ok lol

Quote from MINIz guy :

I'm serious. Drop your cell phone in the toilet when it's off, or turn it off right after and let it air out for a few days until it is completely dry. The phone should be fine after.

Battery still connected = death.