My dad vacummed PC like the fans that where dirty and grills.

flibberdipper · September 18, 2014

Just saying, I vacuumed an entire Compaq PC before and it works better than before... PCB and everything. I was really careful doing so, but yeah. Fans aren't nearly as fragile as the motherboard, so...

EDIT: Hell, I took the case apart so it was just the metal, side panel (or side panels, can't remember if you could take both off), and the plastic so I could wash it in the sink. Came out really clean.

And I vacuumed the multi-card reader.

TakeiT · September 18, 2014

The best thing to do is to get an inexpensive air compressor and use that, then wipe the dust out with a microfibre cloth. Vacuuming it once isn't going to hurt it, but if you constantly do it then it has the potential.

Lavachyste · September 19, 2014

tbh that sounds like an amazing idea i think i might just get started on that :lol:

let me know when you do so

soup · September 19, 2014

I regularly vacuum the inside of PCs with no trouble. The nozzle stays pretty much just at the entrance/exit to the case (no running the hoover 'wand' over the MoBo) and use a soft/clean paintbrush (say 2") to actually brush the build-up from components and let the vacuum suck the dust away.

Fans (IMHO) do not generate enough of a charge when run by air (this charge has been measued) if the bearings can't cope with an overspeed (say 200%) then the bearings were dodgy in the first place. And remember fans with a brushless motor have a control board with a diode on it preventing any reverse current. However if you still feel uncomfortable letting fans spin in the airflow simply stop them revolving with a straw/Qtip/lolly stick/WHY. Note there is a world of difference between the fan being rotated when blowing out dust and holding the compressed air nozzle on the blades to see how fast you can get them to spin.

Vacuuming the external fan grills should cause no problems what so ever.