Laptop & Desktop cleaning tips anyone ?

[StackSmasherNinja]

Hi,

 

I'm a junior year student. Last year after joining the college, I bought my first laptop. I also built a gaming and productivity PC thanks to LTT last year. 

 

During lockdown, both of these systems have got very dirty (both inside and outside). I could clean outside dirt and ports etc. with some confidence. But I can't dare touch the insides of both of these things. 

 

How should I tackle this issue ? Is there an already existing LTT video that gives general idea about how to clean internals of your PC and laptop at home ? 

 

What products or methods can you guys suggest me ? 

 

Thanks in advanced 

[Chabax]

buy can of compressed air, u can also use toothbrush together with can to scratch dust if its really sticky, mine is cuz i smoke weed n tobaco in my room, so dust gets stick af, or just use vacuum cleaner and toothbrush

[zeusthemoose]

4 minutes ago, Chabax said:

buy can of compressed air, u can also use toothbrush together with can to scratch dust if its really sticky, mine is cuz i smoke weed n tobaco in my room, so dust gets stick af, or just use vacuum cleaner and toothbrush

I agree with compressed air but stay away from toothbrushes and vacuums as both can cause electro static discharge which can break your system.

 

i personally use compressed air and am going to be getting an esd safe brush. You can also use a slightly wet paper cloth for areas not near the electronics themselves. Rubbing alcohol is also safe to use as it is not electrically conductive and evaporates in minutes.

[Chabax]

2 minutes ago, zeusthemoose said:

I agree with compressed air but stay away from toothbrushes and vacuums as both can cause electro static discharge which can break your system.

 

i personally use compressed air and am going to be getting an esd safe brush. You can also use a slightly wet paper cloth for areas not near the electronics themselves. Rubbing alcohol is also safe to use as it is not electrically conductive and evaporates in minutes.

can you please explain how in the god damn world would toothbrush cause static discharge, and you recommend wet paper cloth? what?

[zeusthemoose]

Just now, Chabax said:

can you please explain how in the god damn world would toothbrush cause static discharge, and you recommend wet paper cloth? what?

I don’t know why, but I heave heard that the bristles can cause esd.

as for the paper towel, I meant away from the hardware, like wiping off the top of a tower or a side panel if something sticky is on it.

[PeachGr]

49 minutes ago, StackSmasherNinja said:

Hi,

 

I'm a junior year student. Last year after joining the college, I bought my first laptop. I also built a gaming and productivity PC thanks to LTT last year. 

 

During lockdown, both of these systems have got very dirty (both inside and outside). I could clean outside dirt and ports etc. with some confidence. But I can't dare touch the insides of both of these things. 

 

How should I tackle this issue ? Is there an already existing LTT video that gives general idea about how to clean internals of your PC and laptop at home ? 

 

What products or methods can you guys suggest me ? 

 

Thanks in advanced 

Every laptop is different, but the new once most of the time, have an easily removable back. So you unscrew it, and blow some air to remove dust for starters. For a PC, you remove the side panel, remove the GPU cause it's easy, and unplug every fan-controling cable. Also if you have filters, you clean them as well, every case is different. For mechanical only keyboard, remove the keys, brush clean the inside, and clean the keys with soap and water

[NineEyeRon]

Electric air duster is a must, avoid canned air! 

[StackSmasherNinja]

6 hours ago, Chabax said:

buy can of compressed air, u can also use toothbrush together with can to scratch dust if its really sticky, mine is cuz i smoke weed n tobaco in my room, so dust gets stick af, or just use vacuum cleaner and toothbrush

won't canned air push the dirt everywhere else in the machine ? I was thinking about vaccum

[StackSmasherNinja]

5 hours ago, PeachGr said:

Every laptop is different, but the new once most of the time, have an easily removable back. So you unscrew it, and blow some air to remove dust for starters. For a PC, you remove the side panel, remove the GPU cause it's easy, and unplug every fan-controling cable. Also if you have filters, you clean them as well, every case is different. For mechanical only keyboard, remove the keys, brush clean the inside, and clean the keys with soap and water

Thanks. Is blowing air on fragile components safe ? I was thinking towards vaccum solely because it sucks the air rather than blowing it.

3 hours ago, NineEyeRon said:

Electric air duster is a must, avoid canned air! 

Any specific reason for this ?

[NineEyeRon]

3 hours ago, StackSmasherNinja said:

Any specific reason for this ?

Firstly they only blow well when upright.

 

They also don’t blow for very long, he your just spraying the propellant.

 

Thirdly they are pretty bad for the environment.

 

I used them for about a year and switched to an air duster with no regrets.

 

I use it around the house and on many electronics so paid for itself over and over.

[PeachGr]

7 hours ago, StackSmasherNinja said:

Thanks. Is blowing air on fragile components safe ? I was thinking towards vaccum solely because it sucks the air rather than blowing it.

Any specific reason for this ?

You don't need much air pressure. If you don't have any way to blow air then you won't do it properly. I used cotton buds once but to clean the CPU and GPU's dust will take ages that way.  There are not fragile components that break with air pressure, but fans have to be unplugged. Most of fans have diods to block reverse charging that burns PSUs or fans, but you cannot bet on that. Better safe than sorry

[js23]

9 hours ago, StackSmasherNinja said:

Any specific reason for this ?

They pay themselves off in no time, great for cleaning out the pc, keyboard, dust filters, anything that builds up dust, not just computers. Can dusters end up being a waste of money,  even though they can be fun to use as a cryo blaster.