How do you clean dirty monitors and UPS?

[paulyron]

In my old apartment, I have a few monitors and a UPS.  I have to move them to another apartment.  The issue is these devices are very dirty and have lot of dust and all that.  The other issue is there is mold in that apartment but I been using those monitors for years.  There doesn't appear to be mold on the monitors though but that could be cleaned right?

 

 

How do I clean these 3 items safely before bringing it to another apartment?  I would be putting all these 3 things on an older 4 foot folding table and then try to wipe it clean.  The screens for the monitors are fine but the wires and cables are very dusty.  I put the UPS on the floor so there is dust and it is definitely dirty.  I got to assume there are mold spores there as well.

 

 

So you would wear nitrile gloves to clean it but what would you use to clean it?  Sponge?  Microfiber cloth?  Bounty towels?  Vinegar and water?  70% iso alcohol?  Can't imagine you use soap and water right?  What about wet ones or lysol wipes?  I want to clean each of them and bring them to another apartment.   

[HanZie82]

Gloves + mask, and then put a lot of elbow grease in it.
First try and get most dust of with vacuum cleaner, then use said vacuum cleaner on blow setting to get rid of the last dust (outside ofcourse).
Then rub everything with some cleaning agent thats not to harsh. And just wipe it all off. Maybe even use a toothbrush for the hard to reach places.
Open up the UPS (im an electrician) and clean that too touroughly. including the fans and fan grills if any.

 

This is what i wouldve done.

The cleaning isnt hard, its just a lot of work if you want to do it right.

[emosun]

5 minutes ago, paulyron said:

How do I clean these 3 items safely before bringing it to another apartment

basic window cleaner or a slightly damp soapy rag. same way you'd clean glass really

[paulyron]

Just now, HanZie82 said:

Gloves + mask, and then put a lot of elbow grease in it.
First try and get most dust of with vacuum cleaner, then use said vacuum cleaner on blow setting to get rid of the last dust (outside ofcourse).
Then rub everything with some cleaning agent thats not to harsh. And just wipe it all off. Maybe even use a toothbrush for the hard to reach places.
Open up the UPS (im an electrician) and clean that too touroughly. including the fans and fan grills if any.

 

This is what i wouldve done.

The cleaning isnt hard, its just a lot of work if you want to do it right.

I don't have a vacuum cleaner.  Should a computer repair store have this service or who would I go to ask this?   How much would it cost if I were to bring each item to a computer shop for them to clean each?  Thing is only 1 of my monitors is expensive, it's a 32' 4k.  The other is a smaller one but I still use.  The UPS is old and has no battery but I use it as a surge protector.  

[emosun]

3 minutes ago, paulyron said:

Should a computer repair store have this service or who would I go to ask this?   How much would it cost if I were to bring each item to a computer shop for them to clean each? 

is there actual mold inside of the devices?

becuase if not then you don't have to clean the insides of the devices any more than a can of air duster

[Alan G]

Mold grows in damp places so it's not likely you have any on the devices you mention.  If you just need a surge protector, just buy a new one.  They are not that expensive compared to a UPS and you would not have to clean the UPS.

[Dedayog]

55 minutes ago, paulyron said:

I don't have a vacuum cleaner.  Should a computer repair store have this service or who would I go to ask this?   How much would it cost if I were to bring each item to a computer shop for them to clean each?  Thing is only 1 of my monitors is expensive, it's a 32' 4k.  The other is a smaller one but I still use.  The UPS is old and has no battery but I use it as a surge protector.  

Buy a vacuum cleaner.   

 

Look up mold remediation.  DO NOT bring moldy stuff to a shop.  No one needs your mold, for any reason.

 

Report the mold to the property manager, don't keep it quiet and let it spread.

 

The monitors can be cleaned with a Lysiol like agent or just a multisurface cleaner if no mold.

 

Honestly they probably need a blow out with a vacuum and a wipe down with some mild cleaner.  Have you never cleaned anything before?  Not sarcasm, honest question.

[DarkWaterSong]

4 minutes ago, Alan G said:

Mold grows in damp places so it's not likely you have any on the devices you mention.  If you just need a surge protector, just buy a new one.  They are not that expensive compared to a UPS and you would not have to clean the UPS.

Also UPS batteries degrade over time, so an older UPS may not be worthy of being salvaged.

[paulyron]

I don't have a vaccum cleaner or any of these things.  I don't even have a hair blowdryer at the moment.

 

 

I'm confused when people say soap and water and damp microfiber cloth.  Is that a good idea here?  What about wet one wipes or lysol wipes?

 

 

What about 70% iso alcohol?  Someone had suggested this for it.   The UPS is old and need new batteries.  I want to continue using it as a surge protector until I maybe buy a new batteries for it.  The thing is buying 2 new batteries for it probably would cost a good portion of buying a new UPS  

[Dedayog]

20 minutes ago, paulyron said:

I don't have a vaccum cleaner or any of these things.  I don't even have a hair blowdryer at the moment.

 

 

I'm confused when people say soap and water and damp microfiber cloth.  Is that a good idea here?  What about wet one wipes or lysol wipes?

 

 

What about 70% iso alcohol?  Someone had suggested this for it.   The UPS is old and need new batteries.  I want to continue using it as a surge protector until I maybe buy a new batteries for it.  The thing is buying 2 new batteries for it probably would cost a good portion of buying a new UPS  

What do you think a wet wipe contains?  Water and a detergent agent (a soap substance).

 

We're not saying throw them in the bathtub or dishwasher, but a wrung-out washcloth contains very little water.  WAter is a universal solvent, it will dissolve almost any substance short of oil.  Hence the soap. 

 

Really, just take a rag and a tiny bit of water and some elbow grease.  Cleaning is easier than you're making it.

[Alan G]

My universal glass/mirror cleaner is a little bit of Dawn detergent (US brand from Procter & Gamble, so I don't know what the equivalent is overseas) in water.  Use a microfiber cloth, wring it out, and use this to clean the surface.  Then, rinse it out with plain water, wring it and go over the surface to clear off any small amount of soap residue.

[paulyron]

On 6/27/2024 at 2:07 PM, emosun said:

is there actual mold inside of the devices?

becuase if not then you don't have to clean the insides of the devices any more than a can of air duster

I don't think there is mold in the devices.  I just went and took a look at it and there is a ton of dust though.

[paulyron]

On 6/27/2024 at 2:21 PM, Dedayog said:

Buy a vacuum cleaner.   

 

Look up mold remediation.  DO NOT bring moldy stuff to a shop.  No one needs your mold, for any reason.

 

Report the mold to the property manager, don't keep it quiet and let it spread.

 

The monitors can be cleaned with a Lysiol like agent or just a multisurface cleaner if no mold.

 

Honestly they probably need a blow out with a vacuum and a wipe down with some mild cleaner.  Have you never cleaned anything before?  Not sarcasm, honest question.

 

What about the walfort wipes for lens that I will post a few posts below?  I used it just recently at the old apartment and it seemed to clean the side of the monitors with a bit of dust well.  It also clean the monitor screen well as I used it previouslly for this.  I don't have a vacuum.

[paulyron]

On 6/27/2024 at 2:22 PM, DarkWaterSong said:

Also UPS batteries degrade over time, so an older UPS may not be worthy of being salvaged.

It degraded in about 3-4 years or so I believe.  The batteries are done and need replacement.  So I want to use it just as a surge protector as I did for a while.  I don't want to throw this UPS away though as I knew if I buy new batteries... I need to buy 2 batteries for this one, then it would work.

 

 

 

[paulyron]

On 6/28/2024 at 3:46 PM, Dedayog said:

What do you think a wet wipe contains?  Water and a detergent agent (a soap substance).

 

We're not saying throw them in the bathtub or dishwasher, but a wrung-out washcloth contains very little water.  WAter is a universal solvent, it will dissolve almost any substance short of oil.  Hence the soap. 

 

Really, just take a rag and a tiny bit of water and some elbow grease.  Cleaning is easier than you're making it.

Check my post just below.

[paulyron]

Okay so I went by to the apartment to check out my old monitors and the UPS.  

 

 

The 2 monitors I have, the screen is a bit dusty.  The side and the back especially however are very dusty.  Even the cable cord for each is dusty as well.  I do have a package of these walfort wet wipes for lens that you use on glasses but I had used these on my monitors previously without an issue below.  I used 2 of these wipes to wipe the screen and also a bit of the side of the monitors where there is dust and it removed the dust.  Now the back of these monitors have a ton of dust.  Would using these wipes be a good idea instead?  I notice it says these seem to be anti static which would work good for this situation?  I still have maybe 8 of these wipes left.  It seemed to do good job at cleaning my monitor screen which I have used previously before and remove a good amount of dust from the side of each monitor.  So should I use more of these exact wipes for the back of the monitor where there is ton of dust there?  It doesn't seem to leave much residue either.  I also have some regular wet one wipes and I could buy lysol wipes.  But don't do either of those?

 

 

https://www.amazon.com.mx/Walfort-Toallita-residuos-protectora-liquidos/dp/B09DDXBDT4/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KGaLnY_WKxbOYGbIcyyPYasudKZQMHWo0f5SJNWgnU2kO78ORFgHlYAPY8eX0JbdFsEAteqVLf9aHYyk9KOJrNWHrWuwgj0pPB2varvY9pTfpxqkIMRcdJKvl-rFJxLr0R9ZBkT-DBZ3sM-V4zrOAs-tSt5a1g-xYyJkd5BB05mt_wpVHzD0R0lPq3JzTZ1FQZPbxiCtySKmXk3BtafttzpSl0P5s-FmNgCpyTUHdClpf9gBIIicahLhAwgXDcyi33m4nABrio41fBLUoj5DLG5mHy6KBKYmjh-JGj5N-ck.Kl357s0X3JzHAv0A0Q7iIMXG6KQFMpT8kneXIxKQC3k&dib_tag=se&keywords=walfort+lens+wipes&qid=1719730774&sr=8-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.242f5c11-6cfd-40d6-91f6-be3d1974080c

 

 

 

On to the UPS, there doesn't appear to be mold on it.  However, it is extremely dusty especially the side areas on the left and right side where when I took a paper towel and wiped the side of it and basically pushed some dust inside it.  That is not good right?  So I took a paper towel and wiped some dust off but many of it went inside it.  So I have to vacuum it or get a hair blowdryer for this?  So those walfort wipes for lens wouldn't work for this scenario?  The thing is I am going to bring all these things to a new apartment so I don't want to get the new apartment have dust or dirt etc.  It seems like cleaning the monitors the back of it with lot of dust would be simple with these wipes but for the UPS, what should I do?  Is there any risk bringing the UPS to another apartment if there is dust inside it?  I mean the dust does stay inside it right?  However, if you have fans or ac turned on, will the dust spread out of the UPS compartment into the apartment?  Then again, it's only dust right?

[paulyron]

Can someone tell me right now... is it fine to just bring the UPS from the old apartment to the new apartment with it still having dust inside the vents?  I would wipe the UPS exterior with paper towel and those walfort lens wipes?  I would only wipe the vent with paper towel?

[Dedayog]

17 minutes ago, paulyron said:

Can someone tell me right now... is it fine to just bring the UPS from the old apartment to the new apartment with it still having dust inside the vents?  I would wipe the UPS exterior with paper towel and those walfort lens wipes?  I would only wipe the vent with paper towel?

Yes!

 

It's just dusty, as long as there is no mold it's fine.

 

Dude, wipe it with anything you want. You're being incredibly weird about this, you can clean things with almost anything.  I spray Windex directly on my TV and monitors, while they are on even.

[paulyron]

12 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

Yes!

 

It's just dusty, as long as there is no mold it's fine.

 

Dude, wipe it with anything you want. You're being incredibly weird about this, you can clean things with almost anything.  I spray Windex directly on my TV and monitors, while they are on even.

 

Thanks for the response.  If there is mold, it would be noticeable right?  So wipe it with those walfort wipes if there is any dust or anything on the exterior?

 

 

Well I don't want to use something to wipe it where it could damage it.  Someone said don't use anything wet or moist on the side vents of the UPS area because that could cause damage... so that isn't true?  I just want to move the UPS to the new apartment and take care of it later but there is dust there.  

 

 

But things like 70% iso alcohol and lysol wipes, those could be used as well?  I want to be careful with this as not to bring anything bad to the new apartment.  

 

 

[paulyron]

Can others here confirm it's fine just bringing the UPS to new apartment even if there is dust inside it?

[paulyron]

I went to the old apartment and took lot of paper towel and wiped it. I used the walfort lens wipes on the cord and even near the interior of the cord where there was a lot of dust. That is fine right? I used it on the bottom of it as well.


Someone tells me if you have dust in your UPS, you have mold spores. Can anyone here confirm this? Are you saying if anyone has dust inside their equipment whether it's a UPS or desktop laptop where the inside is sort of visible from the sides, then you going to 100% have mold spores? Or you mean just in my situation because I said I think there might be mold in the UPS, then there is because there is dust? I had put the UPS in the old apartment on the floor as there wasn't enough space to put it on my older folding table. So when I put it on the folding table, it was dirty and I used walfort lens wipes and several paper towels. I didn't wet the paper towels


This is the one I have

 

https://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1500AVRLCD-Intelligent-Outlets-Mini-Tower/dp/B000FBK3QK

 

 

If you click on the 360 degree picture of it and drag it around, notice how when you drag it to the side of each, there could be dust stuck in those things? I took a paper towel and just wiped any dust or paper stuck in it. However, in the picture... it doesn't appear the inside of the UPS is visible? When I was wiping multiple areas with a paper towel, I thought it was visible where dirt and other things went inside it?


I took it to the new apartment and just left it on the floor. There was a lot of dust around the cord as well especially the part of the cord that connects to the UPS so I used a walfort lens wipe on the cord and a paper towel from where the cord connects to the UPS. I think I might have used a bit of walfort lens wipe there as well. There is no issue with that right? I didn't connect the UPS to an outlet yet in the new apartment.


So will mold spores spread in general in the new apartment even without fans or AC turned on or if you turn it on, then spores will come out? Thing is lot of people desktop have dust though so those people have mold spores? Someone said as long as there is dust but no mold, then it's fine. But how you know if there is mold or not? You mean if it's visible? I did take some walfort lens wipes and even wiped the bottom of the UPS.


Is there a reason everyone says take it outside and use air to clean the interior? Then why do computer shops seem to do it on the inside then like when they open up your laptop and clean it with the compressed air? If you take a look at it, is it hard to open this UPS up? I don't even have a screwdriver or anything like that.


The thing that is confusing here is... is any dust I wiped earlier went inside the UPS? I thought if you wipe the dust, it either falls out or goes inside the UPS but the 360 degree picture shows there isn't anywhere for the dust to go inside the UPS from each of the sides?