Cleaning Out the Puter

[The Real Bingo]

Well I just got a canister of compressed air. The thing is, I dont know how to go about cleaning it out. Everything is dusty on it: PSU, fans, motherboard, heatsink, EVERYTHING. Anyone have suggestions on how to go about doing this?

Thanks

[jmichna]

Most of these compressed air products come with an extension tube, use it.

Start by removing the case fan filters... if they are foam, you can usually wash these in warm water and a little dishwashing liquid. Use the compressed air to blow off the dirt from the case fans (blow from inside to out)... DO NOT let them free spin from the air... if your air blast is strong enough, the fans can overspin and that will put extra wear on their bearings.

Inside the case, come in from the HS sides and blow out any dust/lint/hair, then blow out the HS fan (again, don't let it free spin). Once the HS fan is clean, repeat blowing out the HS itself from the sides. Next, blow out any dust from between and around the memory chips.

Also, blow out your graphics card HS and fan (no free spinning!).

Finally, I blow out the power supply too, trying to clean the fans and the power supply "guts" as well. You can use a soda straw or thin piece of wood to keep the PS fans from free spinning.

Last, if there's any air left in the can, I blow off any dust from the mobo itself.

If you decide to try and blow out dust from floppy drives/optical drives, be VERY carefull. Too strong an air blast can cause misallignment of the floppy read/write heads... not sure what goes wrong inside an optical drive (for these, I usually use one of those CD "lens cleaners")

[DPA]

Do you have an air compressor in the garage for shop use? If not, do any of your neighbors? When computer cases are full of dust to the point that you can no longer distinguish one heatsink slit from another--you need some high power.

Personally I find myself cleaning some of the most grotesquely filthy computers from businesses on earth. They're awful. I usually drag them back with me to the office and just start by giving a quick blast to the system as a whole. I find it to be most effective to blow away all of the free dust bunnies on the bottom and general caked dust on the motherboard and get it out of the way. Take care to put on a dust mask or something for your own saftey--the dust in computer cases is some of the most bacteriologically active "stuff" in your house. Make sure when blowing the air from your CPU HSF that you blow in from the sides too, just blowing in from the fan doesn't knock it out, get it from every angle possible. Don't forget to blow OUT on your PSU, not in.

Good luck--should prove to be pretty messy. Put on an old shirt

[The Real Bingo]

Thanks for the quick reply jmichna. You mentioned if you have any air left you clean the mobo. How big are the canisters that you use?

Secondly, I wasnt planning on cleaning the CD or floppy drive; they look good, so I wont mess with them.

Thirdly, have you noticed any considerable drop in temperatures after cleaning it out?

Thank you!

[rrcn]

I would be careful using an air compressor for inflating tires or one that you would find in a shop. Those spit out water sometimes and you dont really want water on your components for obvious reasons.

[jmichna]

Originally posted by The Real Bingo
Thanks for the quick reply jmichna. You mentioned if you have any air left you clean the mobo. How big are the canisters that you use?

Secondly, I wasnt planning on cleaning the CD or floppy drive; they look good, so I wont mess with them.

Thirdly, have you noticed any considerable drop in temperatures after cleaning it out?

Thank you!

I think the canisters are usually 12oz (not available to look right now). If the CPU heat sink is very dirty/clogged, you can expect to see a significant temperature drop... certainly several degrees Celsius.

[The Real Bingo]

DPA, I have a compresser that is garaged in a dry environment in the backyard. If I do use that, though, I will need to bring the computer outside in the open back porch to blow it out. Do you think it's safe to clean it outside?

Rrcn, the compressor can be emptied of air pretty quickly and filled back up again in case of condensation build up. Thanks for the heads up about that.

Thanks guys.

[The Real Bingo]

Well I just cleaned it out using an air compressor. I took it outside on the back porch so my room wouldnt be crawling with dust, which will just go right back into the computer anyway. At full load I was at about 40C, I'll let it warm up and let you know what the temp gets to.

It looks as clean as new.

UPDATE-Been running on full load for about 15 minutes now. The CPU temperature is only 36C.

[Omardeth]

you have to be really carefull with air compressors . not only will they spit out water , but they also will put out really high preasure air . be really carfull with your fans . the air comming out of a air compressor will spin them way faster than they are supose to and kill the bearings . make sure you hold the so they don't spin .

[jmichna]

Originally posted by The Real Bingo
...UPDATE-Been running on full load for about 15 minutes now. The CPU temperature is only 36C.

You may, just may, want to consider cleaning it out a wee bit more frequently... wink, wink, nudge, nudge... know what I mean?