keakar
10-04-2007, 05:48 AM
HOW TO CLEAN THE DUST FROM YOUR PC
cleaning tools: soft 2" paint brush or parts cleaning brush / compressed air or "air in a can" / floor fan / dust mask
I recommend that you bring your computer outside or into the garage so that all that dust your about to stir up isn't left in your room flying around because that dust is just waiting for a chance to get right back into your clean computer. It’s a good idea to put a floor fan behind you set on low speed to blow the airborne dust away from you and the computer and it is advised that you wear a dust mask while doing this or you will be sneezing all night lol.
You can use a compressed air tank to blow out the dust as long as you don’t get too close with the nozzle so stay at least 6" away from everything at all times and you keep it under 30lbs of tank pressure so it wont bend capacitors or hurt anything.
Before starting you should count the number of jumpers on mobo and take note of the pin locations in case one should come off during the cleaning process. Sometimes the air compressor can blow them off (if you get to close) and they get lost.
Use a good soft 2" paint brush or parts cleaning brush to brush and wipe clean the motherboard itself along with any wires, empty ram or pci slots, pci cards or video cards. Take your time to brush out all your heat sink fins very well removing the fan to clean it and the heat sink better.
Also brush off all wires, fans and fan blades, its like dry washing it and you should clean everything to get rid of all dust. If the brush gets dusty blow it off with the air and wipe it on a dry towel to clean it off.
Now remove the front faceplate on the case to clean it and the front side of the frame and don't forget to clean the inside of the case itself (floor, top, sides, and case fans) with the paintbrush and some air.
NOTE: if you cant or don’t want to bring your computer outside or to the garage then it can be cleaned with a shop wet vac because the long hose keeps the electric motor at a safe distance.
A vacuum can, if you are not careful, pull the small wires loose from the motherboard pinouts or suck the jumpers off of the board so be careful and make a note of where and how everything is plugged into. Another big negative to vacuum cleaning is of course it makes a lot of noise. anytime you use a vacuum cleaner the air causes some friction as it moves against rough or uneven surfaces so I also duct tape a small piece of old rubber hose (I use old garden hose) onto the end of the vacuum hose to further insulate it from possible static charge and I also advise you to not try to use the brush attachment for the vacuum as it causes too much friction of air across the bristles and there is a chance it can build up static electricity that could harm some components. Use a hand held brush to do the actual cleaning then the vacuum to remove the loose dust and to clean the tough spots.
For tough areas needing something stiffer to get into like aluminum block heat sink fins, I sometimes used a toothbrush or an automotive parts cleaning brush because it has stiffer bristles to get into those hard to get to areas by shoving it in so the bristles slide into the areas you are trying to clean. Sometimes the brush gets trashed but it’s the gentlest way to really get aluminum block heat sink fins clean and for cleaning fan blades.
For cleaning those big radiator finned heat pipe cpu coolers, when they get really bad with dust you just take them off and let soak for an hour under water and all that dusty film comes loose and it will wipe clean with just a soft paint brush passed back and forth like brushing teeth. To remove any remaining residue to finish cleaning, just put it in the dishwasher or in the sink with the spray nozzle and hot water. It will come out like new again.
CLEANING DUST OUT OF YOUR PSU
Cleaning tools: soft 2" wide paint brush or parts cleaning brush / compressed air or "air in a can" / flashlight / floor fan / dust mask / shop vac with long hose / rubber gloves
Note: because of the way they are designed, air in a can just doesn’t usually have enough force to do a very good job to blow the dust out of a psu because the dust cant escape the box. For this reason I use a shop vac with the long hose and suck the dust out as I blow it around inside the psu.
The psu is hard to see inside of to tell if it needs cleaning but a flashlight will help you see inside from the fan area to know if you need to clean it. Often just blowing it out good with an air hose will remove most all of the dust but after doing this if you still see a coating of dust on everything then you will need to open it to clean it.
WARNING: even when turned off the power supply holds enough juice to hurt you or even kill you if opened soon after it has been running so you must wait at least 24 hours before opening it and still be careful, wear rubber gloves and no matter what, DO NOT touch anything inside of a psu with your bare hands or metal object such as a screwdriver even after 24 hours.
After the computer has been unplugged from the wall for at least 24 hours. Carefully disconnect all wires and remove the psu from the case. Now its time to put on your rubber gloves and keep them on the whole time until the cover has been screwed back into place. There will be 4 tiny screws holding the psu cover on but read the note below before removing them.
NOTE: removing the psu cover will void any warranty you have on it so they put a sticker on psu that will let them know if you opened it. The sticker is usually covering one of the screws or on the seam where the psu separates. It will void any remaining warranty you might have once this sticker has been broken so understand this if you proceed with opening your psu. I have seen them removed carefully with a hot blow drier that soften the glue but don’t expect much if you attempt to save the sticker.
NOTE: For safety you should always put on a good pair of rubber gloves before you remove the psu cover and don’t take them off until the cover has been replaced.
Remove the cover carefully lifting it up evenly and straight up so as not to let it touch anything inside. Brush all parts clean with soft bristle paint brush while using air to blow the dust away. Don’t forget to clean the fan and fan blades as well using the paint brush in a sweeping painting style motion; use a stick to hold the blades still while you brush them.
DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING WITH YOUR BARE HANDS! It can still hold a charge and zap you like a cattle prod. Put the cover back on and put the psu back in the case and reconnect any wires you removed.
ADDED TIP:
Now is a good time to add more shine to your computer by just using automotive car wax on the painted parts of your case. It shines and it will help prevent scratching. Remember to watch the dust when you’re wiping it off so that it doesn’t get into your clean computer.
cleaning tools: soft 2" paint brush or parts cleaning brush / compressed air or "air in a can" / floor fan / dust mask
I recommend that you bring your computer outside or into the garage so that all that dust your about to stir up isn't left in your room flying around because that dust is just waiting for a chance to get right back into your clean computer. It’s a good idea to put a floor fan behind you set on low speed to blow the airborne dust away from you and the computer and it is advised that you wear a dust mask while doing this or you will be sneezing all night lol.
You can use a compressed air tank to blow out the dust as long as you don’t get too close with the nozzle so stay at least 6" away from everything at all times and you keep it under 30lbs of tank pressure so it wont bend capacitors or hurt anything.
Before starting you should count the number of jumpers on mobo and take note of the pin locations in case one should come off during the cleaning process. Sometimes the air compressor can blow them off (if you get to close) and they get lost.
Use a good soft 2" paint brush or parts cleaning brush to brush and wipe clean the motherboard itself along with any wires, empty ram or pci slots, pci cards or video cards. Take your time to brush out all your heat sink fins very well removing the fan to clean it and the heat sink better.
Also brush off all wires, fans and fan blades, its like dry washing it and you should clean everything to get rid of all dust. If the brush gets dusty blow it off with the air and wipe it on a dry towel to clean it off.
Now remove the front faceplate on the case to clean it and the front side of the frame and don't forget to clean the inside of the case itself (floor, top, sides, and case fans) with the paintbrush and some air.
NOTE: if you cant or don’t want to bring your computer outside or to the garage then it can be cleaned with a shop wet vac because the long hose keeps the electric motor at a safe distance.
A vacuum can, if you are not careful, pull the small wires loose from the motherboard pinouts or suck the jumpers off of the board so be careful and make a note of where and how everything is plugged into. Another big negative to vacuum cleaning is of course it makes a lot of noise. anytime you use a vacuum cleaner the air causes some friction as it moves against rough or uneven surfaces so I also duct tape a small piece of old rubber hose (I use old garden hose) onto the end of the vacuum hose to further insulate it from possible static charge and I also advise you to not try to use the brush attachment for the vacuum as it causes too much friction of air across the bristles and there is a chance it can build up static electricity that could harm some components. Use a hand held brush to do the actual cleaning then the vacuum to remove the loose dust and to clean the tough spots.
For tough areas needing something stiffer to get into like aluminum block heat sink fins, I sometimes used a toothbrush or an automotive parts cleaning brush because it has stiffer bristles to get into those hard to get to areas by shoving it in so the bristles slide into the areas you are trying to clean. Sometimes the brush gets trashed but it’s the gentlest way to really get aluminum block heat sink fins clean and for cleaning fan blades.
For cleaning those big radiator finned heat pipe cpu coolers, when they get really bad with dust you just take them off and let soak for an hour under water and all that dusty film comes loose and it will wipe clean with just a soft paint brush passed back and forth like brushing teeth. To remove any remaining residue to finish cleaning, just put it in the dishwasher or in the sink with the spray nozzle and hot water. It will come out like new again.
CLEANING DUST OUT OF YOUR PSU
Cleaning tools: soft 2" wide paint brush or parts cleaning brush / compressed air or "air in a can" / flashlight / floor fan / dust mask / shop vac with long hose / rubber gloves
Note: because of the way they are designed, air in a can just doesn’t usually have enough force to do a very good job to blow the dust out of a psu because the dust cant escape the box. For this reason I use a shop vac with the long hose and suck the dust out as I blow it around inside the psu.
The psu is hard to see inside of to tell if it needs cleaning but a flashlight will help you see inside from the fan area to know if you need to clean it. Often just blowing it out good with an air hose will remove most all of the dust but after doing this if you still see a coating of dust on everything then you will need to open it to clean it.
WARNING: even when turned off the power supply holds enough juice to hurt you or even kill you if opened soon after it has been running so you must wait at least 24 hours before opening it and still be careful, wear rubber gloves and no matter what, DO NOT touch anything inside of a psu with your bare hands or metal object such as a screwdriver even after 24 hours.
After the computer has been unplugged from the wall for at least 24 hours. Carefully disconnect all wires and remove the psu from the case. Now its time to put on your rubber gloves and keep them on the whole time until the cover has been screwed back into place. There will be 4 tiny screws holding the psu cover on but read the note below before removing them.
NOTE: removing the psu cover will void any warranty you have on it so they put a sticker on psu that will let them know if you opened it. The sticker is usually covering one of the screws or on the seam where the psu separates. It will void any remaining warranty you might have once this sticker has been broken so understand this if you proceed with opening your psu. I have seen them removed carefully with a hot blow drier that soften the glue but don’t expect much if you attempt to save the sticker.
NOTE: For safety you should always put on a good pair of rubber gloves before you remove the psu cover and don’t take them off until the cover has been replaced.
Remove the cover carefully lifting it up evenly and straight up so as not to let it touch anything inside. Brush all parts clean with soft bristle paint brush while using air to blow the dust away. Don’t forget to clean the fan and fan blades as well using the paint brush in a sweeping painting style motion; use a stick to hold the blades still while you brush them.
DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING WITH YOUR BARE HANDS! It can still hold a charge and zap you like a cattle prod. Put the cover back on and put the psu back in the case and reconnect any wires you removed.
ADDED TIP:
Now is a good time to add more shine to your computer by just using automotive car wax on the painted parts of your case. It shines and it will help prevent scratching. Remember to watch the dust when you’re wiping it off so that it doesn’t get into your clean computer.