How to Clean a PC?

[Fire_Hive 47]

So its been about 3-4 months since I built my (first) rig and its starting to get a bit dusty. Any tips on how to clean it or where to begin? Links to tutorials/vids are welcome. Its all housed in a CM Storm Scout.

[kittikat 589]

I usually just use a dry, soft towel for the outside of the case (maybe spray some windex on the towel to help it collect dust) and then only compressed air for the insides, since you don't want to really get physical on the guts of your PC:  friction+cloth=bad things for PC components.

 

Wear a dust mask or something if you have a lot of dust on your junk.

 

If you DO decide to wipe down the inside of the case (not components, the inside case itself) I would recommend using a non-static wire or mat as well.

[tefftorbes 866]

You get an air duster, take the case to a location you don't mind spraying dust around, and blow the dust out...

 

Really. No tutorials or videos needed.

 

After 3 or 4 months unless you live in a very dusty area, there's not going to be much to deal with.  The biggest potential clog areas are GPU heatsink (By far the worst!), CPU heatsink, and inside the power supply - blow through it both ways to get as much out as possible. You can get some prefilters for intake fans to help keep the dust out (which need to be cleaned occasionally).  

 

That's it.

 

 

[Fire_Hive 47]

lol at the dust fetish.

 

Where I live is extremely dry, on avg 20-30% humidity, and can sometimes get very windy. My city is surrounded by rural areas and our dirt is very fine so it gets picked up by the wind fairly easily during the non-plantation seasons. The houses here in Brasil aren't very dust proof and our windows have slits to allow the passage of air (no a/c).

[kittikat 589]

(no a/c)

You are hardcore.

I wouldn't last without AC here. 95 degree weather with 55-60% average humidity... kill me with fire.

[Deusmortis 4,618]

Fire hose does the trick.

[methebest 114]

compressed air cylnder thingys.

 

95 degrees f is fine without ac >.> well its not but it doesnt kill me.

[Fire_Hive 47]

Yeah, luckily where i work is A/Ced (I work at the mall) so I dont get the bulk of the heat during the day. When I get home at about 10pm the home's already cooled down. One thing we do have is a lot of fans (ceiling and ground fans) so it helps a bit. Temp on avg during the summer is about the same as a Florida summer, but a lot dryer.

[Getsome 431]

Power disconnected, damp cloth, wipe down the internal surface (not circuit boards).

 

Then blast the circuit boards and power supply with one of these.

 

 

 

[orangyvv 96]

Power disconnected, damp cloth, wipe down the internal surface (not circuit boards).

 

Then blast the circuit boards and power supply with one of these.

Nahh, no need to disconnect the power.

One time I was talking to some people on TS as I was switching RAM.

Surprisingly my computer never shut down or closed everything.

[Agamemneon 1,079]

Working in IT and having to deal with a LOT of nasty computers, I'll tell you the easiest way is to get a vacuum that blows air out of the hose is the easiest way to get the dust out. Compressed air isn't powerful enough out of a can to remove most of it, but a vacuum works like a charm. If you don't have that, a sucking vacuum will also work fairly well. A dry cloth or a feather duster will do well for anything that's left.

 

EDIT:

Nahh, no need to disconnect the power.

One time I was talking to some people on TS as I was switching RAM.

Surprisingly my computer never shut down or closed everything.

That is such a terrible idea wow. Shut the computer down and touch the metal case before any electronics to prevent any electrostatic discharge. No point in risking your entire computer for laziness.

[orangyvv 96]

Working in IT and having to deal with a LOT of nasty computers, I'll tell you the easiest way is to get a vacuum that blows air out of the hose is the easiest way to get the dust out. Compressed air isn't powerful enough out of a can to remove most of it, but a vacuum works like a charm. If you don't have that, a sucking vacuum will also work fairly well. A dry cloth or a feather duster will do well for anything that's left.

 

EDIT:

That is such a terrible idea wow. Shut the computer down and touch the metal case before any electronics to prevent any electrostatic discharge. No point in risking your entire computer for laziness.

Acutally, if my computer died on me that'd be good, I could get a decent machine

[methebest 114]

still pretty retarded

[Fire_Hive 47]

EDIT:

That is such a terrible idea wow. Shut the computer down and touch the metal case before any electronics to prevent any electrostatic discharge. No point in risking your entire computer for laziness.

 

Lol, you have no idea how scared I was when I built my rig. I would constantly touch metal objects to discharge static. It was also hot that day and I was sweating, hoping a bead of sweat wouldn't drop over the MB or GPU or something, had to dry my brow constantly that night. In the end it paid off cuz the rig purs like a kitteh

[methebest 114]

Lol, you have no idea how scared I was when I built my rig. I would constantly touch metal objects to discharge static. It was also hot that day and I was sweating, hoping a bead of sweat wouldn't drop over the MB or GPU or something, had to dry my brow constantly that night. In the end it paid off cuz the rig purs like a kitteh

 

yeah i was the same still get paranoid when i need to do something inside.

[Franz_Schubert 4]

owned many computers since 1993

 

power the thing down

 

use a vacume cleaner with a brush attachment on the insides

 

crazy right?

 

wrong.

 

NEVER A PROBLEM

 

just use commons ense and don't poke at components, be gentle etc.

 

 

however from a practical standpoint the only thing that really needs to be cleaned are the fans and cooling fins, everything else is secondary.

 

 

[Meplat 262]

I live in Arizona, and have a cat. So, cleaning is almost biweekly.

What do I use?

 

150 PSI shop air from a 3/4" line.  Just stick a small screwdriver in the fans to keep them from exploding.

I have a smaller "precision duster" for laptops. Still high pressure but the volume is minimal. Still have to be careful with the fans.

[wa_biker 3]

owned many computers since 1993

 

power the thing down

 

use a vacume cleaner with a brush attachment on the insides

 

crazy right?

 

wrong.

 

NEVER A PROBLEM

 

just use commons ense and don't poke at components, be gentle etc.

 

 

however from a practical standpoint the only thing that really needs to be cleaned are the fans and cooling fins, everything else is secondary.

This is what I do.

I found a attachment kit designed for PC's at Harbor Freight. Comes with a reducer and several brushes and sized extensions to reach into all the nooks and crannies. 

[Echo_Sniper 8]

Depends on how clean you want it to be.

 

You can pretty much clean in soapy water some components. Like the mobo and some add-on cards.

[DivHunter 273]

Ahhh I remember being careful about building air cooled PCs.

 

Then I watercooled with a pond pump and a large tub of water.

 

Then onto more pro water cooling and gave several motherboards and graphics cards a good spraying with leaks and what not. Only lost one motherboard because I forgot about the damn heatsink adhesive strips on the VRMs when drying it out  That was a bad smell.

 

Just shut it off and don't be rough with the side of the boards that have sticky-outy bits. She'll be right, mate.

[TNTGibbon 33]

... That was a bad smell.

 

....don't be rough with the side of the boards that have sticky-outy bits. She'll be right, mate.

 

 

Flashbacks to advice received as a teenager for some reason

[DivHunter 273]

lol

[MrsmilieyfaceC8 668]

I find a brush (like literally a painting brush lol) works for most parts, except for insides of Graphics card, that's where you want to blow it with the blow thing