I’ve worked in a shop where we sell computer hardware and software for a long time. Additionally, we also repair computers (and sometimes tablets as well).
I am not going to name the customer, but they brought in a desktop PC to us for a repair. It was a traditional tower. They said that it was running slowly, so we decided to upgrade the memory inside. When we opened it up, here is what we found.
That’s right, we found a lot of dust on there(as you can see). Worse still, there was more of it all over the computer. So what can this problem do? Well, in an ideal situation, you will have a couple of fans inside the computer, one to draw air in and the other to push air out.
However, dust can get through those fans. Over time it will collect up and if you leave it for too long, then you will get something similar to the picture that you see above. So why should you care about this? It’s because it can cause the computer to run slower.
Worse still, it’s also a safety risk because if you leave it for too long, then it could start a fire. On top of that, it can shorten the life of your desktop computer.
This was not the only case that I’ve seen of such a filthy tower desktop PC(like the one in the above picture). I’ve seen PCs with a lot of dust in them. I’ve seen PCs with an entire carpet of dust on the inside. I’ve evcn come across PCs where I can see cobwebs in there. It’s just nasty and downright horrible.
So let’s move onto a more positive question? How do you get the dust out?
You cannot use a typical household vacuum cleaner. What you will need to buy is a can of compressed air. They are quite easy to get hold of and pretty inexpensive.
Once you have that to hand, you can then use a screwdriver to open the two side panels that shield it. Of course, make sure that you remove any cables that you might have connected to it(cables for keyboards, mice, screens and so forth). Last but not least, don’t forget to take that power cable out.
From there, you can spray your can of compressed air at the dust in your PC. You should not hold it too close to the components inside (in case if the components get slightly wet). Additionally, you don’t want to hold it too far away otherwise the dust won’t come out.
Another pointer with these cans is that they perform best when they are warm. If you feel them getting cold from using them, then stop and take a break for a while. After that, come back and use it again. For some parts, feel free to you a brush, but it has to be soft so that you don’t damage any of the components.
I can understand that it might be a scary thing opening up your desktop PC. However, if you give it a physical clean-out on a regular basis, then that will be good. I can also understand that maintenance might be the last thing on your mind, but if you want to make sure your PC lasts for a really long time, then physically cleaning it is imperative.
What other methods do you have for cleaning out your desktop PC? Let me know in the comments.