PC Maintenance Guide
This article isn't about the maintenance you perform to help keep your PC safe from viruses and spy-ware. I'm talking about Cleaning out the inside of your case. We’re talking about dust. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve opened up a case to find about an inch of dust and grime all over the inside of the system. Few people are aware of the problems all this dirt can cause in your PC. In this article we will cover:
- Problems with dust
- How to prevent dust buildup
- What NOT to clean with
- Products for cleaning
- How to clean your system
The Problem With Dust:
Buildup of dust inside your case can hinder system performance. Heat sinks are very prone to getting clogged up with dust. As a result the air can’t pass through and keep things cool.
Dust can also build up around components on the Motherboard and other cards in the system. This buildup can start to build a bridge between components. This can result in a soft short. Any moisture in the air will make this issue worse. A soft short is like trying to short 2 contacts with a very weak resistor yet not as constant of a flow of electricity. The flow can be random and rise and fall in strength. If a soft short forms, it can cause your PC to have many strange problems or could damage parts.
Dust buildup in a PCI slot may cause a new expansion card being placed in that slot to have problems. This may cause you to waist time and money returning said card or troubleshooting the problem.
For all those smokers out there, some of the worst cases I’ve seen and the hardest ones to clean are those where people smoke in the house. The smoke makes the dust sticky. This also makes them more susceptible to soft shorts. Not to mention how it discolors everything on the case. I have also noticed that the rubber isolation around wires becomes brittle faster from cigarette smoke. With age, the rubber will naturally become brittle but it seems the smoke accelerates this process. That’s just my observation. I have no scientific facts to back that up yet.
How To Prevent Dust:
You won’t be able to stop dust from entering your case. However there are ways to minimize and prevent too much from getting in. Unless you can seal up every hole on the case, dust will find its way in.
One of the best ways I have found to prevent dust buildup is to keep your case elevated. Cases that sit on rugs or carpeting will suck in more dust. Most of the dust in your home gets trapped in the carpet. Your PC does a pretty good job of sucking the dust up from the carpet. Not to mention if you have a cat or a dog you will get allot of hair in the system.
For just under $6 you can buy filters that can attach to the backside of your case fan. They don’t catch all the dust but they do a good job of keeping most of it out. Most are washable and can be reused. I have also found that scraps of cloth and a few clips work quite well at catching dust. There are many cases that provide reusable filters built onto the case. There are also several ways you can make your own filters. Among the most popular are using an old t-shirt or a Swiffer dust pad. Just cut them to size and attach them to the fans so they catch the dust.
Keeping the inside of the case organized can help as well. The fewer obstructions the airflow has the easier it is for that dust to keep moving and flow out of the case. If the airflow is obstructed then the dust will build up on those items. Some of the most common places for dust buildup are wires, fans, and heat sinks.
What NOT To Clean With:
Over the years I have seen many people mess up their PC’s buy using the wrong items to clean with. So I want to cover What NOT To Use when cleaning your PC.
Feather Duster, Static Duster- Do not use either of these items. A static charge builds up in these and will damage sensitive parts like your RAM and CPU. I have seen too many people come complaining about there system just stopped working. Then I come to find out that they just cleaned the case out with one of these.
Vacuum Cleaner- Vacuum cleaners can build up a static charge from the air moving through the plastic hose. This will also damage components. There are vacuums that are designed for use with sensitive electronics. These tend to be very expensive do to the way they are built to prevent a static buildup. You can find small handheld vacuums for PC’s but these do not provide good suction at all. Though there is a way you can safely use a vacuum to help clean out your case. I will cover this in the How To Clean Your System Section.
Chemical Duster- For example: Pledge® Clean & Dust. You know the kind of spray you use on a rag to dust off furniture. This may sound odd, but I have known people to use a chemical duster spray to help keep dust from building up. They sprayed it right on there motherboard. Well needless to say that everything that it was sprayed on fried once the system was turned on. For the purposes of this article, we will say not to use any chemicals for cleaning your system.
Products For Cleaning:
Now we will cover the basic tools needed to properly clean out your system. The list is pretty short. So this section won’t be very long.
There are only a few items you really need. They are a can of compressed air and a plastic long bristled brush. An old toothbrush will work as well but you may not be able to reach what you need with it. A pint brush would work well to. As long as it's a nylon brush and not a horse hair brush. The horse hair can build up a static charge. A good role of paper towels or a couple of coffee filters is good for wiping things down. I like to use a micro fiber cloth as well. A nice air compressor set below 100 psi is also a good replacement for cans of air.
The cans of air run between $6 and $10 for a 16 oz can. The electronic brush is about $8. You can find both these items at most any electronics retailer.
How To Clean Your System:
Well the idea here is obvious. To get all that dust and grime out. I recommend giving your system a good cleaning every 2 or 3 months. You will be surprised at how fast that dust builds up. Especially when you aren’t taking any steps to prevent it.
Let’s cover some safety tips. You will be working on the inside of your PC so I recommend using a grounding strap. If you don't have one and don't want to spend the $5 for one then you can touch the side of the case to ground yourself before reaching inside. You will also want a pair of safety goggles. Not the glasses but the goggles. You will be blowing dust around and it will get in your eyes. It may also be a good idea to wear a dust mask so you don't breath any of the dust in.
First thing you need to do is unplug all cables from the back of the case. You will want to move the PC to an area that is well light and easy to work in. I suggest the kitchen table. You may want to lay out a couple of trash bags just in case. You don’t want your Wife/ Mother yelling at you for making a mess of the table.
Personally I take out all the fans and once a year I take all the heat sinks out as well. I typically don’t bother with removing the GPU cooler. This gives you a chance to give them a good cleaning. The best way to clean the fan is when it’s out of the system. Dust builds up extremely fast on the fan blades. Don’t worry about disconnecting any wires or pulling anything else out of the case.
Now you want to take that brush of yours and start working it into the fan blades and the heat sinks. The built up dust doesn’t like to just blow away. It gets caked on there. So work that brush into the heat sinks really good. Be sure to get any dust that may be in the expansion slot and spare RAM slots. Once you think you have gotten everything then it’s time for the can of air.
If you haven’t cleaned the system in quite a while, then you may need to have 2 or 3 cans of air. So now is the time to start blowing that dust out. Ah, but you don’t want that dust to go everywhere. Remember how I mentioned you could use a vacuum cleaner. Well you can if you do it right. You don’t want to stick that hose down into the case. The static can arch from the hose to a sensitive component that way. What I do is keep the hose along the outside edge of the case. Keep it as close to the area you are working in while staying along the outside edge. This will allow any static discharge to be handled by the case. Thus saving your sensitive components from harm. It will also help keep the dust under control. Once you have the dust removed you can take a paper towel or a coffee filter and wipe down the inside of the case. Only the inside of the case should be wiped down and nowhere else. No need to wipe down any of the components inside.
When your done remember to re install your fans. If you took out any of your chip coolers then be sure to clean the old thermal paste off with alcohol and follow the directions of the manufacture for re applying the thermal paste. This would also be a good time to blow out your mouse and keyboard. Your keyboard builds up a good amount of dirt.
Conclusion:
Take your time and do one section of the case at a time. You will find there will be a lot of dust built up inside the PSU. So blow it out as best you can. You should have no problem with having the vacuum up against the rear of the PSU to help suck out the dust. As I mentioned before it’s a good idea to clean your system every couple of months or so.
PC Maintenance Guide
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