It's that time again, when it comes to cleaning the PC, it's always excuses, excuses and more excuses. A clean PC isn't optional, it's a must, dirty dusty sticky PC can increase your PC's temperature (CPU, case , NB, SB, GPU, etc) and decrease performance, and if those sticky stuff get into those electronic contact points then you can be sure to expect "accidents". So, it's time to whip out your canned air, brush, cloths, vacuum or whatever you use to clean your PC.

So, what is the best way to clean Malaysian PCs, post your opinion and current practices here boys and girls.

This is what I do:

1.Since malaysia's weathers are always hot and moist, the dust inside the PC can be sticky and gooey, so canned air and vacuum doesn't work well. I normally use cloths and tissues (the soft and non-break-apart kind) that can absorb the sticky stuff and clean the dust at the same time.

2.Firstly, I'll remove the case fans and clean them sitting on the sofa, using cloths or tissues. The CPU heatsink + fan SHOULD NOT be removed unless if you have to replace the cheap thermal paste underneath with artic silver, nanoterm or that *Japanese stuff*, etc.

3.Just remove the fan from the heatsink and clean it, as for the heatsink itself, clean it using a cloth or tissue on a toothpick (rounded ones). DO NOT use the cotton stick that you clean your ears with to clean it; it could break apart and fly everywhere.

4.As for those fans or heatsinks that you don't wanna or don't have to remove, just clean them on the spot (toothpick + cloth or tissue again), just remember to turn your system unit sideway so you can reach them easily. You may also want to remove the graphic card to clean it, cleaning it upside down in its AGP slot isn't exactly fun, unless if you like the blood rushing to brain sensation. If you have HDD or drive HSF, remove them and clean them. Brush the HDD or drive clean if you have to, I don't do it myself, because they're never dirty.

5.For the motherboard itself, don't remove it if you don't want to, it's too much work for NOTHING. Just brush it with a brush (that will not break off) carefully and gently, DO NOT brush it like your sweeping the floor, you could bend or break the electronics (capasitors, 3 pins fan connector, etc). There wont be much dust on it anyway, so it is optional if you wanna clean your mobo or not.

6.Now for the PSU, disconnect everything and take out the PSU and put it on the ground to discharge it, there will always be some electrical charges inside the PSU so be careful (wait for a few hours before putting your hands in it). Clean the fans inside carefully, DON'T shake it, it doesn't have a 3 pins connector like other fans; it's usually welded to the PSU. DO NOT EVER remove the PSU casing, trust me, you are not that L33T, unless if you're a certified technician. As for those PSU without fan grills and you have no way of reaching the fans, DON'T, leave the PSU alone and ask for a technician to clean it for you if you have to. If you have itchy fingers and MUST clean that PSU then this is what I would do, discharge the PSU by removing it from the case and wait for a while (a few hours, 5 perhaps) or use one of those discharger (I'm not sure about this equipment) and then proceed to unscrewing and removing the PSU casing and clean the fans inside, again, don't jerk or shake anything inside, clean them carefully. Most PSU will only have dirty fans, everything else wont have much dust on them, so don't touch anything else if you don't have to.

7. After cleaning everything, put them back on and plug everything in, duh.

CAUTION: Dont use anything that can damage your system's components to clean your PC, vacuum that generates static, wet cotton, plastic brush, tissue/cloths that breaks apart into tiny bits, etc and your fingers too, some ppl have oily fingers.

Sit back and enjoy the temperature drop.

If I had left anything out or made a mistake, kindly correct me, I'm not perfect, not remotely.

This is not a "how to clean your PC thread", I'm just posting what I do to clean my PC and I want to know what you guys do, I AM NOT SHOWING MY SKILLS OFF.

Ok, time to post your cleaning practices.

ahh almost forgot, if you drink coffee or smoke near your PC, DONT!!!. It'll be almost impossible to clean out the stickyness in there, Your PC needs to breath too, smoking and coffee will KILL IT!!!!.

POST UPDATED, refer to date of edit below


This post has been edited by lamely_named: Jul 8 2004, 12:34 AM

i use a small paintbrush.

thats it.

just take everything apart, brush all the dust away, obviously when im out of the house, and then put it all back together.


come to think of it, my pc is due for a cleanup too.

hmm i use vacuum cleaner to suck the dust in my CPU

About letting the PSU discharge, it won't completely discharge by its own. The only thing which has electrical discharge in it are the capacitors; they take at least a week to discharge sometimes if it is a weak PSU. You can actually remove the PSU casing, no harm done there actually; its to clean the fan, if there's a fan in it, or the heatsink. I use a can of compressed air you can buy off the shelf and clean the innards without touching it, then tilting it sideways to remove all the dirt. If you don't smoke and don't spill things in your pc, your innards won't be goey, therefore you'll be able to use a can of compressed air to weed out all the spider nests, dirt and the occasional cockroach.. hehe.

For dissolving thermal pastes, Goof Off is a great cleaner. Available for RM8.50 at Home-Fix in 1U. It dissolves AS5 and Ceramique into liquid within seconds and then you can just wipe it off.

The best type of brushes to use for cleaning your computer parts would be those where the bristles are made from natural(animal) hair. Synthetic materials can generate static that might prove harmful to your hardware.

If you must use a vacumn, don't touch any PCBs or circuitry with the head of the vacumn nozzle. Vacumns generate lots of ESD and shouldn't really be used, but they are super convenient.

Yup, el-cheapo *ahem* buatan Malaysia like *cough* I-verycute *cough* tend not to ground the PCB inside the PSU properly causing electricity to leak out. However, with such PSUs, what you can do if you're in a hurry is use a anti-static bag which you can get from anywhere and place it on the PSU innards for about 10-15 mins or so, then it should be safe to touch it.

As said, actually using a vacuum cleaner can be risky as it builds up negative or positive ions in your casing later on, which might lead to a sudden loss of your hardware. Convenient as it may seem; many people do so, it is not recommended, but it is the easy man's way.

You don't have to remove your fans or stuff from the casing. Just make sure your whole computer is off, then use something like a cotton bud dipped in a little water, and place a small cloth over it. That'll do a better job than what the cloths + tissues mentioned can do.

Dont use those eye glass cleaning cloths, never ever! You rub them together a while and see, and then touch a metal rod or something metal, you'll feel some current like thingy coming out of your fingers. Happen before.

You do know there are specialised vacuums used for cleaning computers?

Stuff like:

or:

Don't you know the general use vacuum generates static when used with the blower and/or the attachment? Sigh..

same as here

oh yea, last time i used tooth brush to clean up my motherboard. Budget!

While me using the Paint Brush and old cloth To clean my all board in my casing!!

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE

but u gotta be careful when handling the insides of a comp.. static electricity in tiny amounts can damage your comp seriously. <--- Beware..

I'm a user of paint brush too.

I use the 1 inch paint brush. I found the size is just right for me to handle and to brush around. I tried 2 inch, but it's uite big, lol.

Usually I remove all the item inside the casing to clean it. Including removing the proc from the socket. Unscrew every fan. Even on mobo (nb hs fan). Clean every blade of fan, usually by brushing it with paint brush, but if feel a little "rajin" I'll take out every part of the fan, and clean the fan blade with soap water.

Since I've take out everything from casing, I also clean the casing with soap water.

But the above situation only happen about couple of years once, lol. When dust can be seen from far - far galaxy away ...

Normally once a month I'll brush off the dust still using the same paint brush.

Anyway if you always clean your room, less dust will get into your casing. This is experience at my friend house where his mom always clean his room and mop the floor. After a year the dust is not noticeable at all.

Clean your room guys!