Edit by darkie . Yes i totally agree with J-slade. There isn't a very comprehensive guide on how to clean your heatsinks out to free them from the dust bunnies.
so I've turned this thread into a discussion thread so we all can share out methods

Guys I've been away from this subforum for some time.. hope you guys can help me again like how you guys did before..

I know this question has been asked so so so many times but I am still left in the dark about the solution.

How exactly do you clean your heatsink properly? Because using tissue or cloth you still can't get in between those fins. And using water will cause this oxidation and you will see white droplets where the water wasn't dried properly. I even tried using water then hairblowing it dry.. still have the same effect. Is there any special type of fluid u can dunk your heatsink into and let it rinse properly without causing this oxidation?

This post has been edited by DaRkSyThE: Aug 23 2008, 04:54 PM

There got chemicals solution like contact cleaner which will dry and do not leave any water mark for electronics (sold in Ace hardware shop, cost roughly RM13/can) and if you do not like to use liquid form then go for compress air can to spray out the dust (also available from Ace Hardware shop, cost roughly RM25/can)

ok great idea.
lets turn this into another discussion thread

as for me, i soaked my ifx14 in water mixed wt dishwasher liquid & then brushed off d dust at the fin wt brush (soft shoe polish type). after that left it dry under the sun... hehehe...

wow so good ka?

i heard my fren told me contact cleaner costs around rm50 at hardware shop i shud get one liao

btw, super noob question here.... the compressed air cepat habis tak?

for the base of the heatsink, use alchohol + lint free for me...

for the fins of heatsink, compress air duster is a good choice

for the fins i use small paint brush and for the base try use back the tim on the base and polish it with tissue, i find it will give me some mirror finish effect and i will help to clean up some minor copper base oxidization as well

i actually use a dib of autosol to clean mine.
works quite well but you cant overapply if not your polish will be uneven

i use paint brush to clean the main dusts on the fins... after that i spray with water (high pressure) to get all dusts out....

when thats done...i blow dry with 1 or 2 delta FFB 1212EHE (depending)

the base... artic clean or nail polish.

nice ideas.

i never clean my TRUE120 for 6month already.
i think it's time to soak them in for refresher.

i usually use tooth brush~
its not too soft nor to hard
it works all around the pc

if u're a sneaker freak....u'd know its ur best fren

I just take it out,throw into basin, take toothbrush brush all the dust .

i brasso the base of the heatsink to get all the harden tim off.

I just spraaaaay the heatsink with my compressed air can. - I finished up the whole can by spraying the whole parts in my casing. Tiring job though.

For copper heatsink, I use rubbing alcohol to clean the base, then rub some tomato sauce and rinse. Shinny

For fin, running water unfortunately.....

This post has been edited by mp3: Aug 25 2008, 06:42 PM

The best way to clean a copper heat sink it to soak in to coke. Then rinse with water if possible RO water walah shine as new. Coke contain some chemical that can clean or eat those unreach fin effectively.

This post has been edited by OlgaC4: Aug 25 2008, 06:56 PM

sure can clean the fins by soaking them?
no rust meh?
dats great news as my the deeper part of my cooler are unreachable by any brush or cloth

soak in coke

---

Added on August 28, 2008, 4:19 amits called carbonic acid

This post has been edited by bryanyeo87: Aug 28 2008, 04:19 AM

Hi guys, any one try the vacuum cleaner to clean the fin?

Get a compressed aircan and spray between the fins. Wouldn't suggest dipping your hs into water especially those with bare alumminium fins. You would notice that part fading due to oxidation. If you were to touch with your hands, you might notice some permanent thumbprint due to oxidation.

easy... use vacuum... suck all the dust

eh , absolutely wont get 80%+ clean.

the dust stick at the fins ... vacuum i tried before.

can't we just dump the whole into water?

and let it dry...

and turn it on again..?

this way.. all part are clean right?

from heatsink fin.. to power supply.. all clean and dust-free?

can? possible?

where do u guys find compressed air cans in kl area??? lol i dont know where to start looking for it... haha wanna try cleaning up.... tq in advance

I think compressed air you can buy from those proper hardware stores like ACE..

Next time in future gonna buy a good heatsink that can easily cleaned.

*edit*

Btw, I strongely discourage everyone from using those USB vacuums because these China made products can easily blow up your PSU/mobo as the voltage is not regulated.

This post has been edited by J-Slade: Sep 17 2008, 07:05 PM

usually i just use paint brush to clean off the dust of my heatsink. unless the heatsink was made from pure aluminium then i will wash it with water.

cotton buds seem to work for me.

i will soak my hsf into hot water,then after taht i will clean the every fin by using high pressure water.
after taht polish the base with AS5 then use hair dryer to dry the fin and isntall back

@ace

no rust?
can dat be applied to both alu and copper?

no harm letting water run through. make sure dry enough la. or else drip to GC. slight damp is quite alright, the heat will make the moisture evaporate anyway.

no rust at all,i apply this way to every hsf that i got but none of them were rust.
anyway,do polish the base nicely or else it looks bad after burned from ur processor

i just use a tooth brush to clean it wor=="

go to motobike workshop or carworkshop

n borrow thier air presure gun n blow at ur hsf sure no more dust 99.999999%

borrow air pressure gun from workshop then blow ur HSF can make ur HSF flying away...
and ur aluminum / cast iron HSF blow apart

are u having a clue of what u are talking about?

and the HSF is alive?

use vacuum la..ekekeke...

if u've tried u know that it doesnt work.

its either compressed air or water.

If alu, I just wash with water coupled with mild soap. Tools to equip, gentle toot brush.

Copper, just soak it in coke then rinse with alcohol to remove the residue.

Highly compressed air gun is a good idea. But risk of bending the fins is there. Hence its wise to take some time and patience on cleaning the HSF. after all, its important to keep the CPU cool

can i soak my cooler with thinner?

just wipe the with tissue will do. No need to be sparkling clean. You won't gain much from a sparkling clean fan or HSF. If you have to resort to that for cooling your PC then it's something wrong already.

Then again, some people are just clean freaks. So go ahead and dip them in detergent.

For things which you can't dip in water, just use a toothbrush to loosen the dust, then blow it off. Alcohol swabs for cleaning wounds are excellent for cleaning thermal goop and contact areas. Cheap too.

This post has been edited by colinwong89: Feb 1 2009, 05:15 AM

dip into coke, anyone tried?

No, but I`m not sure its a good think or not. Colas can be used to remove rust, but are they effective for TP?

For me, I just use a piece of dry cloth as tissue tends to break easily

its not for thermal paste removal.

its for removing the oxidation on the copper heatpipe.

Coke can be used as cleaning agent as well?!

Never heard b4 & never even thought so...

Is it really true? Cerita dongeng or for real?

I dun want to waste d coke if it's just a joke,
better off if i drink it

lol ya lo...izit can & good soak into coke??..

any1 tried b4?...

btw i just use water to clean it...

I cant believe this thread I created still exists... lol

anyway water is not really a good idea. the best is still high pressure air spray can

i do use coke (king cola) for cleaning my heatsink hehe
it will makes my heatpipe shiny like new

is it effective?don't gv any effect(others than shiny like new)?

all i know is that ppl use coke to clean their car's windshield to remove road grease & grimes. Normally i take my entire system to my friends tire shop and borrow their air-compressor and spray from inside out cause i dun wanna void my PSU by taking it appart. Brush off dust with paint brush at the same time too.

This post has been edited by kali65: Jun 1 2009, 02:17 AM

i luv using tooth brush better than paint brush
much more effective

really can use coke?how about pepsi or 100 plus?
can a?

Hahaha, totally off topic but its said that only coke can clean very well. Toilet dirty, pour coke . . . let it soak, rinse and tadaaaa . . . clean toilet.

coke can clean, but considering its priced at more than RM1 per can which is only 325ml, it's damn expensive... i suggest u go for metal polisher if u wanna make it shiny again, costs just RM7 for 1 whole tube, and u use very little to make ur heatsink shiny again

to dust off, i always use a dry used toothbrush. to clean off thermal compound, i either use methylated spirit/rubbing alcohol (always use the one without fragrance) from the pharmacy. can get from hardware also bottle of 'spirit' aka 'denatured alcohol'. alcohol will not cause rust the metal heatsink nor harm sensitive electronics, and with proper ventilation will dry by itself.

I use cotton buds , sharpen d edge, dip it in alcohol (I use vodka lol) leftover ma, den slowly watch movie on tv n clean haha..my question is this, how often should you clean the heatsink ?

i use brush,air gun compressor and wipe with tissue...

For something troublesome like the Cooler Master V8, how to clean properly? Mine looks like oxidixing already.

same here, but i leave it as it is for d time being. doesn't affect much on d performance but rather on it's aesthetics

or u could try submerging it in coke n leave it for few hours

i soak them in clorox bleach.

how often do you need to clean your HSF?

got minor and major services for your hsf, depend ler...

for major cleaning and minor dusting?

soak in clorox bleach to remove the stubborn old dust decay which hsf will look dull - major

vacum & blow and the hsf from dust - minor

both job done by me ler, depend on the condition

This post has been edited by easyzuddin: Jan 13 2011, 11:00 AM

will try use clorox..got 2 bottles of clorox unused at home..now i can get benefit from it