Computers moderate temperature by running several fans that allow air to move through the case. An unfortunate side effect of this is that dust and other small particles usually are carried by that circulating air and wind up inside of your pc. In the long run, this will put extra strain on your fans. They will ultimately fail if this dust is not cleared out. When your fans die, you will have to install new ones or your components will overheat. Overheating pieces of hardware will fail very rapidly. Many users don’t figure out that their fans are gone until a part dies.
However, there are just a few safe methods to clear dust from your pc. The same devices that clear dust can also damage pc parts. Even the safest methods should be used sparingly. There must be a balance between these two concerns.
The safest tool for cleaning dust is a can of compressed air. When you purchase canned air, you should make sure that the specific product is safe for computer parts. Since canned air is fairly cheap, price should not be an obstacle in this pursuit.
If you are dealing with a desktop system, you will have to open the case to clear the dust from your pc. When you start spraying the canned air inside your case, you may notice a white foam forming on the surface. This is liquid butane being forced out by the compressed air (typically because you’re holding the can sideways) and it evaporates very quickly. While this will not harm your computer, you may want to attempt to keep the can completely upright as you’re spraying so that it stays working longer. You may want to stop them from spinning by placing a safe object alongside the fan blade. This is a divisive step; many users dust off their fans without doing this. You should make sure to blow the dust off of every fan in your pc. There may be several case fans. You also may have another fan on the heat sink of your CPU. If you have a high performance graphics card, it may have a fan as well. Your power supply fan is a particularly important one to clean; a dusty power supply fan can actually catch on fire.
You will also want to clear layers of dust sitting on other parts inside your pc. Once you have completed this task, you may see an improvement in the operating temperature of your pc. If so, you have likely waited too long to perform this task.
If you are dealing with a laptop, this will be a bit more complex. You can wipe off the outside very easily. Yet, the inside of the laptop will become dusty as well. You can get into the fan intake and exhaust with the tiny straw included with most canned air items. For most users, this will solve your problem. You may have to take your laptop apart occasionally to dust off the rest of the interior. This is an advanced step. If you don’t know how to open up your laptop without damaging it, you should probably not play around with this.
You don’t need to compulsively clear dust from your pc, though. Dusting too often may damage your fans or other parts. However, you should try to do it every couple of months. This will add years to the lifespan of your hardware.
Geek Choice understands that a dust-free pc will keep going a lot longer. As a nationwide computer service and repair company, Geek Choice is devoted to helping the general public learn good pc maintenance habits. Geek Choice provides on-site expertise for any computer repair crisis. If your fans are not properly cooling your pc, give us a call at 1-800-GEEK HELP (433-5435).