I wish you could have heard my desktop computer an hour ago. It was making a nasty wheezing noise that did not bode well at all. Now, it’s humming with the soft, barely-there sound you’d expect from a brand new pc! And yes, I did vacuum it. Read on to find out if I’m crazy or not. 😀
But first, a warning: do not think you can take shortcuts. You have to follow these instructions to the letter or face the consequences. The first time I tried this, I was a tad over-confident and ended up frying my motherboard. If you don’t know what a motherboard is, stop reading right now.
Okay, now that we’ve got that warning out of the way, let’s start with why any sane person would want to vacuum the inside of their computer in the first place. The answer is simple: money.
Unless you live in a sealed bubble, your desktop pc will accumulate dust, on the inside as well as the outside. That dust will gather on all the internal surfaces, especially on the blades of the fans and on the grills beneath the fans. Those fans and grills are the ‘lungs’ of your computer. When they become clogged, your computer will struggle to keep all the vital bits cool. If your computer overheats, seriously, it will eventually just stop until it can cool down.
But you won’t know that your computer is only cooling down. You will think that it has died. In a panic, you will gather it tenderly in your arms and take it to the nearest computer repair shop where:
- you will be charged for a tech to clean out all the dust [best case scenario and only if the tech is honest] or…
- you will be told that you need a brand new motherboard, or power supply, or harddrive or…oh my god, your pc’s totally stuffed, mate, but I happen to have this nice one over here on special….
Either way, that dust is going to cost you money, and if money is tight, that could be a real problem. So instead of paying someone else to do your cleaning for you, why not learn to do it yourself?
And it is at this point of my post that I have to send a huge thank you to my very honest computer tech Abraham Liu! Abraham has built and repaired my computers for years, and he is also the one who taught me how to dust the inside of my computer safely.
If you live in the Eltham area, Abraham has a tech shop in Bridge Street called One Touch. It’s almost on the roundabout near Bunnings. Or look him up:
https://www.onetouchcomputers.com.au/
Right, now to the nitty gritty, excuse the pun.
- FIRST! Buy yourself a smallish, bristle paintbrush and some bamboo skewers. This is vital as natural materials don’t build static and static can kill your computer.
- Then…turn your pc off [yeah, I know, obvious but…]
- Unplug all the connections to your pc [taking note of what goes where – a pic is helpful]
- Take the side cover off your pc [and don’t lose the 2 screws that hold it in place!]
- Take the head off your barrel type vacuum cleaner so that only the tube is connected to the hose
- Turn the vacuum on and hold the hose over but not in the pc while you use the paintbrush to sweep the dust into the SUCTION. Do not try to vacuum the dust directly with the end of the vacuum. The end of the vacuum hose should never touch anything inside the pc. Only the bristles of the paintbrush should connect with all those delicate surfaces.
Pay particular attention to all the fans inside your pc, this includes the fan on top of the cpu and any fans you may have on the video card. Getting the dust off the blades is fairly easy, but getting the dust balls off the grill behind the fans is not. Unfortunately, clogged grills are precisely the problem, so this is where the bamboo skewers come in very handy.
Put the vacuum hose down and tap your fingers against the frame of the pc. This is to ground any static that may have built up. Synthetic fibres in carpet and clothing can very quickly build static that you only notice when it discharges. When I wear a particular fleecy jacket, Buffa’s ears get little zaps that we can both feel when I pat him.
- So discharge that static before you put your hand inside the pc.
- Hold the fan still with one hand while you poke the bamboo skewer between the blades to reach the dust collected on the grill at the back. Pull the dust balls out [and wipe them on a non-synthetic cloth] until the grill is clean. [Do not poke the skewer all the way through..duh]
- When all the fans are as clean as you can get them, brush the dust off all the other surfaces and catch it with the vacuum hose. Remember! Vacuum the air, not the pc.
Tip: if you have a hair-dryer, you can blow the dust from the pc into the air so the vacuum can suck it up. If not, just keep brushing [again, commonsense dictates that your don’t cook the components by overheating them with your hairdryer -rolls eyes-].
You’ll never get the pc absolutely dust free, but a little loose dust won’t do it any harm. It’s the dust balls over the grills of the fan [in particular, over the cpu] that do the damage. Once the inside is as clean as you can make it, replace the cover, re-connect all the fittings [power last!] and turn your pc on. It should run so softly that you can barely hear it.
You’re welcome. 😀
Meeks
September 13th, 2022 at 1:18 pm
[…] I didn’t intend to deep clean the inside of my pc today, but it was starting to overheat a bit, and the fans were becoming a little too loud, so I dragged out the paint brushes and the vacuum cleaner and got stuck into it. Now I’m knackered. If anyone wants to know how to clean their own desktop pc [can’t do it to a laptop] you can find the post here. […]
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May 13th, 2020 at 9:50 pm
[…] and got to work. For those who are interested, this is a post I wrote some time ago about how to safely clean the inside of a desktop computer. If any of you are in the same predicament, please read the post carefully. You do NOT want to just […]
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May 12th, 2020 at 1:18 pm
[…] brushes and got to work. For those who are interested, this is a post I wrote some time ago about how to safely clean the inside of a desktop computer. If any of you are in the same predicament, please read the post carefully. You do NOT want to just […]
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September 11th, 2017 at 9:29 am
I wish I had read this before I vacuumed the keys right off my last laptop! What a mess that was. 😀
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September 12th, 2017 at 7:43 pm
-giggles- Oops? But they must have been loose already so not entirely your doing. 😀
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September 12th, 2017 at 11:26 pm
Yes. I take them off on purpose now and them to pick out the cat hair. 😀
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September 13th, 2017 at 8:10 pm
Ah! Gotcha. Yes, I have to do that too although I have to admit my coffee probably does more damage. Milk and sugar. So sticky 😦
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September 14th, 2017 at 5:41 am
Lol.
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September 9th, 2017 at 8:29 am
Hello all. Instead of a hair dryer please try compressed air in a can that can be bought in a lot of places. Also all laptops are different and some do have air intakes on the bottom and come out the sides or some enter and exit other places. Ones that intake from the bottom you have to be careful when using them in your lap not to block the intake. My understanding is apple laptops do not have intakes on the bottom. I have taken Laptops apart and it is very case specific and very dangerous to get anywhere near the processing chip and the funnel or heat sink over it. So please don’t do that. IF you think your processor is getting air clogged take it a certified licensed and insured shop to have it cleaned. It is worth it. Thanks Meeks you gave great instructions. Everyone be well I have to go play with Irma. Hugs
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September 9th, 2017 at 10:29 am
Hi Scottie! I didn’t know you were a techie. You should have said earlier and I’d have used you as a resources…-cough- Nevermind. 😀
I have only ever had one laptop, and to be honest, I used it very rarely, so I really appreciate the info. I learned something and I’m sure everyone who stumbles on this post will benefit from it too. -huge hugs-
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September 9th, 2017 at 10:30 am
( Blushing ) Hugs
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September 9th, 2017 at 11:18 am
-hugs back-
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September 9th, 2017 at 1:22 am
Excellent advice! I have hoovered up inside my computer, but by the sounds of it may have been a tad rough. *laughs*. I’ll copy this info for later, thanks dearie!
– Esme dusting everything in sight upon the Cloud
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September 9th, 2017 at 10:52 am
lmao – you were lucky! I think my tech writing grew out of the fact that I’m extraordinarily good at making expensive mistakes. Learning from them is my silver lining. 😉
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September 9th, 2017 at 7:40 pm
I was, but that was the last computer now I come to think of it so maybe I sent it to an earlier grave than planned looking back- *laughs*
– Esme no sucker upon the Cloud
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September 10th, 2017 at 11:10 pm
Alas poor desktop, I knew him well? 😀
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September 8th, 2017 at 10:41 pm
I vac the back of my dell laptop every so often, usually eery 6 months or so when I think it’s time to clean the windows!
Of course, I live in a beautifully tidy and dust free house (falls over with hysterics), but the trick with the lappy to is to use it on a tidy and dust free desk, not on your lap on a blanket with a furry friend helper 😉
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September 9th, 2017 at 10:53 am
-giggles- Your house sounds as sparkling clean as mine! And no, blankets, laptops and furkids don’t play well together. 😀
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September 8th, 2017 at 10:03 pm
Okay, with two cats, I think I need to do this…
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September 9th, 2017 at 10:53 am
-cough- yes…. -cough-
😀 😀 😀
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September 8th, 2017 at 2:35 pm
Wonder if this also applies to laptops?
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September 8th, 2017 at 4:10 pm
If most laptops are like mine, then the answer is no. I’m not sure how they are kept cool but there do not appear to be any air intake areas that can become clogged with dust.
Plus…I don’t think I’d be game to try to take one apart!
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September 8th, 2017 at 2:25 pm
A Luddites work is never done.
xxx Hugs xxx
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September 8th, 2017 at 4:11 pm
lmao….!!!!! You may comment again. 😀
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