Whats the best way to clean out the inside of your PC? ?

Question

Got a self built tower, aint been cleaned for a good 4 years i think, not on the inside anyway, itl be packed with dust. whats the best way to open it up and clean it out? =] ty

Answer 1

get a can of compressed air, take cover off PC and blast all the dust away. Spray it through your fan too as a lot of dust gathers there.

Answer 2

air spray.  you can get one in office supply store or walmart

Answer 3

compressed AIR like the keyboard sprY

Answer 4

I have built and maintained PCs for years and often come across the same problem.

If in doubt, get a professional to help. :)

Assuming you did the self build:

The first thing I would suggest is - take care!

Next - always have machine switched off and disconnected from mains.

Third - Always have a large work space with plenty of light!

These three sound obvious - but are worth mentioning. :)

Next, depends on how much cleaning needs to be done when you take side off machine.

Towers usually require you to take one side (usaually left) of casing off and sometimes the top part.

If dust build up is light, you may simply need to use a dry, lint free cloth with care to clean with.

For heavier dust, I often find it usefull to take out all components and carefully clean each one and clean case seperately.

I have, at times, used a low powered vacuum (available at some computer shops) where dust has built up a lot. This is not always best - use care and discretion if you take this route. Compressed air can be used with care and is often best.

What I do not advise under any circumstance is the use of chemicals or water to clean with.

You will probably find that the worse parts to clean are fans. This includes CPU, case cooling and GPU fans.

Cleaning fans can be tricky - especially if attached to cooling blocks / heat sinks - always use care.

Simply blowing or sucking the dust out with a low powered vacuum or compressed air may do the trick. Putting a knife, pen or screwdriver or somesuch between fan blades or heat sink blades to hook out dust is not a good idea - damage can easily occur!

Also, be aware that lifting CPU fan / heat sink away from CPU will almost certainly destroy any cooling paste barrier in place and may require you to put new paste in. That is if the bond breaks!

Often, the CPU must be taken out with heat sink and fan - with great CARE.

If possible DO NOT remove CPU or fan / heat sink.

At the risk of repeating myself, always take care and always have machine switched off and disconnected from mains.

Last thing to mention - NEVER, EVER take the power supply apart to clean - if you really think PSU needs cleaning, think about replacing it. Others may contradict this - do not take notice of them.

Hope this helps - good luck.

P.S. As mentioned. I have built and maintained PCs for many years and a couple of years ago, I did my HND in computing.

*Edit - to rephrase some stuff!

Answer 5

Here you need to take some precautions. Unplug all connected wires in the back of your Tower after it is powered down. Remove one of the side panels to clean .

You can use a compressed air can but don't use the little red tube that attaches to the nozzle. Spray out the dust without using  the tube is much safer. The tube creates a strong air pressure which may damage some circuits on the motherboard.

You can use the tube to get some hard to get at dust particles which are not on or near the motherboard. Stay away from circuits when using the tube.

After you are done blowing out the dust you can use a soft brush to clean the surface of components. The best to use is a cooking brush

used for basting meats. The cooking brush has soft bristles and

does a good job. You can use the compressed air can again after you are done brushing.

Answer 6

Hi  go to any decent computer store and get a tin of compressed air

open your pc by removing your back cover.covers and give it a good blast out