Best way to clean PC hardware?

[Chaosolous]

I haven't cleaned my physical PC in awhile because I find it tedious. Any suggestions/tips on the best ways to clean your tower?

[_I_]

compressed air
or isopropyl alcohol 90+%

[Omega]

You can clean it in a few minutes using compressed air.

[Illusion of Progress]

How far are you wanting to go?

Make it look as pretty as can be? Or just keep it functional?

If it's the former, tear it down as far as you can and use ESD brushes on the PCB surfaces, 99% alcohol with q-tips or similar, either compressed air cans or air blowers to get between things, and cloth where you can (like non sensitive flat surfaces and exteriors).

Greg Salazar (spelling?) on Youtube has a channel and one of his series called "PC deep cleaning" or PCDC is tearing down PCs viewers send in and detail cleaning them before sending them back. It's... oddly therapeutic? Or it is for me but maybe I'm weird. it would give you some ideas on what it entails.

But you're asking a very broad question. And there's a lots of ways how. If it's less for looking pretty or the sake of it and just needs to be functional, just remove the dust from important airways every so often.

If you clean a display, ensure you do it once it has cooled down! Maybe less of an issue on current LED backlit ones which don't get as warm (?), but ones like my ancient CCFL backlit ones it's more of a concern.

[plat]

I focus first on the cpu and its heatsink. Then the cpu gpu fans using an old toothbrush w/soft bristles. . Last, I give the case fans a wipe with a slightly moistened cloth.

If I see any film of dust, like on the bottom of the case I get that too with the same cloth. Lastly I clean the dust filters in the front panel and at the very bottom.

If you do this maybe every 3-6 months, it doesn't take too long.

But if you let it go for years, obviously it's tedious at that point.

I use a mild glass cleaner w/vinegar and a cloth to get my monitor. That's on an as-needed basis.

[nullable]

If it's just dust, I use an air compressor with an air gun.

[Paraskeet]

I have an electrical duster and my case can be opened up in 10 seconds. I regularly clean it up. still looks like new.

I hope to sell it whenever nvdia blackwell releases and amd introduces their new apus for desktops

[skOsH♥]

Air gun.

A can of "air" is like 20 dollars

Air gun is far superior, works well, you're done dusting in minutes.

[Paraskeet]

Originally posted by d¢:

Air gun.

A can of "air" is like 20 dollars

Air gun is far superior, works well, you're done dusting in minutes.

and you can use it for your bike too. great recommendation

[Jamebonds1]

Pull the plug then use air compressor or computer clean blower. Start with CPU and GPU then everywhere else. Be mindful of air pressure from ungrounded equipment, some air gun could make ESD.

[Zef]

Originally posted by Chaosolous:

I haven't cleaned my physical PC in awhile because I find it tedious. Any suggestions/tips on the best ways to clean your tower?

Air compressor with a specialized nozzle.

Those air cans are a joke (and waste of money).

For the fans you can use cotton swab tips to remove any junk the aircompressor can't blow out.

[Monk]

Maje sure it's fully powerered down then I just use an electric air duster (great bits of kit well worth everyone owning).

[Viking2121]

I bought a really quiet air compressor on sale for $70 bucks, been using it for years, and a few different size paint brushes to get the stuff it can't really get. The fans I find never get to bad in my case, but the last house I was in, I had to get the fans with a tooth brush to knock some of it off and then blow it out.

Once a year I normally go for full tear down and really go to town with cleaning with alcohol, but I could go longer without doing that as most of my fans I can get to without tearing anything apart.

[r.linder]

Use an air compressor or an electric air duster, quick and easy. Don't buy cans of compressed air because it's a waste of money, bad for the environment, and because it's stored in the can as a liquid, some of that can splatter out of the nozzle.

[Jamebonds1]

Originally posted by 尺．し工几句ヨ尺:

Use an air compressor or an electric air duster, quick and easy. Don't buy cans of compressed air because it's a waste of money, bad for the environment, and because it's stored in the can as a liquid, some of that can splatter out of the nozzle.

The metal can? They don't destroy environment, unless it is dumped in wrong place.

[Electric Cupcake]

For dust, a Datavac blower/vacuum.

You can get away with using a regular air compressor, as long as the output is set low and it has a filter to catch moisture and oil droplets.

Canned dusting spray isn't worth the cost, or the environmental concerns.

For keyboards, I swear by Cyberclean putty. They say you can get away with putting a keyboard through the dishwasher, as long as it's COMPLETELY dry before using it again, but my experiences trying that have been... mixed.

Rubbing alcohol and q-tips are always good to keep around.