Every so many weeks I try to get the dust out of my tower, off my mobo, and out of my case fans. I use a normal vacuum to do so, but its far too big to get the dust out of certain hard-to-get spots like between the fins of my Copper Zalman Heatsink Fan for my CPU. How do you suggest I get this dust out from those tight and hard-to-get spaces?
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Dust Removal
- Thread starter Khaydarin
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jackofalltrades
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try compressed air it works good. 
If you don't have some sort of compressor you can buy cans of compressed air for about 3 or 4 bucks. They work well but only last for a minute or two before you need to let them sit for an hour while the liquid inside vaporizes and re-pressurizes the canjackofalltrades said:try compressed air it works good.
jackofalltrades
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sorry for the confusion I spoke of using cans of air not an air compressor.
Goran said:
Hopefully your not worried about zapping any of those components and having to buy new ones
....the only part of the vacuum thats inside my case is the long plastic nozzle. the power is off on my psu as well. Where would the static be generated from?
And as for the can, do you mean 1 to 2 minutes of continuously sprayed air? Or short squeezes?
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I've heard some people recommend using a vacuum combined with compressed air. That sounds like a good idea, although I've not been able to try it myself. I've never used a vacuum to clean out the inside either, so I don't know if it makes much of a difference.
Ice Czar
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Khaydarin said:
sounds like a receipe for ESD disaster
I too recommend compressed air....exclusively
Shmuckety said:I am pretty sure that the friction from the air moving quickly inward causes static discharge and could possible damage fragile circuit boards.
QFT
The combinatino compressed air/vaccum works well, just don't put the vaccum near the system, use it to suck the dust out of the air that you just blew there.
I use a paint brush to dislodge some of the clinging dust that resists vacuuming - then I vacuum the inside of the case. I've used a vacuum for case-cleaning for years.
For cleaning heatsink fins, floss the fins with yarn or pipe cleaner.
Hope this helps!
For cleaning heatsink fins, floss the fins with yarn or pipe cleaner.
Hope this helps!
The only way you should clean your extremely delicate electronic components is with canned air and perhaps a small paint brush. You can use a vacuum to suck the dust out of the air but it is just as easy to carry the case outside and do your cleaning there.
You should never use a vacuum to directly clean a mobo. Haven't you even been shocked by the hose when you were cleaning something? Same principle only less ouch and more crying. You could use a vacuum to suck the family of dust bunnies out of the case if you were so inclined, but it is just as easy to blow them out while your dusting your case outside.
The more risks you take while cleaning your case the more chances you'll have of posting a thread titled, "Help, computer won't post"
You should never use a vacuum to directly clean a mobo. Haven't you even been shocked by the hose when you were cleaning something? Same principle only less ouch and more crying. You could use a vacuum to suck the family of dust bunnies out of the case if you were so inclined, but it is just as easy to blow them out while your dusting your case outside.
The more risks you take while cleaning your case the more chances you'll have of posting a thread titled, "Help, computer won't post"