Can I replace dust filters with air purifiers ?

[bandi]

I have been using magnetic computer dust filters to prevent dust from entering the PC but last week my screen froze and when I opened up the rig there was lot of dust build up which would have probably led to over heating .

I've looked online for specialized vacuum cleaners designed for cleaning out computers and electronic equipment but given the limited amount of use I'd get from such a purchase I felt it was a rip off (considering they start at $500+ and can easily break the $1000 price barrier). I'm considering using these air purifiers Clair TD1866 http://go-clair.com/instead since I heard air purifiers are designed to capture fine dust and maybe the solution is to just get rid of all the dust before it starts piling up .

Can I replace dust filters with air purifiers ?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I have been using magnetic computer dust filters to prevent dust from entering the PC but last week my screen froze and when I opened up the rig there was lot of dust build up which would have probably led to over heating .

I've looked online for specialized vacuum cleaners designed for cleaning out computers and electronic equipment but given the limited amount of use I'd get from such a purchase I felt it was a rip off (considering they start at $500+ and can easily break the $1000 price barrier). I'm considering using these air purifiers Clair TD1866 http://go-clair.com/instead since I heard air purifiers are designed to capture fine dust and maybe the solution is to just get rid of all the dust before it starts piling up .

Can I replace dust filters with air purifiers ?

You mean . . . you're going to use air-purifiers in the room . . . and expect less dust in the computer? I don't know. I just don't know. I try and blow out the kruft every month or so and just "live with it."

 

[inachu]

Dude! Your cure is this.

Use the cloth softener sheets your mom/wife uses when drying clothes.
Once those are used up and she is about to toss them then you can use it for your pc.

They make the best replacement filter for any pc!



Even a better time now would be to get your pc off the floor!

No computer worth its weight in gold deserves to sit on the floor at all!

By keeping a pc on the floor you have to clean it more often and those that do not then cut
the pc's life in half.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Dude! Your cure is this.

Use the cloth softener sheets your mom/wife uses when drying clothes.
Once those are used up and she is about to toss them then you can use it for your pc.

They make the best replacement filter for any pc!



Even a better time now would be to get your pc off the floor!

No computer worth its weight in gold deserves to sit on the floor at all!

By keeping a pc on the floor you have to clean it more often and those that do not then cut
the pc's life in half.

http://www.dlawlesshardware.com/casterwheels.html

Four casters in a set for around $20-$25. A couple $0.99 1/4"x2"x12" cut aluminum bars from a local metal supply store. (Whatever the exact price, they're cheap.) One hack-saw. A solid bench-clamp. A drill. a $5 screw-tap kit with drill bit for 6-32 screws, and possibly one large size.

If you do it right, you don't have to modify your case if the rubber-feet are affixed with 6-32 screws. Just put the rubber feet away in a bag and store them away.

After that, you could buy an aluminum handle from MNPCTech.com :

http://mnpctech.com/

Braked, double casters. I use the ones with the square-plate and four screw holes. Tap the holes in the ends of the bars. You can figure out the rest. Don't need to thread the remaining four holes to fit the case. JUst drill 'em a size larger, get longer screws and slap it together.

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

I have been using magnetic computer dust filters to prevent dust from entering the PC but last week my screen froze and when I opened up the rig there was lot of dust build up which would have probably led to over heating .

I've looked online for specialized vacuum cleaners designed for cleaning out computers and electronic equipment but given the limited amount of use I'd get from such a purchase I felt it was a rip off (considering they start at $500+ and can easily break the $1000 price barrier). I'm considering using these air purifiers Clair TD1866 http://go-clair.com/instead since I heard air purifiers are designed to capture fine dust and maybe the solution is to just get rid of all the dust before it starts piling up .

Can I replace dust filters with air purifiers ?

I use a clean paint brush with 3 inch bristles, and compressed air. Don't not leave case on the floor if it runs all the time, it will act as a vacum in hailing dust...................Mine is on table top.

 

[bigboxes]

Dude! Your cure is this.

Use the cloth softener sheets your mom/wife uses when drying clothes.
Once those are used up and she is about to toss them then you can use it for your pc.

They make the best replacement filter for any pc!



Even a better time now would be to get your pc off the floor!

No computer worth its weight in gold deserves to sit on the floor at all!

By keeping a pc on the floor you have to clean it more often and those that do not then cut
the pc's life in half.

Yeah, I want that thing taking up all the desk space and putting up with all the noise that goes along with that. How about you purchase the following: 1) Vacuum cleaner to limit the dust/dirt on the floor 2) can of compressed air to blow out said dust inside the pc case 3) buy or build a computer stand (like BonzaiDuck recommended). Mine is under my desk nice and quiet and on a plastic stand. I clean out the filters once a week (regular vacuum works fine) and blow out the dust bunnies with a can of compressed air and use a non-static vacuum if need be once a month.

 

[bandi]

You mean . . . you're going to use air-purifiers in the room . . . and expect less dust in the computer? I don't know. I just don't know. I try and blow out the kruft every month or so and just "live with it."

Yes my logic is if the fine dust is what is doing all the harm I need to capture it before it turns into static cling on the electronic equipment and an air purifier is the only appliance available in the market which can do this job .

I use a clean paint brush with 3 inch bristles, and compressed air. Don't not leave case on the floor if it runs all the time, it will act as a vacum in hailing dust...................Mine is on table top.

I heard compressed air contains minute amounts of water vapor and there is a probability of blowing moisture into the connectors on the mother board and causing damage when I boot it immediately afterwards. I don't want to take chances on my expensive rig here.

Yeah, I want that thing taking up all the desk space and putting up with all the noise that goes along with that. How about you purchase the following: 1) Vacuum cleaner to limit the dust/dirt on the floor 2) can of compressed air to blow out said dust inside the pc case 3) buy or build a computer stand (like BonzaiDuck recommended). Mine is under my desk nice and quiet and on a plastic stand. I clean out the filters once a week (regular vacuum works fine) and blow out the dust bunnies with a can of compressed air and use a non-static vacuum if need be once a month.

I wish I had that much time at my disposal to build a computer stand as recommended by Bonzai Duck. I want a cost effective solution which isn't time consuming which can work in conjunction with my magnetic dust filters. I have already spent a lot on my rig. btw the one I'm thinking of using is a room air purifier I don't think the Clair BF2025 would take up that much space right ? because it looks small. I just went through the literature and specs. Its mentioned that this one isn't noisy even when operated at high speed setting.

 

[ClockHound]

I have two high end air purifiers and they help, but don't eliminate all dust. In fact, not sure why these air purifiers just don't integrate high end computers, as mine seem to collect more dust than most purifiers. It's a NAS. It's an air purifier. It's two things in one!

...so...

Consider a scaled up B. Duck duct. For intake. Create a duct from garbage/dry cleaning bags and while using copious amounts of duct tape, connect the exhaust of the purifier to the intakes of the computer. Would it look ugly? Hell yeah! But, it would be a clean ugly that you don't have to dust out every other week. Instead you get to clean out the air purifier every 3-6 months and purchase expensive replacement filters.

On a barely more serious note. Made my own stand with an open center that contains a custom-cut (read crudely cut) furnace filter, since the system has bottom intakes. It helps. Have also used the thin vent/register filters to cover the front intakes during the dusty season.

If you do spring for the purifier, please let us know how it works. Especially if you duct it.

Oh, and never exfoliate near your computer. Like rust, dust never sleeps. ;-)

 

[XavierMace]

I just blow mine out with a shop vac every couple of weeks. I've never seen a computer that didn't accumulate dust.

 

[inachu]

I just blow mine out with a shop vac every couple of weeks. I've never seen a computer that didn't accumulate dust.

I tried shop vac or a blower and both are good ideas.

But with blowing a pc out I use a HEPA 5 level air filtration fan.

 

[Excessi0n]

I use one of these on my computer every few weeks. Works like a charm and only takes a few minutes to do a thorough dusting.

 

[ClockHound]

I use one of these on my computer every few weeks. Works like a charm and only takes a few minutes to do a thorough dusting.

Interesting...so just a few seconds to do a not-so-thorough dusting?

It still looks a little awkward to use inside a cramped case tho. Could see myself breaking things while wielding a weapon of mass dust extraction. Does it have an expansion hose?

EDIT: It's a blower, not a sucker. Never mind. Have a compressor for that with a hose and high pressure nozzle to knock out dust and loose ram sticks.

 

[dma0991]

Can I replace dust filters with air purifiers ?

You can't. If the room air is totally isolated from outside, air purifiers might reduce some dust, but not eliminate them entirely. Besides, you're just shifting the cleaning to a different device. You might not have to clean the PC as often but the air purifier filter certainly needs cleaning.

You can reduce dust buildup with dust filters by optimizing the airflow in your case. I have 6 intakes for positive pressure, where 4 of them are using magnetic dust filters. I do clean the filters every week or two but the internals are about every 3-4 months, with just a thin layer of very fine dust particles.

 

[Jovec]

(considering they start at $500+ and can easily break the $1000 price barrier).

About 50 bucks.

Caveats:
- When used as a blower, make sure the air blowing out is clean and dry (mainly an issue if you use it as a vacuum also).
- Either hold fans blades in place, or be careful not to direct the air stream such that the blades change spin direction quickly (I broke a blade this way).

Other than that, I've been using a shop vac to blow out dust in all my computers for 20 years without issue.

 

[Cerb]

Even a better time now would be to get your pc off the floor!

No computer worth its weight in gold deserves to sit on the floor at all!

By keeping a pc on the floor you have to clean it more often and those that do not then cut the pc's life in half.

After about 11 months, I wasn't even able to capture the small bits of dust on my PC's filter with a photo, and it's far from needing cleaning. There is no visible dust inside. It sits on the floor. The floor itself gets dusty, as does the bottom outsides of the case intake.

If you have a whole house A/C unit, get the good filters for it, like the purple 3Ms. That can take care of a lot of junk that is just recirculating all of the time, and once you reach a maintenance level, lesser filters will do fine.

I am actually waiting on the smaller of those Clair units, but based on videos they themselves have of them, they will not clean enough dust out of the air to make a difference for your PC (I'm interested in having a portable electrostatic filter, with what appears to be a user-replaceable fan, and without all the ozone). You would need a 60+dB monster for that, just on the account of the air that would need moving, and the pressure difference needed to more or less 'vacuum up' the room's air (I have one, and it's not something anyone who isn't deaf could handle all day, even on low).

To effectively filter the air in your space, your space needs to be positively pressurized, with air forced through a filter from some other location.
Dusty space -> filter -> you
Unless you're designing a new office or home yet to be built, that's not going to happen.



What are your PC's specs (including case)?

What fans is it outfitted with?

What are your idle case fan speeds?

 

[whateverid]

I don't think you can replace dust filters with air purifiers.This Clair air purifier looks good but it should be doing what it does the best which is get rid of dust,pet dander,virus,allergy causing dust mites etc,; What you could probably do is have a dust filter on your PC casing and also have an air purifier running next to it .

If you are lazy to vacuum your PC then I guess you'll have to pay the price for it .

 

[bandi]

I don't think you can replace dust filters with air purifiers.This Clair air purifier looks good but it should be doing what it does the best which is get rid of dust,pet dander,virus,allergy causing dust mites etc,; What you could probably do is have a dust filter on your PC casing and also have an air purifier running next to it .

If you are lazy to vacuum your PC then I guess you'll have to pay the price for it .

I'm not being lazy here . The point is I prefer to look for viable options which aren't time consuming and isn't heavy on my pocket and btw vacuuming PC using a normal vacuum cleaner isn't a good idea . It will do a lot of damage and push dust further into the PC . If you are vacuuming then I suggest you stop doing that and instead use compressed air to clean your PC.