The best & safe way to clean a PC

[Xp]

What's the safest way to clean the mobo and peripherals, such as VGA card,HD,Sound card,PSU fan,etc?

Dusts can make peripherals hot, right?

 

[burnedout]

Yes, dust can not only make things hot, but cause shorts too.

Compressed air. You can find it for about $1-2 a can. Cheaper sometimes.

 

[DARRIN]

Air compressor I think is the best way. DUst on the fan blades will slow them down and dust on heatsinks will inhibit heat trandfer.

Bad dust! Bad!

 

[barlav]

I prefer to take out all my components and brush them off with a soft bristled paint brush. This method works great for me and leaves everything looking like new. I do use compressed air on my fans and heatsink though since I can't get into those places with the brush.

 

[Ryan]

I use a small soft toothbrush, some anti-static wipes, compressed air, and some q-tips. Then I wipe the whole outside down with some cleaner

 

[xtreme2k]

I just vacume my comp

 

[gar598]

ya compressed air is the cheapest/easiest option: I think its free after mail-in rebate this week at Compusa

 

[V]

I vacuum my case with a brush tip.

 

[flenn]

Take it outside and use a shop vac set to blow (rather than vacumn). I still use compressed air on some of the individual components that are hard to get at.

 

[JohnnyKnoxville]

Can O Air

 

[junthin]

Canned air.

 

[Xerin]

I bought some canned air and it seems to blow as a liquid that dries up almost instantly. Couldn't this potentially hurt your components since its a liquid for a second?

 

[Ryan]

If it's blowing liquid, your holding the can wrong. It needs to be in an upright position all the time.

 

[Strych9]

Soap and water . Actually I think compressed air works the best. You can buy refillable air cans that you pump up with a bicycle type pump. Save a few bucks this way and you don't have the liquid problem that you get with store-bought compressed air.

 

[DoctorBooze]

Xerin, no, because the liquid is oxygen, nitrogen, or carbon dioxide, none of which conducts electricity.

Incidentally canned air can be quite good for tracking down overheating problems - just work your way round the board squirting the cold air at hot components until things start working

 

[Oyeve]

Vacumm. Air cans just blow the dust to some other part of the system.

 

[Challenger]

5hp 20 gallon air compressor at 60 psi works awesome!

 

[Howard]

I don't think you should use Q-Tips or static wipes...