How to Keep Dust Out of The Computer
Elevate your computer off the floor., Clean your floors regularly., Dust your nearby shelves and cabinets., Move your computer away from doors and windows., Install an air filter., Keep your pets away from the computer., Avoid smoking indoors...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Elevate your computer off the floor.
Keeping your computer low to the floor or on it will dramatically increase the amount of dust it takes in.
Raising the computer just six inches off the floor will decrease dust intake by up to 80%.Place your tower on the desk or raise it off the ground in some way.
Many computer desks will have a tower shelf that is raised up off the ground to help promote airflow.
You can use just about anything to raise your computer tower, as long as it's stable. -
Step 2: Clean your floors regularly.
Vacuum your carpets and sweep your hard floors on a regular basis to prevent dust from accumulating.
Keeping your floors clean will help prevent that dust from making its way into your computer. , Much like keeping the floors clean, making sure all of your shelves cabinets, and other nooks and crannies are clean will help keep that dust from getting in your computer.
The frequency you'll need to clean will depend a lot on your environment. , Doors and windows tend to draw dust towards them, potentially into your computer if its in the way.
Windows can do this even if they don't get opened, especially if they're poorly insulated.
Try to situate your computer tower away from windows and doors. , Putting an air filter in the computer room can be a fairly inexpensive way to keep dust from accumulating.
You can get more complex with a filtration system for your whole house, but you should see positive results from a single-room filter., If possible, keep your computer in a room the pets don't go into.
Pet dander is a major dust contributor, and dust will build up quick if they're in the same room often. , Ash will increase dust build-up, and too much smoke can damage the components.
Avoid smoking indoors to prevent this accumulation. , There are a few things you'll want to get your computer clean.
For a quick job, you only need the compressed air.
Compressed air 99% isopropyl alcohol New soft-bristle toothbrush Phillips screwdriver , Before cleaning the inside of the computer, make sure it is completely shut down. , You'll be moving your computer to a new location for cleaning, since you don't want to blow the dust out in the same place the computer sits. , Even a little bit of dust in the computer will spread a lot when blasted with compressed air, so take your computer tower to a place that has good ventilation and you don't mind getting dusty.
A table outside or in the garage will be your best bet. , For extra protection from electrostatic discharge, plug the power cable in for your computer but keep the computer off.
This will ground your case, and you by extension when you're touching it. , Most computer towers have thumbscrews along the back that you can use to remove the side panel.
If the thumbscrews are too tight, you can use a Phillips head screw driver to remove them.
Most case panels either swing out or slide back and off. , Use your canister of compressed air and blow the dust out of the case.
Focus on the large clumps first.
Hold the canister upright and spray in short bursts to prevent it from getting to cold.
Try to avoid blowing to long directly on the components in the case.
If dust is caked on, you'll be using the brush and alcohol to remove it. , Dip your toothbrush in the alcohol and use it to gently scrub dust off of components and fan blades.
Clean the brush off in between uses to avoid spreading the dust around.
Make sure that the toothbrush is new so that you aren't introducing contaminants to the components.
Hold the exposed metal of the case while scrubbing to keep yourself grounded. , After scrubbing your components clean, give the alcohol time to completely evaporate.
If you're using 99%, this won't take too long.
You'll have to wait longer if you used 70%. , If your system is really dirty, you may need to remove each component and clean them individually.
This can be a significant undertaking, especially if you've never worked inside a computer before.
See Build a Computer for detailed instructions on working with these components.For things like disk drives, you'll likely need to take both sides of the case off.
If you remove the CPU cooler, you'll need to reapply thermal paste before reconnecting it.
See Apply Thermal Paste for tips. , If you live in a low-dust environment, you can get away with cleaning the inside of your computer just once or twice a year.
If you live in an environment with lots of dust, pets, dirt, or other particles, you'll likely need to clean much more often. , Your computer fans may be causing some of your dust problems.
You may be able to reconfigure them so that they actually help prevent dust build-up.
Follow the steps in the previous section to open your computer case.
You may need a Phillips screwdriver to detach the fan enclosures from the case. , You may have one or more fans installed on your tower.
For this method to be effective, you'll need at least three fans.
Fans are typically located on the back, front, side and top of the computer. , This arrow is usually printed along the top of the plastic fan enclosure, and indicates which way the fan is blowing.
Depending on how the fan installed, you may need to remove it to find the arrow.
If you can't find an arrow on the fan, it is almost always going to be blowing out of the side with the label. , This will create positive pressure in your case, however slight, which will be higher than the room around it.
This will cause dust to find its way to the lower-pressure environment outside of your case.For example, if you have three fans, you'll want two pointing into your case and one pointing out.
Exhaust fans work best on the back and side.
Intake fans work best on the top and front. , You can purchase dust filters that fit into the screw holes of your computer fans.
These should be placed on all of your intake fans to catch the majority of the dust that they bring in.
Make sure to get the right size filters for your fans, and to clean them regularly. , After your fans are set up properly, you can close your case up and plug it back in.
You should be able to go much longer without having to clean the inside of your computer when your fans are working with you. -
Step 3: Dust your nearby shelves and cabinets.
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Step 4: Move your computer away from doors and windows.
-
Step 5: Install an air filter.
-
Step 6: Keep your pets away from the computer.
-
Step 7: Avoid smoking indoors.
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Step 8: Gather your cleaning supplies.
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Step 9: Shut down your computer.
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Step 10: Unplug all of the cables.
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Step 11: Move the computer to a ventilated area.
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Step 12: Plug the power cable in but don't turn it on.
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Step 13: Remove the case panel.
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Step 14: Blow out dust with compressed air.
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Step 15: Scrub off caked dust with toothbrush and alcohol.
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Step 16: Allow all alcohol to dry.
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Step 17: Remove components for a deeper clean (optional).
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Step 18: Repeat these steps every few months.
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Step 19: Open your case.
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Step 20: Find the fans that are currently installed.
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Step 21: Look for the arrow on the top of the fan enclosure.
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Step 22: Set more fans to intake than exhaust.
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Step 23: Install filters on your intake fans.
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Step 24: Close up your case.
Detailed Guide
Keeping your computer low to the floor or on it will dramatically increase the amount of dust it takes in.
Raising the computer just six inches off the floor will decrease dust intake by up to 80%.Place your tower on the desk or raise it off the ground in some way.
Many computer desks will have a tower shelf that is raised up off the ground to help promote airflow.
You can use just about anything to raise your computer tower, as long as it's stable.
Vacuum your carpets and sweep your hard floors on a regular basis to prevent dust from accumulating.
Keeping your floors clean will help prevent that dust from making its way into your computer. , Much like keeping the floors clean, making sure all of your shelves cabinets, and other nooks and crannies are clean will help keep that dust from getting in your computer.
The frequency you'll need to clean will depend a lot on your environment. , Doors and windows tend to draw dust towards them, potentially into your computer if its in the way.
Windows can do this even if they don't get opened, especially if they're poorly insulated.
Try to situate your computer tower away from windows and doors. , Putting an air filter in the computer room can be a fairly inexpensive way to keep dust from accumulating.
You can get more complex with a filtration system for your whole house, but you should see positive results from a single-room filter., If possible, keep your computer in a room the pets don't go into.
Pet dander is a major dust contributor, and dust will build up quick if they're in the same room often. , Ash will increase dust build-up, and too much smoke can damage the components.
Avoid smoking indoors to prevent this accumulation. , There are a few things you'll want to get your computer clean.
For a quick job, you only need the compressed air.
Compressed air 99% isopropyl alcohol New soft-bristle toothbrush Phillips screwdriver , Before cleaning the inside of the computer, make sure it is completely shut down. , You'll be moving your computer to a new location for cleaning, since you don't want to blow the dust out in the same place the computer sits. , Even a little bit of dust in the computer will spread a lot when blasted with compressed air, so take your computer tower to a place that has good ventilation and you don't mind getting dusty.
A table outside or in the garage will be your best bet. , For extra protection from electrostatic discharge, plug the power cable in for your computer but keep the computer off.
This will ground your case, and you by extension when you're touching it. , Most computer towers have thumbscrews along the back that you can use to remove the side panel.
If the thumbscrews are too tight, you can use a Phillips head screw driver to remove them.
Most case panels either swing out or slide back and off. , Use your canister of compressed air and blow the dust out of the case.
Focus on the large clumps first.
Hold the canister upright and spray in short bursts to prevent it from getting to cold.
Try to avoid blowing to long directly on the components in the case.
If dust is caked on, you'll be using the brush and alcohol to remove it. , Dip your toothbrush in the alcohol and use it to gently scrub dust off of components and fan blades.
Clean the brush off in between uses to avoid spreading the dust around.
Make sure that the toothbrush is new so that you aren't introducing contaminants to the components.
Hold the exposed metal of the case while scrubbing to keep yourself grounded. , After scrubbing your components clean, give the alcohol time to completely evaporate.
If you're using 99%, this won't take too long.
You'll have to wait longer if you used 70%. , If your system is really dirty, you may need to remove each component and clean them individually.
This can be a significant undertaking, especially if you've never worked inside a computer before.
See Build a Computer for detailed instructions on working with these components.For things like disk drives, you'll likely need to take both sides of the case off.
If you remove the CPU cooler, you'll need to reapply thermal paste before reconnecting it.
See Apply Thermal Paste for tips. , If you live in a low-dust environment, you can get away with cleaning the inside of your computer just once or twice a year.
If you live in an environment with lots of dust, pets, dirt, or other particles, you'll likely need to clean much more often. , Your computer fans may be causing some of your dust problems.
You may be able to reconfigure them so that they actually help prevent dust build-up.
Follow the steps in the previous section to open your computer case.
You may need a Phillips screwdriver to detach the fan enclosures from the case. , You may have one or more fans installed on your tower.
For this method to be effective, you'll need at least three fans.
Fans are typically located on the back, front, side and top of the computer. , This arrow is usually printed along the top of the plastic fan enclosure, and indicates which way the fan is blowing.
Depending on how the fan installed, you may need to remove it to find the arrow.
If you can't find an arrow on the fan, it is almost always going to be blowing out of the side with the label. , This will create positive pressure in your case, however slight, which will be higher than the room around it.
This will cause dust to find its way to the lower-pressure environment outside of your case.For example, if you have three fans, you'll want two pointing into your case and one pointing out.
Exhaust fans work best on the back and side.
Intake fans work best on the top and front. , You can purchase dust filters that fit into the screw holes of your computer fans.
These should be placed on all of your intake fans to catch the majority of the dust that they bring in.
Make sure to get the right size filters for your fans, and to clean them regularly. , After your fans are set up properly, you can close your case up and plug it back in.
You should be able to go much longer without having to clean the inside of your computer when your fans are working with you.
About the Author
Brittany Butler
A passionate writer with expertise in creative arts topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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