Cleaning

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Cleaning

The ‘dust of ages’ settles in the box and needs to be removed.

Computers not only attract dust but actually suck it in. The ‘white noise’ generated by most computers comes from the fan which is part of the power supply unit (PSU). This draws air through the cabinet.

The flow of air keeps the power supply cool and prevents heat build up around the electronic components. Most cabinets have a gap through which air enters and the dust-laden air is ‘filtered’ by the network of wires and components. The amount of dust and dirt depends on the operating environment. I promise that you will be shocked by the amount that is extracted.

Have you ever wondered why CD/DVD/3 ½ " disks all have shutters or close up tight when not in use? The answer is to make sure the air is not sucked in across the disk or the delicate reading heads. So make a mental note to keep this CD tray closed.

There is a second fan mounted on the processor chip itself which draws air over the heat sink. The fan blades themselves become coated in dust, reducing their efficiency. This fan has a habit of making an alarming grinding noise while getting up to operating speed. This seems to get worse when the fan is burdened with dust, so is a real problem on older computers.

The build-up of dust causes problems. The dust insulates the components so they are not effectively cooled by the air-flow. This is bad because it leads to thermal stress, which can cause premature component failure. Dust is bad for the removable disks. (The hard disk is sealed before it leaves the ‘clean room’ at the manufacturing plant, so dust is not an issue). Dust can cause reading errors if it builds up.

Dust

	The components of dust can vary from place to place.
	The humidity in the tropics seems to produce a robust coating that requires a solvent to shift it.
	Most offices are impressively dust-free compared with homes.
	So homes are dusty places but the fibrous nature of most of the dust makes it easy to clean.

Cleaning the fans

It is fairly easy to remove the dust from the various boards. Getting it off the fans is slightly more tricky.

PSU fan

You can brush the PSU (Power Supply Unit) to clear it of dust. The artist's brush is the delicate way to remove the dirt but a domestic vacuum cleaner, used with discretion, can also achieve impressive results in a matter of moments. All the wires and electronic bits are firmly attached so there should be no need to sort through the bag in search of any wires or chips! Take care of the ‘jumpers’ which can be dislodged.

Processor fan

The fan that sits on the top of the processor can be cleaned in situ or removed:

In situ

Use an artist’s brush to remove the dust. It works well with a dry tip. Just remove the dust from the tip with a bit of tissue. To finish, you can dip the tip in some spirit such as meths to clean the blades of the fan.

Removal

The fan is thermally bonded to the processor. This means that the heat will flow from the processor to the fan. If you try to pull the fan off, it will bring the processor with it. Instead, you need to undo the clips that locate it, pull out the little plug that supplies power to the fan and slide the fan off the chip. Do not wipe this grease away as it will thermally re-bond the fan to the chip when replaced. The grease is a silicon-based product which can be clear or white. If you want to replace it, visit a specialist electronic shop and beg a smear – It is an expensive product. Once the fan is out it can be cleaned with a brush.

If you have a sophisticated video card, it will have a heat-sink on the back of the processor which will also need cleaning.

Older motherboards and many items such as disks and odd-on boards, have little bits of plastic that link leads together.
	Jumpers have a profound way on your computer. If they are lost or connected incorrectly it might not work. So be careful not to dislodge them when cleaning.

You can do some good by sucking the air without opening anything. Just place the vacuum tube by the various 'vents' and see what you can drag out.

Modern computers are adopting sophisticated ways to keep the processor cool. You need to study these carefully before attempting to clean them. Several use ‘heat pipes’ which take the heat from the chip to the outside. Take care when moving these, as they contain a liquid (usually water) and will not work if this escapes.

Before you put everything together, just check to see that there are no gaps through which the dust can be drawn. Make sure all the blanking plates at the back are in place and secure. A piece of sticky tape can be used to improve the seal if you are worried.

Cleaning the CD

All data recorded on CDs incorporates some complex encoding which allows the drive to extract the data from the many recording and copying errors found on EVERY disk.

If you are getting 'read' errors it is possible that the disk is damaged but check that the disk has the right format before taking any action. You can buy special cloths to clean the disk surface but it is possible to do more harm than good if you ‘polish’ them in a logical way. Rubbing round the disk will just fill the ‘pits’ that have the data and are likely to render the area unreadable. (The recommendation is to rub gently away from the centre towards the edge.)

It shouldn’t be necessary to clean the drive itself but there are proprietary disks to clean the heads. These call themselves lens cleaners. If dust has built up then a very occasional clean might work but it is now as cheap to replace the drive as to buy a cleaning kit!

Cleaning floppy drives - Don't!

Cleaning the keyboard

See the instructions on cleaning a keyboard

Cleaning the mouse

Mice and trackerballs get dirty. They pick up dust and crumbs from the mouse mat which is added to grease and skin-flakes to produce a compound inside the mouse. See the instructions for cleaning.

Cosmetics

The cabinets tend to yellow with age. A scrub with a barely-damp abrasive pad will removed most of the discolouration. You can finish it off with a rub with meths or industrial spirit to restore the surface to near-new colour.

Plugs and sockets

These are almost all coated in gold and should not require any cleaning. Just check to make sure no paper or bits of plastic have been scooped into the socket. Avoid the temptation to straighten any pins that do not look straight – the metal is very brittle and you can easily snap the pin.