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Cleaning your computer
Your computer passes a lot of air! Most computers have two fans, one sucking air
in and one pushing air out. These fans apart from keeping your system at a
reasonable temperature, also pull all the dust, smoke and other debris from your
room and deposit it on the electrical components inside your computer. To add to
this, the static electricity that builds up in on other components such as the
monitor tend to act like magnets, gathering lots of dust. Periodically, you
really need to clean all this muck from your computer, as left for long periods
it can potentially cause problems for your system. A regular household vacuum
makes an excellent cleaning tool for your monitor, keyboard and cpu exterior.
Use a brush attachment and brush and vacuum all the vents at the top and sides
of the monitor keyboard and cpu. Vacuum all ventilation holes and other openings
such as the CD ROM drive, the floppy disk drive, buttons etc. You will be amazed
at the dust that will come out of these areas. If you are technically apt - you
can also clean inside your system box - but take these precautions -
1. You should use only a vacuum designed for computers, or alternatively
purchase a can of compressed air. Use a heavy duty or household vacuum and you
may just suck components right out of the computer. Regular vacuums also shoot
out static electricity, enough to damage the inside components.
2. Touch the metal case before you start, this will discharge any static from
your body. Keep away from the circuit boards. This means don't touch the
components at all.
3. Vacuum around the fans and fan blades. You may like to use a cotton bud to
wipe the fans if the vacuum does not do the job. Vacuum around the vents, disk
drives.
Monitors
Clean off the surface of your monitor. It gathers fingerprints and dust very
easily. You should read the cleaning instructions that came with your monitor.
Some will allow you to use a glass cleaning product on the surface. If you are
not sure just use some good old H2O. Don't spray anything directly onto the
surface of the monitor, spray it onto a paper towel, then gently wipe the glass
surface.
Keyboards
Your keyboard catches all sorts of rubbish - dust, hair, food particles, and the
list goes on. To remove most of this turn the keyboard upside down and shake it
gently. You can also use a vacuum, but turning it upside down and flipping it
over several times will release anything caught behind the backs of the keys. A
can of compressed air is again an excellent tool for cleaning between the keys.
Wipe the keys and surrounds over with a gentle surface cleaner. Again, probably
best to check the manual that came with your system for specific cleaning
instructions. A common problem we hear about is a drink spilled across the
keyboard. If this happens to you, save your work and shut down the computer
normally. Don't just pull the power, shut it down correctly. Flip the keyboard
over and turn off your computer, and remove the keyboard from the CPU. If the
spilled liquid is water, let the keyboard dry thoroughly. If it is soft-drink,
slush puppy, coffee, tea or other sticky liquid, you really need to shower the
keyboard in lukewarm water. If possible, remove the back from the keyboard and
let it air dry (don't try blow drying it) for a couple of days. Reassemble. This
may revive the keyboard. If not, new keyboards are really quite in-expensive.
If you are in the habit of drinking at your computer we recommend keeping a
spare on hand.
Mouse
The mouse also needs regular cleaning. You may experience a mouse pointer that
does not go in the right direction when you push it across the mouse pad. Turn
the mouse over and look for build ups on the mouse base, mouse pad or the
surface that you are driving the mouse from. Give all these surfaces a wipe with
a gentle cleaner to remove dust and grease build up.
You may also need to clean inside the mouse - remove the mouse ball cover.
Take out the mouse ball and wipe it with a damp paper towel. Take a peek inside
the mouse and check for debris and build up on the three little rollers that
roll the mouse ball around. We find the best way to clean these is with a cotton
bud - dampened with Metho or alcohol, or a toothpick - gently scrape off the
build up. When you're done, replace the mouse ball, place the cover back on.
You'll see your mouse is like new
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