How to Clean a Dusty and Dirty Desktop
Can you remember the last time you cleaned your desktop computer? I don’t mean to wipe a little guacamole off the side of the case while drinking burritos. I’m talking about going there and really removing all the accumulated dust from your expensive parts (and fans). Spring cleaning your system isn’t difficult, but it is critical to the longevity of your system and helps your computer look a lot less messy.
At Lifehacker, we take spring cleaning very seriously. We are far from missing out on an opportunity to refresh, reorganize and streamline our home life. We’re also very excited to hit the reset button with our technology, take a close look at our finances, and get the better of our day-to-day habits that have gotten a little musty. Welcome to Spring Cleaning Week , during which we clear the winter cobwebs and set the stage for the sunny days ahead. Let’s clean up, okay?
Make a shopping list for spring cleaning
You don’t need a lot of extra things to clean your desktop system thoroughly, and you don’t need to spend a ton of money at the store. To clean up my desktop – which I probably haven’t opened in over a year – I bought this:
- 99% Isopropyl Alcohol – $ 3 at your local grocery store.
-
Q-tipsUniversalQ-tips– $ 2, same store - Microfiber Duster – $ 0 (already owned) or $ 12 on Amazon for a 24-piece pack.
- Compressed Air – $ 0 (already owned) or $ 14 on Amazon for a two-pack (although you should really use an e-rag instead)
- Arctic MX-4 Thermal Grease – $ 6.45 at Amazon
- Some kind of cleaning solution – I use Puracy’s Natural Multi-Surface Cleaner ($ 14 for two bottles on Amazon ), but Windex or even the rubbing alcohol you just bought will work for you.
That’s all!
Let’s take a look at the exterior of my desktop PC.
My gaming computer is housed inside an older NZXT H440 case . Built for quietness, this chassis has multiple narrow vents around the edges and sides. Here’s what happens if you forget about them for a decent amount of time:
Since my body is white, which is a fatal flaw on my part, it also attracts stains, dirt, cat hair and dust. I was lucky:
And of course, there are all the usual nooks and crannies that dust likes to accumulate in, and some not-so-ordinary places, such as the two rubber grommets on the back of the case, which I’m sure I’ll use for a fancy water cooling setup someday. … May be.
Cleaning up the look of your desktop pc
As tempting as it is to jump out of the Shop-Vac and head into town on the outside of my suitcase, it’ll only get rid of the dust. For a flawless PC, you need to tweak your PC case a bit. First turn off the system and disconnect all connections, then remove it from under the table. Rip out the cleaner and microfiber rag and start scrubbing as much of the outside of the case as possible.
At this point, it is usually safe to spray the cleaner on most of the panel and wipe it down. I try to avoid spraying near cabinet vents or any external connections. I don’t want to tidy up where it might hurt, and I’ll still get to both of them soon. This case has a few nooks and crannies that require a little additional maneuvering beyond the standardwax on, wax off movement.
Use cotton swabs in the nooks and crannies of your case. Sure, it’s a tedious work of detail, but after taking some time to really tidy up all the nasty corners of your case, it will look great. You would detail your car to keep it nice and clean; why not your poor computer?
Cleaning Your PC Case – Advanced
You’ve erased all the outer parts of your PC that you can see, so you’re done, right? Nope. Not even close.
This next trick may not work for most people, but if you have a case that comes off the front panel – ideally hiding one or two (or three) fans behind it – it’s time to carefully remove the front panel and do some extra cleaning. … I cannot emphasize this word softly enough. The last thing you need to do is break off the front panel because you overexerted yourself a little when removing it.
In the case of the NZXT H440 case – an unintended pun – you’ll find a giant three-fan dust filter behind the front bezel, which itself is a little dusty. It is very easy to wipe the back of the front panel. Just dab some rag and cleaner on it. If you haven’t touched your system in a while, a dust filter will probably look the same as mine: a rough one. Do not try to ruin the fabric by trying to wipe it off. Bring this suction cup directly to your sink and wash it down.
Before putting this dust filter back on, it’s time to clean out any case fans it protects. To do this, open rubbing alcohol, dip a rag or cotton swabs, and carefully insert your finger (or pen or pencil) into the gap between the two fan blades so that the fan does not spin unnecessarily when you are cleaning and wipe gently between the blades. You will be amazed at the junk you can take out.
Once you’re done with your fans, wipe the front of the case thoroughly with a rag (to which you’ve already applied some cleaner) and put the front panel back on. If your case supports it, remove the top cover and prepare for a similar procedure. For my H440, this consisted of wiping as much of the top of the case as possible with a rag and cleaning agent, and then using the “dip a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol” technique to clean its USB connectors. After that, I gave the USB ports a few jets of compressed air to get rid of any remaining dust and let the area dry even faster.
Reattach the top panel of the case and remove its side panel – the right if you are looking at the system directly.
Cleaning your messy desktop PC from the inside
Finally, we’ve (almost) reached the guts of your system. Its core. Its a large electronic hamster wheel. Whatever you call it. Now that you’ve removed the side panel of the case, here’s a quick list of places you might want to clean (and you can probably just avoid using the rag you sprayed with the cleaner if you’re avoiding the components. (E.g. your hard drives)) and connections:
- Rear of the motherboard tray
- Any cracks or crevices between the side panel and the hard drive bays or motherboard tray.
- Your system cables (gently run a rag up and down each one, being careful not to tug on them)
- The inside of the side panel of your case
- Empty disc trays
- Around hard drives (if the cloth is dry)
When you’re done, put the side panel back on. You’re almost done cleaning!
How to clean the inside of a real desktop computer
Like this, like this. Remove the left panel of your system. Apply a small amount of the cleaner and wipe it off with a cloth. This is the easiest part, the final stage of the general cleaning. Put this aside.
It’s actually easier to cleanse this side of your system – your intestines – than you might think. For any areas that are not too close to your components, simply spray the cloth with the cleaner and wipe it down. This is the same method you used to clean the right side of the case.
To clean the rear fan of your system case, you can also just do what you did when cleaning the fans on the front of the case: wipe as much as possible with a cloth, then switch to a cleaner and a few cotton swabs to really get inside. there.
Dusty, expensive electronics like the top of your graphics card or its fans require a little more maintenance. Use a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to wipe off dust and dirt. You probably won’t have to do that much on the motherboard itself, but rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs should also allow you to fix any problems you see. It’s simple.
Extra Time: Replacing the CPU Thermal Paste
You probably shouldn’t take this step, but I’m going to throw it in for those who really want to go the extra mile during their spring cleaning session. However, when I was building my computer a very long time ago, I just used the default Intel cooler for my processor; thermal paste and that’s it. It’s been a few years, and while thermal paste is still probably doing a pretty good job of transferring heat from my CPU to its heatsink, a cheap secondary solution could probably work a little better, keeping my system longevity and hopefully a slightly quieter system.
Removing an Intel cooler is easy. Just find four pins, turn them in the opposite direction of the arrows marked on them, and pull up slightly. When all four corners are free, the cooler can be easily removed.
To clean all the old thermal grease from your processor (and the bottom of your cooler), simply use rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs. You’d be surprised how easy it will come off.
It is just as easy to add new thermal grease. Squeeze something about the size of a pea right into the center of the processor and then reinstall the cooler . There will be a tight clamp between the cooler plate and your processor, which will ensure that the paste is evenly distributed throughout your processor. You don’t have to do it yourself.
And it’s all! Your system is now dust-free; your processor will (hopefully) cool down a bit; and now you can go to your favorite calendar (or calendar app), pick a date about six months from now for a quick spot check of your system’s dustiness, and showcase your good-looking new computer to all your friends.
Yes, and before you put your computer back where you usually hide it under your desk, be sure to vacuum (or wipe down) the area it previously occupied – there is no point in putting a freshly cleaned computer on top of the dust. Ugh.