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Cleaning the PC

Cleopatra

Philosopher
C
Joined
Mar 15, 2003
Messages
9,079
Which are the best ways to clean the devices of our PCs?

I have heard that keyboards are washable. Is that true?

Also, I have heard that you can remove the keys of the keyboard one by one and clean them.

What about the laptops. I try to remove the dust and the ashes of the cigarette from the keyboard of my laptop with the help my hair dryer... Is there a better method?

Thank you.
 
Canned air. Best thing to clean computers with. Just make sure it's turned off, especially when cleaning the fans, and make sure you blow the dust out, so that you don't end up just jamming it in further.

As for the keyboards, they are washable, just don't use heat and make sure they're completely dry before hooking it back up. You can pop off all the keys and wash it thoroughly, but since new keyboards are $5 I hardly think it's worth it anymore.

As for the laptop, canned air is still the best you can do (the heat from the hair dryer can damage it). But the best thing is to STOP SMOKING AROUND IT! Not only are the ashes a problem, the smoke itself can get inside the circuits and mess things up. And trust me, there's no cleaning up from that.
 
Thank you Shanek!!

The hair dryer can provide you with cold air too! We are talking about advanced technology here :p

As for not smoking around the pc... If I wasn't spending time on the pc I would smoke half the cigarettes I smoke on a daily basis.
 
You are supposed to be able to remove the 'Enter' key on the number pad and the 'Esc' key, then stick a vacuum cleaner over one and you can suck out all the dirt under the keys that way.

But I've had equal success through holding it upside-down and shaking it.
 
When my keys get grimy, I use a mild solvent that evaporates quickly - rubbing alcohol. I'm not dunking the keyboard in it, just take a bit of paper towel or such and rubbing each key. It's fast and effective.
 
High pressure washgun. Use very hot water, with added bleach.
Especially good for getting porn off the hard drive.
And bubble gum.

(Remember to turn the power off first, otherwise you could short the USB ports).

Clean a computer? Heresy!

Seriously, yes you can take the keys off most keyboards. Take a photograph first though.

And just leave the caps lock key off afterwards. Blasted nuisance.
 
Soapy Sam said:
High pressure washgun. Use very hot water, with added bleach.
Click to expand...

Back in high school I worked at a TV repair shop. Every now and then we would get a TV so grimy and full of cr*p that nobody wanted to touch it - or sometimes even see the circuit boards inside, so I would have to take it next door to the car wash and spray it out. Then we would let it set for a few days to dry out before doing any work on it. IIRC this was charged to them as CAR WASH for something like $15.00.

I have taken apart my keyboard and washed it after spilling a can of Mt Dew in it. Just let it dry fully before using it. It could take several days or more if you don't disassemble the keyboard for all the water to dry out. Compressed air to blow the dust out or a vacuum to suck it out is probably best for most people. Alcohol wipes to clean the grunge off the keys.
 
Thanks for your tips!

I washed the keyboard of the pc and with the help of canned air I cleaned the laptop :)
 
I go with shanek on this one - STOP SMOKING, CLEO!

Not only does the PC stay cleaner (actually, cigarette smoke is DREADFUL for PCs' insides and operation), so does your insides.
 
I will stop smoking when Shemp, RSLancastr, Stimpy and others will lose weight. :D

It's more dangerous to be an overweight person than a smoker :)
 
Really?? I'M overweight significantly, but I'm fairly fit (in 30 mins I'm off to my karate class). If I was my proper weight but a smoker I would probably die coughing my lungs up in the very same class. (That I'm asthmatic has nothing to do with it! :) )

No, really. I told the Zeplette that if she couldn't stomach eating a whole cigarette unlit, then how could she contemplate sticking it in her mouth and consuming it while it was actually burning as well?

At least don't do it around your PC...or your cat or dog or budgie or houseplant - they have feelings too!
 
Canned air definitely. You can use air from air compressors, but you need to get filters since it condenses quite fast.
 
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