PC cleaning

Few questions on the best way to clean the PC (as recently GPU's been hot, quick hoover seemed to have helped but isn't the best way I know).

I've heard about compressed air, but where's the best supplier?
Are there any PC Cleaning kits that are worthwhile getting? (currently I use a small brush and a small hoover nozzle to dislodge and then remove the dust - isn't the best but it works :p)

Do the air filters for fans actually work? I'd imagine they hinder air flow?

Plus list any tips and tricks that you use :p

I use my compressed air line from the compressor, usually at high pressure. I just stick a cable tie thru the fan blades to stop them spinning because they can go stupidly fast with compressed air forcing them around and may damage the bearings.

I've also used the hoover from time to time but, it is not as good as compressed air.

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Originally Posted by Sputnik

I use my compressed air line from the compressor, usually at high pressure. I just stick a cable tie thru the fan blades to stop them spinning because they can go stupidly fast with compressed air forcing them around and may damage the bearings.

I've also used the hoover from time to time but, it is not as good as compressed air.

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Yeah, i've just never seen compressed air for sale (nor looked). Where do you get yours?

If there's a wilkinsons near you I saw a can for £4 which is the cheapest I've seen, otherwise I got it from ebay for £5, maplins and other retail stores are generally £8+

I also use a large air compressor (90psi :)) to blow out the case.

although i have found that underneath the fan where the fan framework is, it leaves all the dust, so i just remove all the fans, then blow it out.

as for where to get the smaller compressed air. theres nothing wrong with amazon, just search for compressed air. £2+ for a 400ml can.

fan filters are good to stop all the dust getting in, but they do clog up and need to be cleaned often, because it will impede the airflow if theres a layer of dust in the way.

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Originally Posted by akatel

If there's a wilkinsons near you I saw a can for £4 which is the cheapest I've seen, otherwise I got it from ebay for £5, maplins and other retail stores are generally £8+

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Ahh cool I'll have a look in Wilkinsons next time I'm in :) If not I'll ebay/amazon some. How long does a can last?

Compressed air can cost vary depending on type

I cannot think what they are called atm, but there are two types, one that has to be kept upright (otherwise you get liquid coming out) there is another type that can be used in any direction however they tend to be far more expensive and less common.

Please note, "canned air" is not actually air or any constituant of, they are infact HFC (HyrdoFuoroCarbons) They are non-flamable but they are still heavier than air and will cause suffocation if you tried to use it as an air source.

The vacum cleaner & paint brush trick is very good for cleaning out dust in a pc and you'll not get clouds of dust kicked up, one issue with using compressed air is that you are just blowing the dust into the air, so when you turn your pc on again you can end up sucking dust laden air back in.
Main thing compressed air has going for it is that it's normally far more focused blast of air, so can go thurver and lift more dust (although a brush will losen more from a surface than just compressed air)

You can also wash and rinse fans and heat sinks quite safely which will shift the most crud, esp if you smoke around your pc.

Smoking around a pc is esp bad as the dust that builds up is not dry but slightly sticky (from the tar within the smoke) it make it very hard to clean out with air and your really need to use soap and warm water to clean a heatsink from a smoking envrionment.

Most important thing to note is don't let your fans spin when still connected when cleaning them, fit you manually spin a fan the motor becomes a dynimo and will feed voltage and current back into anything they are plugged into, compressed air from a can, an air compressor or the suction from a vacum cleaner can easily spin a far far faster than it would normally turn and the faster a fan turns the more voltage is involved.
Feeding back into a motherboard or any other pcb via a fan header is not good for it and you can seriously damage whatever the fan is pluged into.
So it's best to immoblise or unplug any fan you are cleaning around.

Do fan filters work? Yes. how well they work depends on: your case, fan layout, filter used, how often you clean them and the environment.
You'll still get some dust inside, esp very fine dust, however you'll get almost no fluf or lint build up inside the pc (again depending on factors)
The same factors will also effect the impact the filter will have on the air flow generated by the fan, generally speaking the impact is fairly minor but there are many factors that affect it.

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Originally Posted by Pob255

Smoking around a pc is esp bad as the dust that builds up is not dry but slightly sticky (from the tar within the smoke) it make it very hard to clean out with air and your really need to use soap and warm water to clean a heatsink from a smoking envrionment.

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You just reminded me of one I fixed about a year ago.......YUK

Hmm, would compressed Air and a vacuum cleaner work? Used carefully/sensibly, I tend to just have a small nozzle (from a car cleaning kit) in the case while i dislodge the dust, it tends to suck about 90% of it out of the area even if it's fairly far away, so would the same tactic work with air?

I may try air in the front bit of my case, there's a load of dusk in a really akward place that the nozzle can't get to :p Cheers for the tips about the fans though, never thought of that :(

I may try and get some different brushes too, the one i've got is rather old and kinda stubby, brisles are fairly hard but I tend to use it to poke at dust clumps/lift them out :p

Would this be okay?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Duster-...2227413&sr=8-1

I've not tried it, but what about a bike pump with a ball inflator nozzle as a cheap way of shifting the dust?

Yes should be fine and yes haing the vacum cleaner going near the case (not right in it) to suck up the dust that gets kicked out into the air is a good idea.

For a brush something like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paint-Brush-...2229528&sr=1-6 although the postage is x4 the cost of the brush, so a local shop might be a better idea. ;)

I use can of air compressor aswell;i bought mine from my local Tesco,you can try using a paint brush and brush some hard dust off things.

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Originally Posted by Pob255

Yes should be fine and yes haing the vacum cleaner going near the case (not right in it) to suck up the dust that gets kicked out into the air is a good idea.

For a brush something like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paint-Brush-...2229528&sr=1-6 although the postage is x4 the cost of the brush, so a local shop might be a better idea. ;)

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Haha, yeah, I'll grab one next time i'm in town. I'll order the air soonish and see how it goes :) Thanks for the help.

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Originally Posted by AdamAnubis

Haha, yeah, I'll grab one next time i'm in town. I'll order the air soonish and see how it goes :) Thanks for the help.

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Ordered the air yesterday at lunchtime and it arrived this morning :s Was just standard postage too.

Had a play earlier, works well but I think I got the worst of it out when I hoovered it the other day. Though I did almost loose the nozzel thing for the can when it fired off :p Making it clear didn't help me find it very easy.