Getting rid of dust

JonB · 6 Sep 2007 at 12:00

I'm just about to move out, and over the past couple of months since I built my pc, its now full of dust. Before I move out I want to clean it as hopefully my new room will be much less of a dust hive. (Attic Bedroom, wooden floor is the cause!)

What's the best way to remove dust without frying my components? Can I use a hoover?

Prophet · 6 Sep 2007 at 12:02

Buy a can of compressed air, go outside and give it a blast.

alexakasloth · 6 Sep 2007 at 12:10

That's a good idea.

I usually just use an unused paintbrush.

mattgaunt · 6 Sep 2007 at 12:34

Orange peel, some company's sell stuff like "Dust off" to be used on electrical bits and bobs, that is the same as compressed air - just wondered if it had chemicals in it that would mess things up

milkinc13 · 6 Sep 2007 at 15:37

i use the hoover on mine, has done no damage, but i wouldn't use the metal attachments just the plastic hose comming out

JonB · 7 Sep 2007 at 10:36

Thanks all. I think I'll go for a combination of compressed air on my components and then hoover on the parts of my case which completely detach from the main unit. (I.e the sides and their grills.)

Prophet · 7 Sep 2007 at 11:35

mattgaunt said:
Orange peel, some company's sell stuff like "Dust off" to be used on electrical bits and bobs, that is the same as compressed air - just wondered if it had chemicals in it that would mess things up

Yeah its basically air in a can.

I tend to stay away from vacuum cleaners are they create static which isnt good for internal componts. Some people will say they've never had a problem. Maybe not or maybe not a problem they've seen yet!

V|per · 7 Sep 2007 at 11:53

milkinc13 said:
i use the hoover on mine, has done no damage, but i wouldn't use the metal attachments just the plastic hose comming out

Would never do this, the ammount of static that a hoover produces is crazy, i've seen a fair few pc's die because people have decided to use a hoover..

Compressed air is your friend. i generally use compressed air once or twice a week, and then remove everything every 6 months or so and give it a full clean (but i usually need to take everything out every 6 months or so to upgrade anyway

)

Prophet · 7 Sep 2007 at 12:24

A word of warning with compressed air. Never spray with the can upside down. This causes it to spray freezing liquid out which will probably damage you components. Move the PC to the right angle and keep the can upright.

A funny story about the misuse of compressed air is when I was at work a few years ago. One of the techy's was dared to spray compressed air onto his nipple while the can was upside down. The result was a frozen nipple, a few doctors/hospital visits and him nearly losing his right mammory gland due to frost bite!

V|per · 7 Sep 2007 at 12:43

That story was real? :eek:

unless your story isn't the only one of it's kind, i've read about it somewhere

Prophet · 7 Sep 2007 at 13:48

V|per said:
That story was real? unless your story isn't the only one of it's kind, i've read about it somewhere

Its real. I watched him do it!

I have pictures somewhere. I'll see if I can dig them out.

Marse · 7 Sep 2007 at 14:20

Orange Peel said:
One of the techy's was dared to spray compressed air onto his nipple

There's a moral there somewhere.

Prophet · 7 Sep 2007 at 14:33

Marse said:
There's a moral there somewhere.

lol

The REALLY funny thing was after a few weeks the nipple started to heal itself but first had to lose the dead skin. For want of a better description, it looked like a overcooked mushroom, where the edges were starting to rise up away from his skin. Took about 3 months in total to heal until there was no trace of nipple freezage!

alexakasloth · 7 Sep 2007 at 15:26

Orange Peel said:
The result was a frozen nipple, a few doctors/hospital visits and him nearly losing his right mammory gland due to frost bite!

bwhaha