If your computer unit is a bustling workstation, then your chassis or exhaust fans should be clogged with dust, dirt or human hair. Insect infestation can also worsen dirt in your PC. If air can’t pass through your PC properly, dirt and dust will cause overheating, instability, underperformance or worse, hardware damage. If someone smokes in the same room where your PC is, it can also produce gum-like sticky smudge or dirt inside your PC.

Before we start, shutdown your computer and unplug all power cords and cables as a precaution. This goes the same for every other cables from peripheral devices and your monitor. To better organize your cleaning regimen we advise you to label all cords, cables and devices either by using a masking tape or a labeling sticker. This is only a suggestion, so as to ensure we remember to put them back into proper place during re-assembly of our PC unit. A necessary precaution, have yourself properly grounded using a wrist grounding strap before opening the computer case. Place all the screws in a secured place so you will avoid losing it. You can also use a screw magnet to secure them in one place. Place your precious PC parts like the GPU card, Motherboard, RAM, Processor and HDD in anti-static containers. Never place them in your carpet or any hairy materials like animal wool fabric.

Use isopropyl alcohol moistened into a lint-free fabric to wipe dirt off the external chassis (casing) and monitor (led screen). Be gentle in wiping and not to force your hands too hard on delicate parts. For your keyboard, get a nylon brush to whisk-off dust and turn it over to push accumulated dust out off it. Disassemble the mouse, remove dirt from inside with a cotton-bud soaked with alcohol. Reassemble afterwards. For DVD or Blu-Ray drives, use a small needle or pin to push the latch cover off the drive so you can clean the inside part. Be careful not to scratch the lens.

For peeps who dislike using alcohol, an alternative would be to use either a low pressure vacuum or an air blower. There are also products that hold pressurized air in a spray can. For LED screens, there are liquid spray LED cleaners that will help cleanse and protect your precious monitor. With regard to the nylon brush, feather dusters can also do the trick. For those hard to reach areas, cotton buds can clean better than the bulkier cotton balls.

To prevent further accumulation of dirt and dust, we advise you to use an airfilter, like the foam-type material normally bundled with your motherboard. Place them over your chassis exhaust fan to prevent dust from going inside whilst allowing air to come out still. Make sure that the airfilters are washed and dried, ready for reuse. Elevate your PC and place it away from dust sources. We can also use magic fleece to dampen sound emanating from PC peripherals. Keep it also away from Pets if possible (and those wool or hairy fabrics) to prevent hair from accumulating inside your PC. Other sources of dirt include ash trays. And please, do not place your computer near your window with air blowing next to it. You might as well place it outside your home and invite all dust bins to party. That should do it. Happy Cleaning!