cleaning inside PC with vacuum cleaner

  • Thread starter Thread starter Patches Forever
  • Start date Start date
Larry Roberts said:
I've never had a problem doing this either, but the air is
usally humid here in the South, so maybe that's why I've never damaged
anything over the years.
Click to expand...

thats a BIG plus
 
Larry Roberts said:
I have been doing this for years. I've never had a problem
yet.
Click to expand...

That's like saying I've been playing russian roullette for years, and I'm
still here to post about it.
Has anyone ever fried a computer part by vacuuming dust from it?
Click to expand...

Most definitely. I used to make a lot of money from people doing just that,
and then bringing me the mess to try to sort it out. :)
 
John Weiss said:
. . .


I do it all the time. I even use a regular size vacuum on occasion, though
I usually use a portable vacuum.

I have heard of the ESD potential, but have never had problems with it in
20+ years.
Click to expand...

Same here, the only problem I have ever had (as mentioned by another
poster) is sucking off a jumper which was a pain.

Blowing makes more sense to stop bits disappearing up the spout but that
depends who is cleaning up the mess afterwards. I always have lots of spare
jumpers around which is a lot less hassle than a major clean up.

Also still have to dig around the heatsinks with a paint brush to dislodge
the bits so the vacuum can clean them up.

I recall toasting specialised radar and missile components with ESD (due to
forgetting to ground myself) in the late 70s and 80s but with PC kit I have
never had a problem either then or now. Funny thing was the missile parts
were meant to be ultra expensive components hardened against Nuclear EMP.
What can I say guess the manufacturers were lying.

Andy
 
For delicate parts I use a drinking straw (cheap and easy) or a can of
compressed air. This works well for fans and boards. I've used my
blow gun on keyboards but you can damage a PC inter parts with a blow
gun. With a vacuum I've used the upholstery attachment to remove dust
from keyboards and vents.
 
I use BOTH a vacuum cleaner AND an air compressor,
and they work fine to get the dust out without touching
any electrical parts. The air compressor is one of those
cheapo buzzing types made for blowing up basketballs and
flat tires. I just aim the air nozzle at dust build-ups while
I have the plastic hose end of the vacuum cleaner in the
vicinity to suck up the loosened airborne dust. It gets
all but the insignificant haze off electrical parts. For the
fan blades, I use a moist paper towel and Q-tips. To get
the oxide haze off the lithium battery, I use a dry paper
towel. My desktop is 8 years old, and it still runs fine.

*TimDaniels*
 
Same here, the only problem I have ever had (as mentioned by another
poster) is sucking off a jumper which was a pain.

Blowing makes more sense to stop bits disappearing up the spout but that
depends who is cleaning up the mess afterwards. I always have lots of
spare
jumpers around which is a lot less hassle than a major clean up.

Also still have to dig around the heatsinks with a paint brush to dislodge
the bits so the vacuum can clean them up.

I recall toasting specialised radar and missile components with ESD (due
to
forgetting to ground myself) in the late 70s and 80s but with PC kit I
have
never had a problem either then or now. Funny thing was the missile parts
were meant to be ultra expensive components hardened against Nuclear EMP.
What can I say guess the manufacturers were lying.

Andy
Click to expand...
I have always taken my tower outside, laid it on the picnic table with the
side plate off and blasted it with the shop vac with the hose on the
exhaust. Talk about a cloud of dust and a "hardy, hi ho Silver". Works
great. I put a finger on each fan when blasting the area around them so that
they don't spin too fast. I've heard that too many RPMs can be bad for them
..... who knows. I've also heard that one should remove the optical drives
before blasting but I'm too lazy and so far haven't had any trouble with
them. I would like to have a tower with two 120 mm fans on the back and have
a washable, removable filter pad in the front.
 
Patches Forever said:
I once read that cleaning inside the PC case with a vacuum cleaner
creates a hazard of electrostatic discharge (ESD).
Click to expand...

Dry air easily produces static electricity, but not nearly as
much as this subject attracts trolls.
 
Same here, the only problem I have ever had (as mentioned by another
poster) is sucking off a jumper which was a pain.
Click to expand...

That sounds truly ignorant.

By the way, is that your first post to USENET?
 
Trimble Bracegirdle said:
The blowing / sucking with whatever device is not likely to deal
with dust muck that gets right into the CPU & Graphic card Fan
Blades .. The poking around with a stick (I use a big headed
artists paintbrush) is the only way .
Mouse
Click to expand...

Oh brother.

Poke around inside your computer with a nylon brush.

Then tell the repair shop Trimble Bracegirdle sent you.
 
John Doe said:
That sounds truly ignorant.

By the way, is that your first post to USENET?
Click to expand...

Why would you think that ? Earliest post to Usenet I have with Forte Agent
is 07/08/1997 not certain when I started though no records going back
farther than that.

I assume you do not think the Jumper I am referring to is something you
would wear ? Which would be relevant to this group or post how ?

Andy
 
Why would you think that ? Earliest post to Usenet I have with Forte Agent
is 07/08/1997 not certain when I started though no records going back
farther than that.

I assume you do not think the Jumper I am referring to is something you
would wear ? Which would be relevant to this group or post how ?

Andy
Click to expand...

Just had a look through Google earliest post they have archived is July 5
2000 with a total of 1120 Posts under my previous user name of
(e-mail address removed) My new usenet provider did not like the @ symbol in the
name though.

Andy
 
John Doe said:
Except for the BSODs of course.
Click to expand...


....which weren't hardware-related. They stopped when
I uninstalled a multimedia utility which had come with a CD
burner and Adobe's free trial photo editing utility.

*TimDaniels*
 
Timothy Daniels said:
Is that you, Roddels?
Click to expand...

If you knew anything, you would know the hazard of sleeping the
inside of your computer with a nylon brush. Educated guesses are
fine, but yours apparently aren't.
 
Okay, the subject comes up here from time to time and it bugs me,
so I got around to asking in the electronics design group.

I'm sure you do not want to use a nylon brush on the components
inside your computer.

However, apparently high-pressure air even flowing through a plastic
tube is not going to hurt your computer unless it's able to do
physical damage. If the air is dry and contaminated enough to carry
a charge, apparently there might be a risk of electrostatic
problems, but it's not the hazard I had in mind.

It's not going to remove the grease/grime from your circuit boards
either.

So, please disregard.
 
John Doe said:
If you knew anything, you would know the hazard of sleeping the
inside of your computer with a nylon brush. Educated guesses are
fine, but yours apparently aren't.
Click to expand...


I don't sleep inside my computer. Neither do I sweep inside
my computer.

If you would re-read my posting, you would see
that I don't touch anything with any part of the vacuum
cleaner. I wrote that I put the intake of the hose
"in the vicinity" of the parts being blown.

*TimDaniels*
 
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