Clean Your Computer

Maintaining a computer's cleanliness and condition isn't a difficult thing to do especially when you have the right materials. Your computer serves as your personal electronic device which is competent of saving, downloading and receiving data in a specific program. Cleaning your computer and its components helps keep the computer from multiplying bacteria. You can see the picture on the side as an example; its CPU (central processing unit) is really dusty. This might affect the performance of your computer as well as its physical features. How often do you have to clean your computer? It depends on the environment that your computer is placed.

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   Portable vacuum

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   This is one of the most important cleaning materials. A vacuum sucks the dirt, dust and other particles inside and outside your computer parts. NOTE: Don't use a standard type of vacuum as it may generate static electricity that can damage your computer.

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2. 2
   Piece of cloth

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   This is helpful for rubbing your computer. But never use this for cleaning the inside parts like the motherboard or RAM because it might damage the electronics.

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3. 3
   Cotton or foam swabs

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   These are brilliant tools for reaching hard areas in your mouse, keyboard, and other parts.

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4. 4
   Alcohol or water

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A keyboard is the most germ infested part of your computer. Dust and dirt can build up, and this can cause malfunction.

Before cleaning your keyboard, make sure you turn off your computer, or if you are using a USB keyboard, just unplug it. If you don't unplug your keyboard you may cause damage to it or to the motherboard socket.

• Use your portable vacuum to suck out the dust and dirt. Just make sure that your keyboard keys are fitted properly. If you want to clean your keyboard to a greater extent, remove the keys from the keyboard and wipe it or use cotton swabs. Always remember to never spray any liquid onto your keyboard.
• If your keyboard is spilled on with soft drinks, wine, milk, tea or coffee, there is a different way to clean it. Turn off your computer immediately or at least unplug your keyboard. After removing, turn your keyboard upside down to avoid the liquid passing through the circuits. Use a cloth to wipe out all the liquid. After that, it is recommended to leave your keyboard in that position overnight, allowing it to dry up. Also clean your keyboard keys to get rid of the stickiness. Once you are done cleaning all of it, if it's still not working, it would be best to buy a new keyboard.

A monitor can also get dust, dirt and, worse, fingerprints which can cause difficulty in reading. Your monitor should be cleaned using an ordinary glass cleaner. Remove the connection of the monitor to the CPU, spray a cleaning solvent onto a cloth and just wipe the screen. If possible, use a lint free cloth to prevent the fluid from flowing inside the electrical circuits of the monitor. You may also use a vacuum to remove excess dirt on the top and back part of the monitor. Make sure that nothing hinders the air vents. Monitors obstructed by papers or other things may result in overheating and might cause fire.

An LCD (liquid crystal display) is different from a monitor. An LCD is not made of glass, unlike the monitor, and for that reason it needs special and thorough cleaning. It is important to not spray any liquids directly onto the LCD screen. Use a cloth, then press and wipe it gently. Avoid using paper towels because these might leave some scratch marks on the screen. It will be best if you use alcohol to clean the LCD; this is highly recommended.

A dirty mouse may cause strange cursor movement on your screen. Just like the other parts, wipe off your mouse and its buttons with a cloth. You may use cotton swabs for cleaning the inside parts like the wires and other circuits. You should also clean your mouse's pad to improve the mouse movement.

Cleaning your computer case is a must because it keeps the features of your computer look good and new. When cleaning, ventilated parts should be free from any obstruction or hindrance. The casing that houses your computer can be cleaned with a cloth that is slightly damp with water. For some stains, you may add a little detergent onto your cloth. Always bear in mind that you should not use solvents when cleaning plastics. Vacuum every hole, vent, and opening on your computer. It is safe to use an ordinary or standard type of vacuum when cleaning the outside part of your computer, but if you are going to clean the inside parts, use a portable vacuum cleaner to avoid static electricity to generate.

You cannot clean your hard drive physically, but they can be cleaned using some services on your computer. Using those services may prevent your hard drive from slowing down. You may also examine some basic troubleshooting steps for your operating system.

What parts of the motherboard is sensitive to clean?

It is hard to clean a motherboard?

The most sensitive part is the socket pins where the CPU rests. Cover them with a cap or a processor even when blowing the motherboard.

Other sensitive parts are capacitors that are easy to bend, especially when wiping memory or PCIe slots. Be careful not to bend the capacitors. If you do, very carefully straighten them back or do not touch them.

Everything else is sensitive to static electricity and water. Do not place your motherboard on any metal or wet surface. Always have antistatic bags under your motherboard if you intend to take it out of the tower. You may wish just to blow your motherboard parts and not clean them, as protruding metal parts may tear off and keep some of the cleaning material that you would be using.

If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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