CLEAN THAT CASE..OFTEN!

TENAX · Post by **TENAX** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 10:52 am

some people clean out their system every couple of weeks..me, i'm not that attentive..maybe once every 3 months. part of the reason is the price of canned air in canada (cheapest is about 5.50 a can and i'll go through a can a time to be thorough..but that's not including shipping which is the price of 3 cans) most expensive..future shop at 13 bucks plus tax a can..ouch! after paying about 20 bucks after tax at staples, i thought there's got to be a better way, so i found a compressor with attachments including the blower and adaptors to do the job plus inflate car tires, inner tubes, etc for 49 bucks..i've had a large 2 tank compressor and it was pretty loud for inside, but the single tank compressor i found is quiet enough to run in the house, but beefy enough to do the job (max pressure 100 lb). as i had already cleaned out my machine with canned air, i cleaned the wife's which had canned air cleaning about a month ago with the compressor this morning..the result is cleaned like canned air never did! the compressor will quickly pay for itself and be of more use..

in terms of the result of cleaning in general. i dropped my cpu temps by 3-4 degrees at the core after the canned air cleaning yesterday..case temp dropped 3 degrees.

so if you want a cooler system, while it may be obvious that a person should clean their system, i suspect i'm not the only one out there who can take it for granted:)

LAThierry · Post by **LAThierry** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 12:26 pm

Personally, I've stayed away from those compressed air cans possibly because I've seen someone fry a motherboard that way

While on the topic of dust, my biggest recommendation is to lift your computer away from the floor. Instead of it laying on the floor under your desk for example, place it on a small filing cabinet next to your desk if you can't bear it having it on your desk. That's my current setup. Since it's not directly on the ground and I have no pet these days, there's no "dust balls" nor hardly any dust build-up. The only hints of dust inside the case are narrow strips of dust on the leading edge of the fan's blades.

TENAX · Post by **TENAX** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 12:34 pm

good points..one thing i never do when cleaning with air is start it up right away due to possibility of a bit of moisture but i've never had a problem. my case is 4 ft off the floor, but it's in the basement so dust still does collect (unfiltered intake fans). my wife's by necessity sits on the floor and collects a lot of dust..we have a cockatiel that roams around the house and a chinchilla that is out occasionally as well. can get quite a few feathers collecting in her computer over time:)

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 12:35 pm

my desk is right next to the wall, and there's no room on it for any case. maybe a mini-ITX system would fit without a problem, but with speakers, CDs, external hard drive, lamp, and keyboard and mouse all by the monitor, there is no room. i ended up putting my case on the floor, gave me tons of space.

well, i also decided to go for a Cooler Master Elite 330. i originally bought it because i needed a case for my server just about a year ago, but then i realized, my server needs more room than this case can give me, so i moved the server out for a while [it was also about the time i was waiting for the first parts of my new computer to come, so i was using my old P4 system] and things got hectic. eventually my newest computer made its way into the Elite 330, and i love it because of the filters.

i taped over the side vents, and rely on the filtered front for all intake, and its really good. there are plenty of furry pets here, but i only see a fine layer of dust in here every couple of weeks, and every month or so it takes a trip outside where it gets a thorough cleaning by air compressor.

i don't think its so much the floor as animals, but at the same time, fan RPM also makes a large difference.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 5:33 am

Canned air is perfectly safe when used right. That's why it's used!

I just received as a donation an old Athlon XP system that wouldn't start up. Dusting revealed everything around CPU area caked in dust - switching PSU didn't help but can smell burnt electricity, so it's a short on the mobo. Excessive dust is certainly more hazardous than canned air will ever be.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 5:42 am

Only thing what can I can think of break your system in canned air.... is the pressurised gas that forms liquid. But when using canned air as you should, i.e. not twisting the bottle but keeping it straight, canned air is perfectly safe.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:40 am

Yep. Every respectable can comes with a flexible nozzle you can use to get to difficult spots without tilting the can.

I don't know if it's the moisture or the cold that wreaks havoc, but the ultimate cause of any and all mishaps is the misuse of the product.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 8:14 am

Tell you what.....with the computer sitting on the floor, over a carpet, it's much quieter. The further away from your ears....the better, from a noise perspective. Dust problems can be solved. I've posted dozens of filter designs. My last main setup sat on the floor for over two years without opening it up. The removable filters were vacuumed every six months or so. I switched over to another setup recently....and pulled the first one apart. Not enough dust in it to sneeze at.

The main thrust of SPCR is noise reduction....sitting the computer on the floor is a cheap way to quiet your setup. Deal with the dust with filters....compressed air is not necessary, except in poorly filtered cases.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 12:36 am

Well I'm ready to admit my filtering is rather poor, so canned air rules ok!

Tommy Jefferson · Post by **Tommy Jefferson** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:54 am

+1 on the small air compressor.

I have one in my garage. I bought it for $40 from an out-of-work roofer. He used it to run his nail gun.

The US Federal Reserve's EZ-Credit policies have caused the house construction industry to become wildy over-inflated. There are too many houses chasing too few buyers. New home construction has slowed tremendously. Lots of carpenters and roofers are selling off their assets.

Watch Craigslist or your local pennysaver paper for some excellent deals on air compressors.

Once you have one, you'll find lots of things that need inflating or air cleaning. They are great tools.

fwki · Post by **fwki** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 8:36 am

I live in a very dusty old house and I was using compressed air until my wife saw something about kids freezing their lungs and banished the cans. Out of necessity I started using my leaf blower on the system outside on my deck, and let me tell you that really does the job. Even the PSU coughs up a ton. You have to stand pretty far back, cause those things are powerful, and pick a nice day. I'm not too worried about damage, after all, we built these things, we can fix them.

ceraf · Post by **ceraf** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 8:40 am

would leaf blowers generate enough static to affect the computer components?

chahahc · Post by **chahahc** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 3:28 pm

Leaf blowers?

.....hmm...interesting ...idk about static production of the leaf blowers though. I would just opt to go for as much passive as possible. But that's just me, I'm uber lazy. When I clean out the dust in my system I just use my dyson. I haven't had any mishaps with static buildup with it. But also my main system right now is a pentium 3...so...yeah...nothing important is on it so if it dies from a static discharge then it gives me an excuse to buy another computer

. (I store my important files on backup external hard drives)

fwki · Post by **fwki** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:55 pm

I thought about static, but living on the humid Gulf Coast we don't even get carpet sparks in winter. And when I first started using the blower, my PC was on its last legs anyway, but now I don't even think about it. Every now and then I blow a fan connector off, but that's about it.

scdr · Post by **scdr** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 5:34 pm

Many of the "canned air" products (at least here in the states) have a bunch of things in them other than air. (Tetra fluro chloro whatzits, etc.)
Not recommended for use in enclosed areas.

I have read that using the canned air can also dammage fans by spinning them too fast. (Haven't had that happen - so just here-say evidence.)

I would be cautious about using a compressor - both because of possible oil in the output, and possible moisture/condensation.

I use an air mattress pump. (The one I use is a manual, bellows type.)
It gives a bit of exercize pumping it with my foot - but does a decent job at getting the dust bunnies out of there. (Not quite up to the Bun-Vac 5000, but doesn't need a truck to haul it around.

It also has a nice hose with a nozle, so I can direct the air into small places, etc. Doesn't give as high pressure as canned air - but adequate for computer cleaning (and don't have to wear gloves to avoid the frozen fingers.)

Lots less expensive than a compressor, don't need electric power (though you could use one of the electric air matress inflators if you wanted), easier to cart around than a compressor, and don't have to worry about running out of air (if it runs out of air - then cleaning my computer will be the least of my worries.)

TENAX · Post by **TENAX** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 7:27 pm

lol..lots of interesting options..i have a leaf blower minus bag..never considered that idea..hell, it would be more annoying to listen to then my new compressor in the house though..i find the darn thing loud outside (yeah, i know..airplugs)..re: moisture..yep, considered that..but oil won't hurt a computer (you've seen those rigs submerge in oil, guns packed in oil etc) no worries there. i'd be more concerned about potential moisture issues..if the air wasn't finely misted..we did some tests back in my school shop days on moisture output from compressors and it's so miniscule i'm not concerned about it. whether canned air or a compressor generated air, i don't turn on my computer for at least 15 minutes after. i'm no expert on canned air, but if you shake a can, it seems to be in a liquid state before it comes out..and if you touch a surface immediately after spraying canned air on it, for a few moments, it will feel moist to touch..i suspect like alcohol it evaporates quickly but it is for a moment, in a liquid state.

short story, if anyone was stupid enough to spray canned or compressed air on a plugged in computer (i'm sure it happens) then they deserve what they get!

scdr · Post by **scdr** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:35 pm

fwki wrote:Out of necessity I started using my leaf blower on the system outside on my deck, and let me tell you that really does the job.

Hmm - looks like an idea for SPCRs opposite number -- LOUD PC Review.
Using a leaf blower as cooling for that overclocked Prescott.

VanWaGuy · Post by **VanWaGuy** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:42 pm

I bought a small wet/dry vac that has both intake and exhaust connections and start by vacuuming up the digger stuff, then switching the hose and blowing out all the fans, sinks, PSU, etc.

If something looks really dirty, I could take it outside and use my compressor, but so far, the little vac has worked nicely.

I was looking for refillable air can/bottles, but for $29 (Home Depot), the little vac works well.

Redzo · Post by **Redzo** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 8:58 pm

LAThierry wrote:Personally, I've stayed away from those compressed air cans possibly because I've seen someone fry a motherboard that way

While on the topic of dust, my biggest recommendation is to lift your computer away from the floor. Instead of it laying on the floor under your desk for example, place it on a small filing cabinet next to your desk if you can't bear it having it on your desk. That's my current setup. Since it's not directly on the ground and I have no pet these days, there's no "dust balls" nor hardly any dust build-up. The only hints of dust inside the case are narrow strips of dust on the leading edge of the fan's blades.

Those ppl that fryd their board probably bought air with oil in it. Propper way to clean computer is to buy canned air especially for elektronics. No additivs just pure air. Have done it thousends of time (i am hardware technician) and i have never, ever fried anything IF u use proper products.
you can buy those electronic cans in computer stores.

kittle · Post by **kittle** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 5:19 pm

Interesting string of ideas.

I just run the vacuum cleaner hose over the front of my case whenever i clean. It removes any accumulated cat hair and seems to keep the inside of the case reasonably clean. I opened the thing to install a hew HD over christmas and saw very little dust -- this was after being closed up all year long.

never had any problems with static from the vacuum either.. infact my stuff seems TOO reliable. I keep waiting for my old fileserver to break so i have a better excuse to upgrade. The thing is 7 years old and still going.

TENAX · Post by **TENAX** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:46 pm

for kicks while cleaning out my daughters case today (she lives 2 hours from me so it's been...hmmm..never (2 years) since the computer was assembled and any cleaning..and sits on the floor in a house with 3 dogs and a cat..blew it out first at 60psi..thought i got it all. took it up to 100 for a second skim..a lot more came out the 2nd time.

holtzboy · Post by **holtzboy** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 7:26 pm

I have a Rigid shop vac I bought from Home Depot. Putting the vac on reverse and blowing the comp out (outside of course) works good. If I need a little more pressure I just put some duct tape over the hose. I always either hold the fans or put some tape on them so they don't spin while blowing the case out.