Preventative Maintenance

Most people never think to physically clean their PC. When your monitor or screen gets a little dirty, do you wipe it off? Is that as far as you go? Did you know the case that holds the guts of your computer acts like a small vacuum? Did you know your keyboard is a perfect catch-all for crumbs and debris. What kind of bacteria are growing on your mouse?


Do your mouse and keyboard look like this?

FoxNews study says: "Your Office Keyboard Could Be Dirtier Than a Toilet"[1] A UK company[2] took swab samples from 30 keyboards in a London office and found some horrifying bacterial hosts living in the keyboards, including staphylococcus aureus, also known as "Golden Staph."[3]

    [1] Keyboard Dirtier Than a Toilet?
    [2] Research shows how dirty your keyboard is
    [3] Golden Staph


Electrical components can over-heat

The components inside a computer have electricity flowing through them, making them give off heat. Cases are designed to help air flow properly inside so each component gets enough fresh air to keep it cool. The power supply, which converts the electricity in your home or office to the proper type and frequency for each component in the computer can get very hot as well. If not properly cooled parts inside the case will over-heat, causing failures ranging from data-loss to fires! A computer sitting inside a home or office will bring air from outside the case into the case and out again through the power supply or other case fan causing a slight breeze to cool the components. This itself causes dirt and debris to enter the pc, not to mention fuzz balls and bugs! Look at the following pictures to see what happens when dirt builds up inside a computer case.


a cpu fan too blocked up to work, causing the cpu to burn up.
A cpu fan too blocked up to work, this likely caused the cpu to over-heat and die. Before that happened, this computer likely had many lockups, blue screens or other annoying hangups.
notice the thickness of the builtup dirt and greese on the fan.
Notice how thick the dirt is caked on. This cpu fan has likely _never_ been cleaned.
dirt piling up on the RAM and other components on the mother board.
The dirt was also piling up around the memory modules, which could cause a short between components. Sometimes this will cause blue screens, lockups, or data loss. Sometimes complete failure.
this fan will never work again, the cpu is likely dead, along with the rest of the computer.
This fan will never work again, more than likely the motherboard was damaged due to excessive heat from the processor. Meaning the entire computer will need to be replaced.

Maintenance Q & A

  • How often should a computer be cleaned?
    • Only you will know the answer to this. How clean is your home or office? Is it located on a busy street corner, a dirt road, Are you a smoker? Tar from the cigarettes can cause dirt to stick more than normal and can also cause fans to stop or air vents to close.
  • Can anyone clean a computer?
    • Of course! The real question is, can you put it back to together after you take it apart? Computer professionals can take apart a computer case and clean each component, properly removing the dirt and debris leaving the system ready for efficient use.
  • Does the case need to be cleaned or just the insides?
    • Good question! Yes, a case needs to be cleaned as well. Air flow cools the insides, but a dirty case can restrict air flow making it just as dangerous as having dirty fans or parts. Restricted air flow means higher operating temperatures, which means shorter life expectancy of the computer!
  • Can a CD or DVD drive be cleaned?
    • Absolutely! Compressed air blown into the drive while the tray is out can clog up moving parts inside the drive, a proper cleaning means the lens is cleaned, the tray is cleaned, and in some cases the drive is disassebled and cleaned internally. A dirty drive can cause read errors on discs resulting in corrupted information or installation of software!
  • Should a keyboard be washed in a dish washer?
    • I wouldn't recommend this. A keyboard should be held upside and shaken lightly to release loose debris, then compressed air can be blown under the keys to remove stuck debris and again, lightly shaken out. Anti-bacterial wipes should be used to clean the keys themselves to remove harmful bacteria and germs that can build up and spread to other users.
  • What about the mouse?
    • Some mice have balls inside that must turn. Hair and dirt can cause the balls to stick or the gears inside to not register movement properly, meaning you move the mouse but the cursor on the screen does not move. Some mice have optical sensors, lasers, that register movement and are not as sensitive to dirt, however, the mouse may still need anti-bacterial wipes to remove dangerous bacteria.
  • How do you clean an LCD display?
    • Special care should be taken with laptop displays and LCD monitors. Do NOT use harmful chemical cleaners as the display is not made of glass but special materials, also never spray any liquids directly onto the screen. Use a micro-fiber cloth to wipe off the display, if this does not do a good enough job, use a 100% cotton cloth and dampen it with rubbing alcohol and wipe off the screen very gently.
  • How do you clean a regular CRT Display?
    • Much like a television, the screen is made of glass and can be cleaned with a normal glass cleaner, be careful not to spray too much cleaner, which can drip inside the screen from the edges. It is best to spray the cleaner directly on to a 100% cotton cloth and gently rub off any dirt or films.