PC Cleaning

[LeBodge]

Hi all,

Just been given a PC to repair from a warehouse and the case, monitor, keyboard and mouse are really dirty.

Anyone seen any tutorials on how to properly clean a PC and what chemicals to use where?

Thanks for any help


LeBodge.

"I know what I like and I like what I know"

 

[ski]

For the exterior surfaces, you can use warm water and mild detergent.
If that does not do a complete job, then try a degreaser.
But be careful not to allow any liquid to enter where it does not belong.

More importantly, remove the computer's case, and make sure that there is no dust build-up inside.

 

[rockerfellerz]

You can use compressed air to blow the dust out of the pc, and the power supply in particular. Wear a face mask, you don't want to inhale what comes out of it. As for the keyboard and mouse, how much is your time worth? Might be better off just replacing them. Clear plastic skins are available to protect keyboards from harsh enviroments.
Like Ski said, don't get anything wet that shouldn't be, but if you do then make sure it is bone dry before restoring power to the comp.

If you're going through Hell...keep going... (Winston Churchill)
RocKeRFelLerZ

 

[osic]

As the others have said, mild detergents and compresed are are very good. If the CPU fan is realy dusty, take it out and use a vacume cleaner, you can also use it for the rest of the case as long as all the screws etc are tight and wont get sucked up. Do so at your own risk but I have done it multiple times to this PC and its still going.

 

[edfair]

Fantastic spray or 409 spray for the covers. Best to wet them first.
Small had vac for sucking dust. Better than stirring it up to get in the CD.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[imquazar]

On cleaning the external parts:

I've found that a small amount of some type of foamy window type cleaner (Dry is the word) and then lightly use a 3M style scour pad (The green ones you commonly see in use around the kitchen sink for pots and pans..)and most of the grime and dirt will come off pretty effortlessly with just a little light brushing with the pad.. rinse & rotate the pad often and don't scrub too hard or you'll leave a noticeable lighter "spot" and may permanently damage the appearance. They make a blue pad that's not quite so abrasive, but you may find yourself having to exert more energy and may not get the results you want. Make sure to use a clean fresh scour pad, and not one of the ones used last night to scrub the dinner dishes!

This method works for the plastics as well, just make sure and go slow and easy.

Air always is the best thing to use to blow out the pieces and if you're serious, invest in a compressor and blow gun fitting.. the canned air at $5 - $7 is too expensive to use for something more than occasional blasts..

 

[John Lewis]

I'll second edfair on the Fantastic/409 for exterior work.

I always use a vac made specifically for electronic work, don't want to fry something with static (especially since I paid $200 for a nice vacumm). Resist the urge to blow it out, just moves stuff around as others have said.

If you really must wash with something wet, I like isopropyl alcohol, 90% or better. See thread750-649317 for some other interesting ideas, but I'll stick by my alcohol.

 

[rpearson]

When the cleaning is done,mix 1 part liquid fabric softener ,and 10 part water,mix.Wipe down the PC(Yes,the outside of the case),and monitor with this mixure and a cloth.Makes a good anti -static coating for your PC exterior.

 

[franklin97355]

If you get the white scrubbing pads you will have less chance of scratching things. The green ones are HEAVY DUTY and will take off paint and will scratch steel.

 

[GaryKearley]

I had some scratches on my old case, and since the case was really well designed I decided to clean it up big time, I took all the kit out of the case, and gave it to a mate who acid dipped it to remove all the paint and then chrome plated the whole case. - it looked very cool, and this was years ago, when Beige was the only colour computers came in.

When the computer was built, and upgraded (current cutting-edge technology was a P166, 128Mb 72pin RAM, 3.2Gb HDD, a 4Mb or 8Mb Graphics card and a SB 32 AWE SoundCard.) it looked like the dogs cahooners and everyone thought I was a right geeky twit... )

I have since donated the machine to an old neighbour - she loves it.

That is the extreme of cleaning through...

Gary

"There are very few problems that cannot be solved through a suitable application of high explosives"