Maintenance Tips: Is Your Laptop in Need of Cleaning? Here’s How to Do it

Every machine requires routine or regular cleaning, and computers are not exempted. And for people like me who spend hours in front of a laptop as a normal daily routine, it doesn’t take long to get a smeared screen, dirty keyboard, and dusty vents.

Most of us are on our laptops, desktops or netbooks, all day long. When was the last time you cleaned your laptop? #homeoffice #cleaning #cleaningservice #home #organization @BHG https://t.co/J2r2HT6VYl pic.twitter.com/SP3ZIfNWtv

— Get Set Clean (@Get_Set_Clean) May 16, 2018

All computers require cleaning, but our laptops require more because we move them around more often than we do our desktops. This, along with our eating and drinking at our desks may mean that our computers are subjected to more than they should.

A simple maintenance culture would not only help get rid of accumulated dirt and dust, it would reduce the chances of wear and tear of your PC.

To keep your laptop in shape, here’s how to get it cleaned.

Parts to Clean and What You Need

I think it's that time of the year again when I have to disasseble and clean the internal parts of my laptop so that it doesn't break

— Bread Inside (@emilysprentits) June 22, 2017

The 5 main physical parts of a laptop you should keep cleaned are the case, screen, the keyboard/touch pad, ports and air vents. In some cases, if you can, open up the laptop to clean the fan.

To do this, you would need soft-clean cloths, compressed air can, and isopropyl (some alcohol for cleaning).

Cleaning Procedures

https://twitter.com/naisyafandey/status/996671615537528833

• Turn off your PC, remove the battery and unplug all devices connected to it. This is to reduce the risk of an electric shock.
• Make a cleaning solution of water and alcohol in the ratio of 1:1.
• Dampen the cloth with the cleaning solution and ensure it’s slightly moistened and not very wet. Never spray the solution directly at the computer.
• Gently wipe the screen, laptop’s case (exterior and interior) and the track pad.
• To clean your keyboard, if you can, pop off the keys, but ensure there are properly replaced as some laptop keys are harder to reassemble than others. In doing this, you might need to tilt your PC to avoid blowing dirt deeper into the laptop.
• For the vents and ports, use a compressed air can to clean the case openings. Spray from an angle so the debris is blown away from the computer, rather than into it.  Note: Don’t spray too hard to prevent the fans from over spinning while you blow air into them (which can damage the fans). You can place a toothpick in between the fans to prevent spinning.
• Leave your laptop to dry before closing the lid. And iff you removed the keys from your keyboard to clean, you can leave them to dry or wipe them with a dry cloth before fixing it back.
• Once confirmed dry, you can fix back your battery and turn on your laptop.

As you can see from the steps above, it doesn’t take much to perform a periodic cleaning on your computer. It’s finally time to say goodbye to that dusty laptop and say welcome to a sparkling clean laptop.