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A laptop is just like any other electronic device that attracts dust particles. With this, your PC can end up overheating and it can impact its performance. Therefore, how can you clean the interior of a laptop?
You can clean your laptop’s interior by opening it up and then using compressed air to blow out all the dust. Consider being gentle as you clean up your device. Hence, you’ll appreciate your laptop’s effective performance.
I’ll explore everything you need to know about cleaning the inside of a laptop through a step-by-step guide. And In return, you’ll be able to do everything yourself. Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Is It Possible to Clean the Inside of a Laptop?
You can easily clean the inner parts of your laptop. And in case you’ve had it for some time now, it may have a lot of dust. This may be the case if it has never been cleaned since you acquired it.
Dust can prevent a laptop from cooling appropriately due to the clogging of the heat sinks, vents, and fans. The heat produced can lead to the destruction of the hardware. Your device’s fans may operate at full speed and this can drain its battery.
Hence the performance of your computer may be slow for it to remain cool. However, you can discard a big proportion of the dust even without being able to open the PC.
What You Need to Do If Your PC Cannot Open
Manufacturers never want their users to open up most of the PCs. This is regardless of whether you need to remove dust or you need to upgrade it. Still, dust piles up in the inner section despite you being able to unlock it or not.
Nevertheless, even if you cannot open the computer, you can try wiping out some of the dust. Ensure you don’t blow dust on your stuff by taking the device out. Using compressed air, direct it at the computer’s cooling vent.
Give out some short blast of air. The sprays of air will make dust loosen up and it’ll exit the vents of the device. Even though you will not have completely removed the dust, it will stop clogging up the fans and the vents.
This is not a suitable way of dusting a PC, but still, it may be of help. Remember to take care while performing this. Directing a blow of the air directly at the fan in a vent can lead to the fan spinning faster.
Consider not aiming the air directly to the fan and offer it an extended blast. Blow the air in small blasts as you wait a little bit to confirm you are not turning the fans rapidly. If your PC has serious issues with overheating and it’s not possible to clean it by yourself, you can reach out to the manufacturer.
And in case it still has a warranty you’ll get the service you need.
What You Can Do With an Easy-to-Open PC
Some computers aren’t modeled to be unlocked by users. For instance, the modern ones and this can be such a nuisance when it’s time to clean. For a desktop, you can just power it down, open its case and then blow it using compressed air.
You can then close its case. And in the same manner, you can dust off your computer if you can easily open it and access the interior part. A computer may have a lowermost panel and you need to unscrew this part to get to the inside.
Consider checking out a manual for the particular type of PC online. Shut down your computer, unload its battery, and then unscrew its panel to get to the inner part. If your laptop has a manual, it will take you through the procedure.
Depending on the laptop you have, unlocking its panel can or can not invalidate the warranty. When it’s opened up, you can take it either outside or in a place you don’t have a problem getting dirty. Blow out its internals using compressed air.
Make sure you blow the dust away from the case and not just drag it inside. I normally prefer blowing the dust towards a PC’s vent. This way, the dust is blown out via the vents of the device.
Ensure you are cautious as you blow air at the laptop’s fans because if their rotation is too fast, damages may occur. Consider blowing at its fans from several angles while using the short explosions of the air. It’s always advisable to use compressed air and not a vacuum.
Also, be careful to use the air compressor rather than a compressed air can. After completing the process, you can screw back the panel, load its battery and then turn on the PC. Its operation will be cooler and the fans will spin less frequently.
How Often Should You Clean the Inside of Your Laptop?
The time required to keep the laptop clean and operating well always ranges from six months to one year. However, this also depends on some aspects. The main one is the environment in which your device is exposed.
A laptop in a cleaning room may hardly need cleaning while one operating in a cabinet store may need regular maintenance. The location of the PC also matters. If it sits on the floor it will require more regular cleaning than the one on a shelf of a desk.
There are some with unique dust filters and don’t need cleaning oftentimes. Though the filters are easy to reach and grab most of the dust. The reciprocation behind this idea is, cleaning always and has its advantages and drawbacks.
Additionally, pets influence how clean your PC is. Having them around means their fur can get to your laptop. Generally, whenever you start seeing dust pile up on the external parts It may be time to clean the interior of your laptop.
A dusty laptop does tend to produce irritating sound. This is due to the fans running faster to sufficiently cool the machine. And it’s because of the restricted airflow attributed to the dust.
Heat is not discarded properly and the fans have to work extra hard than how it may have if it’s clean. This is due to the dust layer on the parts of the computer. Typically laptops are often taken care of well and kept in bags while desktops remain in a given place for longer periods.
3 Ways to Know Your PC Needs Instant Cleaning
It Always Overheats
Having dust in your home can be more than just annoying. It does clog the vents and fans in your computer. This in turn prevents it from cooling as expected.
And because of this, it can interfere with the hardware in the system and this can lead to your laptop ceasing to function.
Its Operations Slows Down
Anytime your PC operates at maximum capacity as it overheats, it can strive to lower its operation to remain cool. This implies you will be in for lots of tough times of looking at the spinning wheel and waiting for the loading documents. You’ll also have to wait longer for the refreshing Internet.
To avoid taking much time on these annoying occurrences, consider investing in your computer by cleaning its fans not less than once a month. You also need to clean its keyboard once a week.
The Battery Drains
An overheated PC means the system is over-functioning to get to its full potential. For this reason, its fans operate at full speed to ensure the hardware is cooling down. This impacts the battery a lot and it makes it drain rapidly than the normal way.
When you keep dust from the fans and vents, your battery will benefit as it will be long-lasting. Also, explore the laptop’s manual before you take the device apart to ensure you are not interfering with the warranty.
How to Clean the Inside of a Laptop?
By now you need to know that heat can destroy your laptop. With dust piling in your PC, it can devastate the process of cooling. This can lead to a shorter life span for the parts of the laptop.
There are steps you can follow to keep your laptop operating properly and cool. Let’s take a look!
9 Simple Steps of Cleaning a Laptop’s Internal Section
Shut Down Your Laptop
Log off the PC and then disconnect it from the power guard or electrical outlet.
Unscrew and open the Device
First, unlock the laptop’s case. You need to unfasten the screws that are pertinent for the specific part of the PC you are seeking to take apart. Indications of writing exactly beside or under the screw act as the guide. Proceed to remove all the applicable screws.
Detach the Unscrewed Computer
Discard the laptop’s touchpad and then isolate its cable from the system. Also, hold up the keyboard and detach it from the PC. Do all these gently.
Dust the Inside Section
You can dust the interior parts of your laptop by using compressed air. Consider applying short blasts of the air. Stay a few inches from the expansion cards, processor, memory, and the motherboard’s surface.
Discard the Dust on Case Fans
You can do this with the help of a can of compressed air. Grab the fan using your finger to prevent it from rolling as you are blasting air on it. The blades of the fan are quite delicate and they may break if rolled too fast.
Consider using rubbing alcohol to brush the blades. Use the cotton swab for the final touches. In case the fans are difficult to catch up with or are too dirty, you can withdraw them from the given case.
This ensures cleaning is done effortlessly.
Remove Dust From the Electric supply
Just like the case fans, use compressed air. And if the case has got a dust filter below the energy supply, consider tidying up the filter.
Clean the Fan and Heat Sink Mounted on The Processor
These components are also important and you can clean them with compressed air. Use the short eruptions of air to blast the dust out from the sections. If the dust buildup is so huge, you need to discard the fan and heat sink from the laptop’s processor to ensure it is fully cleared.
Don’t forget to clear the thermal grease that’s off the processor and the heat sink. Apply a fresh thermal grease and ensure it’s done before you reconnect the heat sink to the given processor.
Wipeout Thermal Grease Using a Damp cloth
The cloth needs to be lint-free and should be moistened using more than ninety percent alcohol(Isopropyl). This helps to wipe thermal grease from the heat sink and processor. Alcohol of less concentration can work although there can be a residue left behind.
This can lessen the efficiency of thermal grease. A remover for thermal material can be utilized rather than isopropyl alcohol. Moreover, you can use coffee filters instead of lint-free fabric.
Finalize by Dusting off The PCs Ports
Use the compressed air to tidy every other external vent with the use of a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you are now ready to embark on cleaning your laptop as required. Besides, cleaning your PC needs to be done more often. And the steps highlighted will help you out. Hence, you can now proceed to invest in your laptop to enable it to function well.