Computer Repair

Cleaning The inside Of Your Desktop PC – Dos And Donts

February 20, 2024

Keeping the inside of your desktop PC clean is important for both performance and longevity. A build-up of dust and debris can lead to overheating, hardware failure and crashes. However, you need to be careful when cleaning a PC to avoid damaging sensitive components. Here’s an in-depth guide to safely cleaning the inside of a desktop PC.

Why You Should Clean Inside Your PC

There are a few key reasons why I regularly clean the inside of my desktop PC:

Prevent Overheating – Dust buildup in fans, heatsinks and vents leads to reduced airflow and overheating. Keeping my PC clean prevents crashes and hardware damage.
Extend Hardware Life – Excess dust buildup makes components work harder and hotter, reducing their lifespan. Regular cleanings help my hardware like the CPU and GPU last longer.
Improve Performance – Dust can clog up fans and heatsinks leading to thermal throttling which reduces performance. Cleaning keeps my PC running at peak efficiency.
Avoid Crashes – Built up dust can cause problems like short circuits and connection issues which lead to crashes. Cleaning helps avoid these frustrations.
Eliminate Noise – Too much dust in fans can cause extra noise. Cleaning reduces unwanted fan noise.

How Often Should You Clean Your PC?

How frequently you should clean your PC depends on a few factors:

Environment – PCs in dirtier environments with more dust require more frequent cleanings. Workshop or garage PCs need cleaning every 1-2 months.
Case Airflow – Poor case airflow causes faster dust buildup requiring more frequent cleaning. Make sure your case has good fans and filters.
Usage and Load – PCs under high load and gaming PCs run hotter and draw in more dust. Clean these types of PCs every 2-3 months.
Visual Inspection – Open up your case and visually inspect for dust buildup every few months. Clean when dust is clearly visible.

As a general guideline, I recommend cleaning an average desktop PC every 4-6 months. But monitor and adjust this based on environment, usage and visual inspection.

Recommended Cleaning Tools

Cleaning the inside of your desktop PC does not require much. I recommend having the following basic tools:

Compressed Air Can – This is the most essential tool for PC cleaning. The pressurized air easily blows away dust.
Soft Bristle Brush – A soft brush helps dislodge stuck on dust and debris in tight areas. Avoid static brushes.
Microfiber Cloths – Keep microfiber cloths on hand to wipe down components after blowing with air.
Cotton Swabs – Cotton swabs are helpful for precision cleaning in tight areas like around fans.
Isopropyl Alcohol – High purity alcohol can be used to clean thermal paste off CPUs and heatsinks.

These basic tools provide everything you need to safely clean the inside of a desktop PC. Avoid vacuum cleaners which can produce static.

Power Off and Unplug the PC

Before cleaning the inside of your desktop PC, you should always make sure to properly shut it down:

Shut Down Through OS – Shut down the PC through the operating system, never just switch off the PWR switch.
Switch Off PSU – Turn the power supply unit off using the rear switch after OS shutdown.
Remove Power Cable – Unplug the power cable from the rear of the PSU to disable power delivery.
Press Power Button – Press the power button again to discharge any remaining power in capacitors.

These steps ensure all components are powered off to avoid any electrical damage while cleaning. Trying to clean a PC while still powered on can lead to short circuits.

Open Up the Case

To access the inside components, you’ll need to open up the case. The process varies by case but often involves:

Removing side panels by unscrewing thumbscrews or pressing release tabs.
Sliding and lifting the side panels off from the chassis.
Removing the front panel by unscrewing or popping it off.
Taking off any drive bay covers blocking access.

Refer to your specific case manual for exact details on how to open up the chassis to access internal components. Lay the panels down carefully to avoid scratches.

Prioritize Components To Clean

With the case open, survey the interior to prioritize which components need cleaning:

Fans – Clean accumulated dust off fans, especially intake and CPU/GPU fans.
Heatsinks – Use air and/or brushes to dislodge dust from CPU/GPU heatsinks.
Intake Filters – Wipe down removable intake dust filters if your case has them installed.
Vents – Blow out or wipe down dust from any case vents and fan exhaust areas.
Components – Use air and brushes to remove light dust from components like RAM, GPUs, drives etc.

Focus on fans, heatsinks and intake areas first. Then hit other components like the motherboard, GPU and RAM.

Cleaning Fans and Heatsinks

Fans and heatsinks are magnets for dust. Here’s how to properly clean them:

Hold fan blades – Use a finger to hold fan blades from spinning as you blow compressed air.
Blow dust out – Use short blasts of compressed air at different angles to blow dust out of hard to reach heatsink fins.
Brushes – Use soft brushes and cotton swabs to loosen stuck on dust and debris on heatsinks.
Wipe down – Wipe heatsink and fan assemblies down with a microfiber cloth after blowing away dust with air.
Check bearings – Ensure fan motors spin properly and bearings aren’t making scraping noises.

Avoid blowing air too close to fans at a high angle which can force dust further in. Take your time cleaning heatsink fins fully.

Cleaning Components and the Motherboard

Here are tips for cleaning components like the motherboard, RAM, GPU etc:

Hold braces – Carefully hold any tall heatsinks or GPU braces to avoid damage as you blow them clear.
Targeted air – Use directed blasts or short bursts of compressed air around components to dislodge dust.
Brushes – Use soft brushes around components and motherboard to brush away dust.
Wipe – Wipe components down with microfiber cloths applied gently to avoid any damage.
Avoid moisture – Be careful not to get any fans, heatsinks or components wet during cleaning.

Go slow over components and the motherboard to avoid blowing dust into places it’s hard to remove from. Never clean components while powered on.

Reassembling the PC

Once all components are fully cleaned, it’s time to reassemble your PC:

Replace any drive bay covers or expansion slot covers you removed earlier.
Line up side panels and slide them back on carefully, replacing any thumbscrews.
Push the front panel back into place until it clicks in securely.
Plug in and switch on the power supply.
Reconnect power cable and peripherals like keyboard, mouse and display.
Power up the PC and enjoy a clean system!