Top Tips for PC Hygiene

PCs, like furniture, collect dust and grime--but unlike a chair or desk, your computer can malfunction if not cleaned periodically. Here's how.

Kirk Steers

When it comes to housework, a little effort goes a long way. Sure, making your bed each morning can be a questionable use of time and energy, but cleaning your refrigerator or doing your laundry has tangible benefits: You might prevent food poisoning or avoid getting thrown out of a crowded elevator.

The same goes for your PC. Keep it clean and you'll avoid all kinds of potential problems; let it wallow in dust and grime, and it can overheat, corrode, and even die.

The Tools You Need

As any good PC tech will tell you, always have the right tool for the job. And having the right tools for cleaning your PC is just as important as having the right gadgets to fix it.

You can find a fancy cleaning product for almost every part of your computer, but all you really need are a few essentials: a can of compressed air for dislodging dust from nooks and crannies, a pack of lint-free antistatic wipes and swabs--and a bottle of pure isopropyl alcohol, if you're really serious about cleaning. (You can also use 90 percent or even 70 percent alcohol without any trouble; these are cheaper.)

Get the alcohol from a drugstore; buy the rest at your local computer store for less than $11 each. Or if you want to purchase online, check out Belkin Components or Kensington for their cleaning supplies. If this seems like a lot to buy, you can always use paper towels and a clean cotton cloth, slightly dampened when necessary.

If you're in the habit of eating potato chips over your keyboard, you should consider buying a small computer vacuum--well worth the expense. For example, the MiniVak from Belkin is $12. You could also use a regular canister vacuum cleaner--just make sure you have the attachments handy.

For working inside your PC, you'll need a small slot screwdriver and a Phillips screwdriver for opening the case or removing expansion cards. If you're going to touch any circuitry, like the motherboard or expansion cards, be safe and buy a grounding strap for your wrist (usually $7 and up).

Follow the Rules

Before you start your PC housekeeping chores, read and heed the two golden rules of computer cleaning:

Rule #1

Always turn off and unplug your PC (and, yes, your monitor too, if you're cleaning with a moist cloth) before cleaning. A wayward drop of liquid on live circuits can wreak havoc with sensitive electronics. And unplugging is critical: Some PCs run a small current through the motherboard even when the PC is turned off.

Rule #2

When applying any kind of liquid to any part of your PC, always pour the liquid onto a cloth or swab first. Never pour, spray, or drip any liquid directly onto your hardware. Liquids are the sworn enemy of delicate electronics. Rule of thumb: If you can squeeze any liquid out of a cloth, it's too moist. (If you do happen to spill liquid on the electronics, make sure they're completely dry before plugging in the device again.)

And remember, use common sense. Here are a few pearls of Darwinian wisdom gleaned from users' experiments. (And believe it or not, people actually did try these things at home.)

• Never put your laptop (or any PC) in the dishwasher. Some very old keyboards can actually withstand a session in the dishwasher, but it doesn't apply to new keyboards or any other PC component.
• Never set off a bug bomb inside your PC's case to kill ants.
• Car wax will not give your monitor screen a glossy finish.

Get on the Case: Bust Those Bunnies

Dust bunnies are one of your PC's worst enemies. Accumulated dust can block the flow of air moving through your PC and can cause overheating--one of the leading causes of PC component failure. Wipe down the exterior of the case and wipe or blow any dust or other obstructions from all openings--including the floppy drive. Be cautious about blasting dust deep inside a floppy drive feed slot, though, as you can harm the read-write head. Quick advice: If the drives are functioning properly, save that expensive compressed air.

When using compressed air, always release it in a series of short blasts. Long continuous streams can cause condensation, which would deposit unwanted moisture on your PC and would quickly cause the can to chill down and lose force until it warms back up again. (Air flowing from a reversed canister vacuum cleaner won't cause this effect.) Keep the can upright; otherwise, you'll use up the can very quickly.

Use compressed air to clean the power supply fan at the back of the PC case, but try not to blow dust into the case. Here's a trick: Place your vacuum cleaner hose next to where you're blasting the air. Much of the dust will be sucked up as it's dislodged. If you do blow dust inside, don't worry; we have a lot of tips to help you clean the inside of the case.

Popping the PC case open is usually pretty straightforward. Some PCs come with an easy-open case that only requires you to remove a big thumbscrew at the rear of the case or press a quick-release latch to loosen the case's panel. If your PC doesn't have an easy-open case, you'll need that slotted or Phillips-head screwdriver to remove the case screws on the back of the PC.

Before you start working inside your PC, it's a good idea to put on a grounding strap to protect the delicate circuitry from being damaged by static charges on your body. After you put on the strap, you should touch a metal part of the turned-off PC, then unplug it while you're touching it--the PC is grounded only when it's plugged in.

Clean dust and grime from inside the case walls with wipes. If you have a vacuum, use it to remove as much dust as possible from the interior, especially from wire, chips, and circuitry, where it can act like an insulating blanket, trapping heat--an enemy of all things electronic. A canister vacuum is often best here; use the soft brush attachment.

If you don't have a vacuum, you can use compressed air. But remember, the object is to remove the dust, not just move it.

If the motherboard and attached cards aren't really grubby after vacuuming, you're probably better off not cleaning them. But if they do look grimy, or the air in the room is exceptionally dirty or filled with lots of cigarette smoke, wipe the motherboard and cards gently with an alcohol-moistened wipe (again, make sure your PC is unplugged first). If you want to do a thorough cleaning, you should remove, clean, and carefully reseat each expansion card. Use the lint-free swabs to clean the cards.

Good Mousekeeping

Unless it's misbehaving, you don't have to clean your mouse regularly. You're better off cleaning the mouse pad or the surface where it resides. Wash your mouse pad frequently; dirt and oil are quickly transferred from the mouse pad to the ball that controls your mouse's movement.

If your cursor moves well in one direction, either vertically or horizontally, and erratically in the other, there's a good chance you've gummed up the works in your mouse.

The fix is easy: First, shut down your PC and unplug your mouse. Now turn the mouse over and rotate the plastic ring on the bottom that holds the ball in place. Remove the ring and the ball. While you're at it, remove any crumbs or other particles from the ring and the ball. Inside, you'll see two plastic rollers set 90 degrees apart. One controls the mouse's horizontal movement and the other handles the vertical movement. Caked-on gunk on one or both of these rollers can cause a mouse to misbehave.

To clean the mouse, turn it right side up and lift it up so you can see inside. (This will keep dislodged dirt from falling into the mouse.) Scrape any accumulated gunk from the plastic rollers using the end of a paper clip or similar implement. Make sure you rotate each roller to remove all the grime. A pair of tweezers is great for grabbing small bits of debris that may be trapped in odd corners. Then finish it all off with a quick blast of compressed air into the mouse's interior to dislodge stray particles. You should also wash the ball with mild soap and water. Reassemble your mouse and hook it back up to your PC. Turn your machine back on and your mouse should work fine.

Want to avoid mouse cleaning? Purchase an optical mouse, which has no cleanable moving parts. Logitech and Microsoft, for example, make numerous optical models.

Cleanse Your Keys

Unplug your keyboard and clean the tops of the keys and the rest of the outside surfaces with an alcohol-moistened wipe. You can also use mild soap and water (or just plain water) with a damp rag or paper towel. Stay away from commercial cleaners--they tend to leave a residue that attracts dirt.

If you have a small computer vacuum or a regular vacuum with a soft brush attachment or crevice tool, suck up any debris beneath and between the keys. If you don't, no problem; turning the keyboard upside down and blasting it with compressed air is just as effective, if not more so. Use the plastic tube that comes with the compressed air can to direct a series of short blasts between the keys. You could also reverse the vacuum and use the crevice tool to create a very powerful, non-condensed stream of air.

If you have a key that sticks, try pulling it off with your fingers. If you can't, insert a pair of blunt, nonmetallic objects like clean, dry Popsicle sticks on either side of the key and gently lift it off its mount. Apply even pressure to both sides of the key as you lift. Take care not to loosen or misplace any springs or grommets that may be on the underside of the key, and keep the cleaning solution away from the contacts under the key.

In some dire cases--say, after spilling a can of soda or dribbling your ice-cream sundae on your keyboard--you can remove all the keys to clean the keyboard underneath. You can wash the keys themselves in mild soap and water. Of course, make sure they're all completely dry before you re-assemble the keyboard.

Improve Your View

CRT monitors are dust magnets, literally. Electrical fields emanating from the monitor attract dust particles like a flower attracts bees. Fortunately, cleaning is easy. Unplug your monitor and clean the screen gently with a soft, clean cotton cloth moistened with water. Never spray anything directly on the monitor. To dry the screen, use another clean, dry cotton cloth.

Monitor manufacturers say you should never use any chemicals (glass cleaners included) on your screen. The most important thing is to avoid ammonia, a component of most cleaners. The water-only method works very well, but if you really want to get a cleaning solution, buy a specific monitor cleaner based on your manufacturer's recommendations. Be sure to check your monitor's documentation first; if your monitor has an antiglare surface or other delicate coating, it may require special cleaning procedures.

To remove dust on the outside of the monitor case, use the soft brush attachment and your vacuum cleaner. (Make sure your monitor is unplugged.) Pay particular attention to gently brushing and cleaning the cooling vents. Avoid blowing dust into the monitor's case. If you find dirt marks on the case that won't vacuum away, wipe it with a cloth very slightly moistened with plain water. If that doesn't get the mark off, try the same amount of moisture with a bit of liquid dish detergent added. Avoid using kitchen cleansers on the plastics used in your monitor case.