With your busy lifestyle, juggling tasks like taking the kids to school, shopping and generally looking after the house the last thing you want is another job. But, sadly it’s a job which will have to be done unless you want a dead computer.

I am talking about cleaning and in particular the dust inside your computer. Yes that does need cleaning sometimes as over time dust gets into it and can eventually cause damage. Dust will also make the computer run slower and get hot quicker as it clogs the fans and slows them down. This in turn means the parts of the computer that need cooling down are not cooled and instead get hotter. Dust inside a computer and resting on top of a circuit board can short circuit the computer and as you have probably gathered stop working.

Inside the case could be full of wires so be careful

There are two ways in which you can clean dust inside a computer. The first ways is by taking it to a computer shop and have them do it. They will charge you and it will mean being without you’re computer, probably for a couple of days. The other option is to do it yourself. Now don’t be alarmed, this task is actually quite straightforward and, well, easy. But there are some things you will need and do before you open up the case and perform surgery.

First of all you will need an anti-static wrist strap. This is to be worn and clipped to the computer case once the side panel is removed as static from your body can kill a computer. The second is an anti-static rag for wiping up any residual dust. A tin of compressed air is also needed as is a small screwdriver to unscrew the screws holding the side panel in place.

Once you have those items you will need to shut down the computer and unplug it from the mains and the back of the computer. Before shutting down just check with other members of the household that they aren’t running any programs while the computer is idle. Some people run anti-virus programs while they are out or at work as they can take a few hours.

Now it’s a matter of opening the side panel with a small screwdriver. There are usually 2 screws holding the panel in place so undo those and slide the side off. Once you have the panel off and hooked yourself up to the case with the wrist band take the can of air and spray it onto the CPU fan. Be careful not to get dust onto any other part of the computer as you spray. Once the dust has been removed any remaining particles can be wiped away using the rag. If dust has settled elsewhere inside then a quick blast with the can of air should suffice or wipe away with the rag, but do be careful as you don’t want to damage or loosen anything. All you need do now is unhook yourself and replace the side panel.

People think they can use a vacuum cleaner to remove the dust but that is not recommended. A vacuum cleaner can cause static to build up on the circuit boards, loosen parts or suck them up at worst.

Don’t be afraid of taking off the side panel and getting dirty by cleaning dust inside a computer. In the long run the computer will thank you by running cooler, quietly and more efficiently. You will also have a computer that will last longer too.