How Often Should You Clean Dust From PC? Answered

Cleaning electronic devices extends their life and improves their performance.

Your computer system (PC) requires periodic cleaning to keep working. The PC contains hardware components like the motherboard, GPU, RAM, and fans, which also require proper cleaning to function. Without cleaning your components, dust will accumulate and may cause problems.

These problems include malfunctions and slow performance. All these problems ultimately lead to the death of hardware components. You can avoid the situation by properly cleaning your PC. Here we have discussed a thorough guide on how you can clean your PC in the best way possible. 

How Often Should You Clean Dust From Pc?

For proper cleaning, you should clean your PC every 2 to 3 months. This cleaning includes the CPU, GPU, fans, motherboard, power supply, monitor, and computer case.  Cleaning PC every 2 to 3 months will prevent dust accumulation and your hardware will last long.

Cleaning is essential for your PC if you want it to last a long time. The accumulation of dust over time reduces the performance of your hardware. Fans in hardware such as GPUs are used to cool the internal components; however, dust accumulates on these fans, causing resistance. As a result, the fan’s performance decreased, resulting in GPU overheating. 

Similarly, your PC case has fans to extract the internal heat. The same thing happens with these fans, and the buildup of heat in the PC affects the performance of all components. Moreover, other important hardware, like monitors, also gets affected by heat. Monitors have breathing holes for airflow. 

If these breathing holes become clogged with dust, your monitor may overheat. Overheating damages the base components of any PCB (printed circuit board), such as capacitors, ICs, and resistors. To avoid these problems, thoroughly clean your computer every 2 to 3 months. 

7 Essential Things To Do When Cleaning a PC

Cleaning your PC is a daunting task that needs precision, as many components are fragile and need special handling. Moreover, cleaning your PC requires proper tools and procedures to perform. Here we have a step-by-step guide for each component so you may not damage anything.

1. Disassemble All Components

The first thing to do is disassemble the hardware components, like the PSU, RAMs, GPU, fans, motherboard, etc. The best way to clean your PC is to disassemble it, clean the components separately, and reassemble it. This type of cleaning lasts for months.

So, carefully remove the wires of components like the PSU and hard drive from your motherboard, then remove the hard drive carefully. You must remove RAM from the RAM slots and start unscrewing case fans. 

Once these components have been removed, unscrew the CPU fan and remove it. Now you must remove the PSU carefully by unscrewing it from the back of your case. Finally, carefully remove the motherboard by unscrewing the screws on the board.

2. Clean Power Supply Unit (PSU)

The power supply unit (PSU), also known as the power supply, is the heart of your computer. It supplies the current to all other hardware components, including the CPU, GPU, motherboard, hard drive, etc. This component has a fan and a circuit board in it. 

These components are enclosed in a metallic body; you don’t have to open them to clean them. Using an air blower to clean the power supply is the most effective method. So, carefully turn the blower to low airflow and use it from the power supply’s fan side. It will remove all the dirt from the supply.

3. Clean GPU (Graphics processing unit)

GPUs are of two major types, one with a single fan and the other with two fans. When cleaning either type of GPU, special care must be taken. It’s because GPU fans are delicate and easily damaged by high air pressure. So, before using the air, clean the dust with a soft-bristled brush. 

After using the brush to remove the dust from the fans and PCB, you should use an air blower to remove any remaining dust. You can also use canned air to remove this loosely attached dust, as canned air has lower pressure than an air blower. 

4. Clean RAMs

RAMs store temporary data so you can access any application instantly. RAM consists of ICs and other small components. These components are very fragile. Just use a clean cloth to clean your RAM and blow some canned air. 

RAM connectors also get carbon rust on them. This carbon rust can be removed using an ordinary pencil eraser. Rub the eraser on the golden connectors, and they will be shiny again. The current previously restricted by carbon rust can flow freely, increasing the RAM’s efficiency.

5. Clean Motherboard

The motherboard has all the hardware components on it. Connector sites on the motherboard connect the GPU, power supply, RAM, CPU, etc. These connectors often get filled with dust and debris. This dust hampers current flow and connectivity. 

So, use the air blower to remove the dust from the motherboard. Then use the canned air to remove dust from the connectors. Moreover, blow air on the back of the motherboard to clean both slides. 

Note: Never use any cloth to wipe away dust because your motherboard contains numerous tiny components that could be damaged if the cloth were to come into contact with them.

6. Clean Monitor

Monitors often get dust in the breathing hole and all over the monitor’s circuit. This dust generates heat inside the monitor, ultimately leading to the monitor overheating and becoming damaged. Cleaning your monitor is also crucial when cleaning the whole PC.

First, use a clean cloth to clean your monitor’s screen and back. The next step is to use the air blower to remove the internal dust from the monitor by blowing air into the breathing holes of the monitor. 

7. Clean Keyboard

Cleaning your keyboard is a tricky task. We often eat food near our PC while watching movies. The food particles get stuck in the keyboard, and these particles cause problems. To clean your keyboard, remove the button if you have a mechanical keyboard. 

Then use canned air to clean the keys. Assemble your keyboard again. You can also use 93% ethanol with cotton. It will remove all the accumulated stains from your keyboard.

What Are The Precautions To Take Before Cleaning Your PC?

Cleaning your PC is not easy, especially when you don’t know how to start it. There are a few precautionary steps you must take before cleaning your PC. These steps ensure the safety of your hardware components and stored data. So, let’s know what they are. 

1. Create Back Of Your Data

It is imperative that you create a backup of all of your data before you disassemble your computer. It will protect your data in the event that something goes wrong. You can create a backup on another device or Cloud storage. You can restore the backup after cleaning your PC.

2. Disconnect All External Devices

External devices include speakers, USB flash drives, Bluetooth, monitors, and cables. Ensure you have removed all external devices connected to your computer before cleaning it. 

If you fail to do that, you could potentially cause a short circuit if you touch the device’s internal components. Also, unplug your computer from all power sources. It will save it from a power surge or short circuit. 

3. Use Static Wire To Ground

Always ground yourself before touching any electronic device, including the PC. There are static bands available in markets that you can use to ground yourself before starting the cleaning. It also ensures that the current doesn’t flow into the components and causes a short circuit.

Does Cleaning Your PC Increase Gaming Performance?

No doubt, cleaning your PC can help improve gaming performance. It can improve the speed and stability of your gaming experience and reduce the risk of hardware failure. First, check your computer’s physical components for dust and debris. 

Dust can clog up cooling fans, increasing temperature, ultimately leading to component damage and slowing down gaming performance. The performance of the hardware is negatively impacted when the temperature is high because the individual components do not give their best effort.

Therefore, cleaning your computer will decrease the amount of thermal throttling and overheating, increasing your gaming performance, specifically your frames per second and internet speed. 

How to Prevent Your Pc From Getting So Dusty?

You can invest in a dust filter for your PC’s case. It will help stop dust particles from getting inside. These dust filters can stop debris and dust from entering your PC case or fans. These filters are made of fine nets, restricting the huge dust particles from getting into the fans.

Make sure the room you have your PC in is always kept clean and tidy. Vacuum regularly to reduce the amount of dust in the air. It will keep dust away from your PC, too. Use a can of compressed air to periodically blow out dust from the inside of the PC. You can also use a blower to do this job.

Consider investing in a humidifier for the room your PC is in. It will help reduce the dust in the air. Always place your PC in a well-ventilated area. It will reduce the overheating issue and keep your PC ventilated.

Conclusion

Cleaning your PC is an important task and should not be taken lightly. It is essential for the functioning and longevity of your computer. Dust and debris can cause hardware damage, malfunctions, and even fire. Therefore, you should clean your PC every 2 to 3 months. 

Cleaning your PC requires the proper tools and procedures to be followed. It is important to take the necessary precautions before cleaning the PC. Before cleaning, you must back up your data, turn off any external devices, and ground yourself. 

Proper PC cleaning includes cleaning the power supply unit, GPU, RAMs, motherboard, monitor, and keyboard. Each component has its cleaning method, and you should use the best tool for each component. Cleaning your PC can help you play games better and reduce the chance of breaking your hardware. 

To prevent your PC from getting dusty, you should invest in a dust filter for your PC case, keep the room clean and tidy, use a can of compressed air to blow out dust from the inside of the PC and invest in a humidifier for the room your PC is in. 

Overall, cleaning your PC is essential and should not be neglected. Proper cleaning of your PC will ensure that.