Keeping your laptop clean can prevent it from developing serious hardware problems and malfunctions as time goes on due to dust build-up. But, when we talk about cleaning your laptop thoroughly, we are not referring to keeping just the exterior clean. There are also other aspects of its interior that we must take care of with special care since not doing so can end up affecting the overall performance of the laptop. Therefore, in this tutorial, we will show you how to keep your laptop clean.
Cleaning the Inside of the Laptop
Let’s start with the most delicate part of the cleaning process of your laptop: cleaning the inside of it. And what we must do is clean the dust that accumulates in the ventilation grilles of the laptop. This will allow the temperatures of the processor and the graphics card (in the case of carrying a dedicated one inside) to drop considerably.
To perform this type of cleaning, the first thing we must find out is if our unit allows easy access to the fans. If yes, we will unscrew the lid that covers them and clean the accumulated dust with a brush or brush.
The problem is that the vast majority of modern laptops do not have this option. In this case, we have two ways to perform the cleaning:
- Disassemble the laptop, so that we gain access to the interior of it and we can carry out the cleaning as we have already explained previously. This would be the best way.
- Use a compressed air canister to blow the dust accumulated on the fan. We will do this by pointing the cannula of the boat at the hot air outlet grids and blowing the air. With this, we will get the dust to peel off.
It is true that the second method is only a temporary cleaning solution, which can help in short period of time. But keep in mind that, in reality, we are not dusting off, we are just “changing the place” of dirt inside the laptop.
Cleaning the Outside of the Laptop
Cleaning the outside of your laptop is also quite important. This involves cleaning the keys of the same, as well as its screen and the outer shell.
Clean the Keyboard Keys
To clean the keys of one of these devices, and leave them as new, we will need:
- Compressed air bottle
- Microfiber cloth
- Cotton buds
- Isopropyl alcohol
We will start the cleaning with compressed air. We will blow under the keys of the laptop, making short presses, in order not to generate condensation in the area of the switches. Once this step is finished, we will pass the microfiber cloth, to collect all the dust (and food remains) that will have been released. And we will finish this cleaning process using the cotton buds, moistened in isopropyl alcohol. With this last step we can thoroughly clean both the surface of the keys and the areas that remain between them.
It is important that you do not use homemade cleaning products to clean the laptop, since they usually use quite aggressive chemicals with the plastic of the keys. Just as you do not use vinegar instead of isopropyl alcohol, since it can filter between the gaps and corrode the electrical contacts.
Clean the Screen
Cleaning the screen is the easiest thing about this cleaning process. You’re just going to need a clean microfiber cloth. Do not use household cleaning products, as they are very aggressive with the coating of the screen. Do not use cotton rags either, since they can grate the screen. And you also don’t need some of those products that claim to clean the laptop screen. Just a microfiber cloth will be more than enough.
The first thing you will need is to have the screen at room temperature. Therefore, it is better to do this cleaning with the laptop turned off. If the screen is extremely dirty with dust, you can help with a few pulses of compressed air.
Now, you will use the microfiber cloth and pass it through the screen vertically or horizontally. Do not do it in a circular direction. You must make wide movements and, very importantly, without squeezing. In case you find grease or food stains on the surface of the screen, you can moisten the microfiber with a little isopropyl alcohol to remove them.
Clean the Laptop Case
The final step to leave our equipment completely clean is to clean the outer shell. For this we will use a microfiber cloth, slightly moistened in vinegar or isopropyl alcohol. With the cloth moistened, we will proceed to rub the entire external face of the laptop until it is clean.
And with this last step, we will have finished cleaning our laptop. If you do not let a lot of time pass between cleanings, this will be quite fast. Now, if you let a lot of time pass, it will take you some time to get a decent result so clean your laptop regularly.
