Cleaning
the Unit Fan is Essential Computer Care
Between
taking care of the household, the kids, the pets, and the district PTA,
computer care is probably one of the last things that you think of doing on a
regular basis. Without a regular maintenance
schedule however, you could find out (the hard way) that a neglected computer
is an energy hog – one that works harder than it needs to and one that could be
a financial burden to replace.
Let’s
talk about maintaining hardware. So much
emphasis is put on maintaining a computer’s operating system that we sometimes
forget how important it is to maintain a computer’s hardware components. Since
there can be quite a few components to take care of, let’s talk about the most
important one.
The
most important component of a computer’s hardware system is its fan. The fan is
located on the computer’s CPU unit and when that thing gets clogged with dirt
and dust, it can run down a computer faster than you can say, “Something’s
wrong with my computer and I don’t know what it is!” In short, the fan is
responsible for keeping a computer’s motor cool and this motor is what keeps
the computer’s hard drive and peripherals functioning the way you need them to,
which translates to “fast.”
A
dirty fan doesn’t rotate fast enough to keep that motor cool and a completely
clogged fan just stops rotating altogether. This causes the computer’s motor to
work harder - and a harder working motor can raise the electric bill! Worst
case scenario: the motor can overheat and stop working as well. No motor equals
no computer.
Keep
your computer’s fan clean by preventing the fan from getting dirty or dusty in
the first place. Use the computer in a dust-free environment and never smoke
around it. Nicotine and tar mean certain death when it comes to computer fans,
however should you find a need to clean the fan, do so with extreme care.
It’s quite easy to cause more damage from
cleaning so if you’re not comfortable with cleaning your PC yourself, take it
to a shop for servicing. Otherwise, you can unplug and disassemble the computer
to do it yourself.
You’ll need a can of compressed air and an anti-static rag
to remove stubborn clumps of dust. Hold the can perfectly vertical and spray
the fan being careful not to spray the dust off the fan onto other sensitive
parts of the computer like circuit boards or inside the motor casing. Wipe up
remaining dust with your anti-static rag and then reassemble the computer.
One
thing that you certainly don’t want to use to remove computer dust is a vacuum
cleaner. Although using a vacuum cleaner seems to make more sense, the strong
suction of a vacuum cleaner can actually spark damaging static electricity or
dislodge loose cables. You also don’t want to use oil-based cleaners. Although
Pledge may dust your wooden tables and cabinets to a perfect shine, the oil
inside a cleaner like this will erode sensitive computer parts. Stick to a
liquid-free dusting method and your dusting routine will be safe enough to
repeat as often as you need.
As
previously mentioned, preventing dust from entering the computer is extremely
important and will reduce the need to open and dust your system in the first
place. The severity of outside elements (smoking, humidity, pets, etc.) will
ultimately determine how often you’ll need to de-dust your machine. But as an
average, you shouldn’t need to perform this procedure any more than once or
twice a year.
The
entire exercise should take no more than twenty minutes tops and once complete,
you’ll immediately see and hear the difference in your machine. The computer’s
keyboard and mouse will run more smoothly, hardware won’t take as long to
connect, and the entire machine won’t be as loud as one that’s corroded with
ugly dust bunnies.
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