Laptop cleaning & maintainance ...?

[d3500ram]

I want to keep the new laptop purchase in clean and good order.
The compressed air does only so much and am considering a dedicated mini vacuum along with a gentle brush. There are an awful lot of selections from which to choose.

What do y'all use for a computer vac?

I am also considering getting the rubber plugs that cover up the chassis slots when not in use (but am almost certain those will eventually get lost over time)

Any other good recommendations?

[macjom]

For the screen, you can use a solution designed for TVs and desktop monitors.

[austinjenna]

i find can air at best mediocre, i actually use my air compressor, been doing it for 20 years at this point

I do the same thing

[fj12ryder]

For most people canned air is the easiest and best solution. There's a lot of air compressors out there without dryers on them, and can end up spraying water, or oil, or a little of both.

[LittleBill]

i find can air at best mediocre, i actually use my air compressor, been doing it for 20 years at this point, the number one thing to blow out is the fan intake, generally on the bottom and on the side, just be careful not to over speed the fan, outside of that not much is needed.

[garry1p]

I agree canned air is all you need laptops are up off the floor and do not get as much dust as the computer sitting on the floor.

Don't overthink think this you may end up doing more damage then the dust.

[theoldwizard1]

While you have the canned air out, thoroughly blow out the air vents in your laptop from both directions. It will run cooler.

[trb46]

I will occasionally use canned air to blow out the keyboard, and I’m amazed (and embarrassed) at the stuff that comes out.

[theoldwizard1]

I use Read Right Kleen and Dry wipes on all parts of my laptop. They work great. Depending on the style of keyboard, you may need to blow out under the keys first.

[fj12ryder]

If you have pets or the house is open to the outside it can be necessary to be extra clean, but no pets and closed up house, not such a big deal. Blow it out with canned air every once in a while, and don't eat and drink while using it.

Absolutely agree with not opening the case unless you're familiar with the process. Easy to break plastic pieces for little benefit.

[obgraham]

I've had a couple of those little vacs over the years. Useless, IMHO. A can of air will do a much better job. I would open whatever screwed-on access panels there are and blow out what I can get.

Opening the case to really get in there brings the possibility of doing more harm than good. Sometimes components are glued or taped to the case.

[Jim]

Not really a brand hound myself, but I'd look for any small vac that has a black hose AND has both a suck and blow connection for the hose. That hose will often have been made with carbon black to color it and carbon is good for dissipating static. You're looking for a vacuum that has the marketing blerb "static dissipating" or "low static" or some such.

Then when I do a laptop cleanout, if it's low humidity, I'll spay a fine mist of distilled water (an RV'er should carry some already for the batteries) about 12" over the laptop.

Then I'll use both the suction & blower to get as much dust and dirt out as possible. Sometimes I'll remove the CPU and really go to town on the heat sink with alcohol and a toothbrush.

The whole idea is to get the dust and dirt off of the heat sinks and fan blades and sometimes, with some designs of laptops, you're going to have to open the case to do a good job. And that sometimes means taking it to a computer shop.

[MitchF150]

Other than in a work place environment, I've never had the need to worry about such a thing..

My users in my corporate environment go thru more keyboards and mice than I can count... 🙂

Home use, unless you are eating cookies and spilling Coke, coffee, water, etc on your laptop, you should be fine with just compressed air at the most to get rid of the dust at most..

Good luck!

Mitch