Blowing dust out of the case

[Mxsmanic]

Apart from turning the computer off and disconnecting the power cord,
is there anything I should keep in mind if I want to blow dust out of
the case with a can of Dust-Off? Is there any reason why doing this
would be hazardous to any part of the machine?

About the only thing I can think of is that disk drives don't like
dust, so I must take care not to blow dust directly towards the
drives. I suppose I should be careful not to subject the components
to extremely cold blasts from the can, although if you hold the can
upright it normally isn't that cold.

Overall it seems safer to try to blow dust out of the cash than to try
to remove it with a brush or something, which would risk building up
static or shorting something out (like a capacitor or something).

 

[Jim]

Only one additional suggestion, do it OUTSIDE! You wouldn't believe the
amount of dust my PCs collect here in the desert southwest,
unnnnnnnnnnnbelievable.

Jim

 

[ToolPackinMama]

Apart from turning the computer off and disconnecting the power cord,
is there anything I should keep in mind if I want to blow dust out of
the case with a can of Dust-Off? Is there any reason why doing this
would be hazardous

Take it outside, and don't breathe that stuff.

 

[JAD]

Apart from turning the computer off and disconnecting the power cord,
is there anything I should keep in mind if I want to blow dust out of
the case with a can of Dust-Off? Is there any reason why doing this
would be hazardous to any part of the machine?

About the only thing I can think of is that disk drives don't like
dust, so I must take care not to blow dust directly towards the
drives. I suppose I should be careful not to subject the components
to extremely cold blasts from the can, although if you hold the can
upright it normally isn't that cold.

Overall it seems safer to try to blow dust out of the cash than to try
to remove it with a brush or something, which would risk building up
static or shorting something out (like a capacitor or something).

-

take it outside but don't use a leaf blower
-

 

[BruceM]

My mates got a 420PSI compressor...........
You ought to see those little fans perform.....
Feel sorry for the customers though..............

 

[Blinky the Shark]

take it outside but don't use a leaf blower

What if he's using leafnode?

 

[johns]

I use a leaf blower .. outside all the time. I think DustOff is kind
of expensive and no pressure. Just stand a little bit back with
the leaf blower. Also get the back of the power supply.

johns

 

[John Doe]

I use a leaf blower .. outside all the time. I think DustOff is kind
of expensive and no pressure. Just stand a little bit back with
the leaf blower.

There is an idea. Probably better on a calm wind day to lessen the risk
of dirt being blasted into your mainboard.

Also get the back of the power supply.

I do the power supply air vents with a vacuum cleaner.

 

[BP]

Take it outside, and don't breathe that stuff.

Why? It's the stuff you breath every day, just concentrated!

 

[BP]

Yep. I use a nail gun compressor. I do the whole office: computers,
printers, counters, desks, books, behind the monitor, the tangle of cords
under the desk, the spider webs in the windows, everything. Then after
everything settles (about 1 beer) I dust up the flat surfaces with a damp
rag and vacuum the floor and I'm done. At least twice a year. Drives the
wife crazy. "You can't clean like that" she says. "Stay away from my
office!" I say.

 

[spodosaurus]

Why? It's the stuff you breath every day, just concentrated!

Not all of it. Now why don't you suck on some carbon monoxide...after
all, you breath it every day, what's wrong with breathing it concentrated?

--
spammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in
hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone
marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow
transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

 

[Mxsmanic]

Not all of it.

Almost all of it. Most of it, in fact, is bits of skin from your own
body.

How about holding a vacuum cleaner nearby while blowing it clean? It
would be an extreme pain to disconnect the entire machine and take it
outside.

 

[spodosaurus]

spodosaurus writes:




Almost all of it. Most of it, in fact, is bits of skin from your own
body.

IIRC, there are some fire retardant chemicals being dusted on
cards/boards still that aren't very nice to be breathing in. However,
what you'll find along with those dessicated bits of sloughed skin are
fungal and bacterial spores that just LOVE to get into your sinuses and
cause trouble. But hey, if you like sinus infections, knock yourself out

How about holding a vacuum cleaner nearby while blowing it clean? It
would be an extreme pain to disconnect the entire machine and take it
outside.

--
spammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in
hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone
marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow
transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

 

[BP]

Not all of it. Now why don't you suck on some carbon monoxide...after all,
you breath it every day, what's wrong with breathing it concentrated?

That's a poor analogy. You are exaggerating the danger and treating them
equally. Faulty logic.
You don't stick around and TRY and breath the stuff anyway. (Common sense.
Or no?)

My personal opinion (which you are welcome to disagree with) is that the
incidence of allergy and other respiratory ailments increasingly common
today is caused, in part, by a whole group of humans raised in clean-room
environments. Couple that with increasingly toxic air and you've got Darwin
knocking at your door.

 

[David Maynard]

That's a poor analogy. You are exaggerating the danger and treating them
equally. Faulty logic.
You don't stick around and TRY and breath the stuff anyway. (Common sense.
Or no?)

My personal opinion (which you are welcome to disagree with) is that the
incidence of allergy and other respiratory ailments increasingly common
today is caused, in part, by a whole group of humans raised in clean-room
environments. Couple that with increasingly toxic air and you've got Darwin
knocking at your door.

Actually, there *has* been some research and suggestion that 'too clean'
during childhood results in lowered immunity in adulthood.

 

[spodosaurus]

Actually, there *has* been some research and suggestion that 'too clean'
during childhood results in lowered immunity in adulthood.

But snorting junk from computer cases in adulthood (or childhood) is not
a bright idea, any way you go about it. There's also research that these
antibacterial soaps are no more antibacterial than regular soap...but
cost more! Basically, have pets, let the kids get dirty, and just teach
them to wash up before they eat.

--
spammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in
hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone
marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow
transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

 

[spodosaurus]

That's a poor analogy. You are exaggerating the danger and treating them
equally. Faulty logic.

No, it isn't. The point was that concentration matters. I illustrated
that point well without having to list a bunch of technical references
to chemistry and microbiology that most people wouldn't understand.

You don't stick around and TRY and breath the stuff anyway. (Common sense.
Or no?)

Have you seen warning labels on common household products? I think
common sense never really existed for 90% of the gene pool.

My personal opinion (which you are welcome to disagree with) is that the
incidence of allergy and other respiratory ailments increasingly common
today is caused, in part, by a whole group of humans raised in clean-room
environments. Couple that with increasingly toxic air and you've got Darwin
knocking at your door.

And that does not apply to acute sinus or URT troubles from sniffing in
concentrated irritants and potentially infectious agents (see references
to infectious dose, which I deliberately left out because it just gets
technical in a way that's fairly off topic).

Cheers,

Ari


--
spammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in
hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone
marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow
transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

 

[David Maynard]

But snorting junk from computer cases in adulthood (or childhood) is not
a bright idea, any way you go about it.

Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest that it was.

There's also research that these
antibacterial soaps are no more antibacterial than regular soap...but
cost more! Basically, have pets, let the kids get dirty, and just teach
them to wash up before they eat.

Yup.

 

[David Maynard]

No, it isn't. The point was that concentration matters. I illustrated
that point well without having to list a bunch of technical references
to chemistry and microbiology that most people wouldn't understand.



Have you seen warning labels on common household products? I think
common sense never really existed for 90% of the gene pool.

It just doesn't exist for 90% of the trial lawyers.

I mean, seriously, a 'warning' on sleeping pills that they "may cause
drowsiness?"

 

[rhys]

Yep. I use a nail gun compressor. I do the whole office: computers,
printers, counters, desks, books, behind the monitor, the tangle of cords
under the desk, the spider webs in the windows, everything. Then after
everything settles (about 1 beer) I dust up the flat surfaces with a damp
rag and vacuum the floor and I'm done. At least twice a year. Drives the
wife crazy. "You can't clean like that" she says. "Stay away from my
office!" I say.

I approve of both your technique and your method of measuring time
<urp>.

R.