cleaning inside PC with vacuum cleaner

[Patches Forever]

I once read that cleaning inside the PC case with a vacuum cleaner creates a
hazard of electrostatic discharge (ESD). I have never done it. I have
always found other ways to accomplish the cleaning I wanted to do, however
I'm thinking a vacuum cleaner might be OK depending on how it's used. Two
situations where it would be handy is for cleaning dusty memory slots before
installing memory, and also for cleaning CPU heatsinks that are full of
dust. Often I don't have a can of pressurized air with me. Also it would
be nice not to be spending money on cans of air.

I could make a vacuum cleaner attachment out of a long piece of clear
plastic tubing with a piece of small diameter metal tubing at the end. The
metal tubing would be the end used to suck the dust out of the case. If I
keep the metal tubing grounded to the PC case it seems that would prevent
ESD from occurring at the end of the tube - i.e. the end close to the PC
hardware. Does anyone here know if this idea is a safe thing to be doing?
Maybe people do it all the time. I don't know.

TIA. Bill S.

 

[Trimble Bracegirdle]

Cleaning PC in sides with Vacuum cleaner ...Blow not Suck .
Mouse
@@@

 

[John Doe]

Cleaning PC in sides with Vacuum cleaner ...Blow not Suck .
Mouse

Blowing is not less harmful, AFAIK.

 

[Rod Speed]

Trimble Bracegirdle <no-spam Spam.Not> wrote

Blowing is not less harmful, AFAIK.

Blowing reduces the risk of sucking a loose jumper off etc.

Bit more likely to cause a static problem tho.

 

[chuber]

Bill -
My neighbors at work are network techs (install for Fortune 500 Co's
so are very qualified) and they use an electric leaf blower. They
remove the case, and blow the heck out of it. They do it on all our
machines too and never had a single problem.

 

[Mike T.]

Bill -
My neighbors at work are network techs (install for Fortune 500 Co's
so are very qualified) and they use an electric leaf blower. They
remove the case, and blow the heck out of it. They do it on all our
machines too and never had a single problem.

That would probably work OK, as long as the business end of the leaf blower
was never closer than a foot away from any electronics component. The
problem with the vacuum cleaner is that it (just like a leaf blower) will
create gobs of static electricity, but the air pressure (from the vacuum
cleaner on suck OR blow mode) isn't sufficient to keep that static
electricity far enough away from the delicate electronics. So you have
people shoving all that static electricity right into components that can't
handle it. -Dave

 

[Mike T.]

I once read that cleaning inside the PC case with a vacuum cleaner creates
a hazard of electrostatic discharge (ESD).

No shit.

I have never done it.

Well, he's smarter than the average bear, so far.

I have always found other ways to accomplish the cleaning I wanted to do,
however I'm thinking a vacuum cleaner might be OK depending on how it's
used. Two situations where it would be handy is for cleaning dusty memory
slots before installing memory,

Well you were looking for an excuse to buy a new mainboard anyway, right?

and also for cleaning CPU heatsinks that are full of dust.

Ummmmmm . . . no

Often I don't have a can of pressurized air with me. Also it would be
nice not to be spending money on cans of air.

Well q-tips and 100% rubbing alcohol works better than compressed air,
though it's more time-consuming

I could make a vacuum cleaner attachment out of a long piece of clear
plastic tubing with a piece of small diameter metal tubing at the end.

What a great static electricity conductor!!! You really hate your computer,
don't you?

The metal tubing would be the end used to suck the dust out of the case.
If I keep the metal tubing grounded to the PC case it seems that would
prevent ESD from occurring at the end of the tube

Unfortunately, the case is ground for some components. Instead of zapping
the components from the top, you'd be zapping them from the bottom. That
is, unless the case is connected very well to EARTH ground. That is, with a
long metal pole driven into the earth. -Dave

 

[Mike T.]

Blowing is not less harmful, AFAIK.

That is correct.

 

[Tal Fuchs]

I never had any problem using a vacum cleaner taking the dust out of the
case.
New computer parts are much less sensitive to electrostatic as was few years
ago.
I don't suggest you to do it in very dry air, that will cause a lot of
electrostatic though.
Don't do it in a strong suck cause this might suck loose jumpers.

Don't you think that the high speed turning fans that blow air in, out and
inside the case are doing exactly the same ?

 

[JAD]

Bill -
My neighbors at work are network techs (install for Fortune 500 Co's
so are very qualified)

not if they use a leaf blower..sorry...that is the stupidest thing I have heard so far. I
bet the cleaning crew just luv them. Blowing all that crap all over the place.


and they use an electric leaf blower. They

 

[Mike T.]

not if they use a leaf blower..sorry...that is the stupidest thing I have
heard so far. I bet the cleaning crew just luv them. Blowing all that crap
all over the place.

Well any professional shop would use low-pressure compressed air running off
of a small air compressor. What's the difference? Not a lot. Either one
is going to blow crap all over the place. I've never used a leaf blower
myself, but if used correctly, it would probably do a good job. Besides,
who says you have to blow dust out of computers INDOORS???? Just as easy to
step out the side door momentarily. -Dave

 

[johns]

I've used an electric leaf blower for years
with no problems .. other than the floor crew
just loves me I take the whole outfit to
the hallway, and woof the heck out of it.

As for static ... no leaf blower creates static
of any kind. What it can create is a whopping
big magnetic field that gets into the AC line
if it is close enough. So make sure you unplug
the PC from any power outlet. And it's a good
idea to have surge suppressors on all gear.
Most offices do, but homes don't ... and you
can whack your TV good. Same applies to
a big vaccuum cleaner. That motor is just as
bad, but they tend to shield it better. The
generic leaf blower is not magnetically shielded
at all.

johns

 

[Trimble Bracegirdle]

The blowing / sucking with whatever device is not likely to deal with
dust muck that gets right into the CPU & Graphic card Fan Blades ..
The poking around with a stick (I use a big headed artists paintbrush)
is the only way .
Mouse
@@@

 

[DaveW]

Not a good idea. ALL tech people use a can of compressed air to SAFELY
clean out the case.

 

[John Weiss]

I once read that cleaning inside the PC case with a vacuum cleaner creates
a hazard of electrostatic discharge (ESD).

.. . .

Does anyone here know if this idea is a safe thing to be doing? Maybe
people do it all the time. I don't know.

I do it all the time. I even use a regular size vacuum on occasion, though
I usually use a portable vacuum.

I have heard of the ESD potential, but have never had problems with it in
20+ years.

 

[Larry Roberts]

Bill -
My neighbors at work are network techs (install for Fortune 500 Co's
so are very qualified) and they use an electric leaf blower. They
remove the case, and blow the heck out of it. They do it on all our
machines too and never had a single problem.

Wow. Just last week, I was watching a local mourning news
broadcast, and they had a local area Linux User Group guy on the show
answering computer questions from callers. Someone called with a
question on ways of dusting out the inside of computers. He suggested
the leaf blower as well.

 

[Larry Roberts]

No shit.

I have been doing this for years. I've never had a problem
yet. Has anyone ever fried a computer part by vacuuming dust from it?
I'm asking everyone...

 

[Larry Roberts]

I never had any problem using a vacum cleaner taking the dust out of the
case.
New computer parts are much less sensitive to electrostatic as was few years
ago.
I don't suggest you to do it in very dry air, that will cause a lot of
electrostatic though.

I've never had a problem doing this either, but the air is
usally humid here in the South, so maybe that's why I've never damaged
anything over the years.

 

[Marty]

I once read that cleaning inside the PC case with a vacuum cleaner creates a
hazard of electrostatic discharge (ESD). I have never done it. I have
always found other ways to accomplish the cleaning I wanted to do, however
I'm thinking a vacuum cleaner might be OK depending on how it's used. Two
situations where it would be handy is for cleaning dusty memory slots before
installing memory, and also for cleaning CPU heatsinks that are full of
dust. Often I don't have a can of pressurized air with me. Also it would
be nice not to be spending money on cans of air.

I could make a vacuum cleaner attachment out of a long piece of clear
plastic tubing with a piece of small diameter metal tubing at the end. The
metal tubing would be the end used to suck the dust out of the case. If I
keep the metal tubing grounded to the PC case it seems that would prevent
ESD from occurring at the end of the tube - i.e. the end close to the PC
hardware. Does anyone here know if this idea is a safe thing to be doing?
Maybe people do it all the time. I don't know.

TIA. Bill S.

I have been using a small all plastic shop vac for the last 3 years and
have never had a problem....i use a horsehair brush that was made for
electronics on the end of the hose. Works great and keeps all that dust
crap out of my nose.

 

[JAD]

I have been doing this for years. I've never had a problem
yet. Has anyone ever fried a computer part by vacuuming dust from it?
I'm asking everyone...

Trouble with that is, a discharge doesn't nessarally 'kill' a component, or show up right
away. Could manifest itself later or only when a certain operation is requested. Sometimes
it can blow a big hole right through it.