Do you want to clean your computer but don’t want to use a costly accessory like a can of compressed air? Luckily, you can wipe the dust off the PC’s internal and external components without it effortlessly.
To clean dust from your PC without compressed air, remove the case and use a toothbrush or paintbrush and alcohol-dipped cotton swabs to clean filters, panels, mounted fans, heatsink, GPU, PSU, and the motherboard. You can also use a blow dryer, vacuum cleaner, or silicone blower.
To simplify the task for you, we have written a comprehensive guide on how to clean dust from a PC without compressed air with easy-to-follow instructions.
Cleaning Dust From Your PC Without Compressed Air
If you don’t know how to clean dust from your PC without compressed air, our following four step-by-step methods will help you go through the entire process without much trouble.
Method #1: Using an Old Brush, Microfiber Cloth, and Isopropyl Alcohol
With these detailed steps, you can clean the dust from the internal and external PC components using an old toothbrush or paintbrush.
Step #1: Arrange the Accessories and Disassemble the PC Case
In the first step, arrange the necessary accessories to use with the brush. You’ll need a screwdriver to disassemble your PC case, Isopropyl alcohol, a few cotton swabs or pads, and a piece of microfiber cloth.
Next, turn off your computer, unplug it from the main power source, and let it cool for some time. Now, remove the case’s side panel with a screwdriver, then take off other panels and filters that are not fitted to the case.
Step #2: Clean Dust From Filters, Panels, and Mounted Fans
Take the panels and filters outside and tap them to remove the upper layer of dust. Now, grab the brush or the microfiber cloth and wipe the remaining dust from the space inside the case. Next, clean the corners, small spots, and fans mounted in the case using a cotton swab dipped in Isopropyl alcohol.
If the fan blades are hard to reach, remove them from the case for convenient cleaning.
Step #3: Clean Dust From the Heatsink
In the next step, clean the dust from the CPU cooler and sockets. To do this, disconnect the cooler from the motherboard, and detach it.
Use the toothbrush to clean the heatsink fins and remove the remaining dust with an alcohol-dipped cotton swab.
Next, let the cooler sit for a couple of hours to dry up the moisture, and use the brush again to clean the dust on the socket before reinstalling the cooler back to the case.
Step #4: Clean Dust From the Graphics Card
After cleaning the heatsink, take the graphics card out of the case. Use an alcohol-dipped cotton swab or pad to remove the dust from the card’s fan blades.
Next, take the microfiber cloth and clean the dust off the plates at the back of the graphics card.
If your graphics card does not have a backplate, clean it gently so you don’t damage the card’s circuit board.
Step #5: Clean Dust From the Power Supply
Although you can clean the computer power supply unit with the case on, detaching it from the case is best to remove all the dust. Once the PSU is out, use the toothbrush to remove all the accumulated dust, and use the cotton swabs dipped in alcohol to clean the fan blades.
Step #6: Clean Dust From the Motherboard
The motherboard is placed vertically in the case, so there is less chance of massive dust build-up. However, cleaning it when the case is off is always a good idea. Use your paintbrush to gently remove the minor dust particles from RAM slots and PCIe slots, and that’s about it.
Finally, reassemble the parts, close the case, and clean dust from your monitor and other PC peripherals.
Method #2: Using a Vacuum Cleaner
If you want to avoid manually brushing the dust off your PC, try using a vacuum cleaner with a built-in blower and anti-static technology. Remove the case, attach the short nozzle at the end of the vacuum pipe, turn on the blower mode, and clean the dust from all the internal and external PC components.
Using a vacuum cleaner without anti-static technology can lead to fried computers, so be cautious when taking this route.
Method #3: Using a Hair Blow Dryer
You can clean the dust from your PC by borrowing a hair dryer from your family member. The only catch here is that the hot air from the blow dryer can cause damage to a few sensitive internal parts.
Many hair dryers come with a button that can turn the hot air to cool quickly, so we advise you to use that one to make your job safe, quick, and easy.
Method #4: Using a Silicone Blower
A silicone blower is a hand-held tool that works like a can of compressed air but is cheaper. You can use the grip strength of your hand to blow air fast to the PC electronic components and remove dust without having to touch them.
How Often Should You Clean Your PC?
You should clean the dust from your PC every six months; however, if your computer is placed in a dusty corner, like a smoking room, or if pets are running around it, you may want to clean it every two months.
Also, if you notice any unusual sounds from the CPU fans or the PC shows abnormal temperatures due to overheating, it is best to start cleaning it at once to make it run like new.
Summary
In this detailed guide, we’ve discussed cleaning dust from a PC without compressed air using an old toothbrush, vacuum cleaner, blow dryer, and a silicon blower.
Hopefully, your problem is resolved, and you can now notice a boost in your computer performance after a thorough cleanup.
