If your laptop turns off or slows down while working, it might be overheating. While there are cooling pads and other devices out there to help keep things cool, they can be quite expensive. Fortunately, you don’t always have to use a cooling pad to cool your laptop.
First, make sure that your laptop is in a well-ventilated area. If it’s been sitting on your lap for a while, try moving it to a table or desk. You can also try raising the back of your laptop on something like a book. This will improve airflow and keep the heat from building up.
Heat is a common problem with laptops, so they usually need some cooling. If left unchecked, this excessive heat can harm the hardware, slowing it down and making some parts stop working, so you’ll want to learn how this temperature can be lowered.
In this article, you will learn how to cool down your laptop by using a few everyday household materials and methods.
How To Cool Down Your Laptop Without a Cooling Pad
When your laptop is at its hottest, it can hamper its performance—especially if you’re using it regularly.
But did you know that you can do a few things to help your laptop stay cool without using a cooling pad?
Give Your Laptop Some Rest
This may not be ideal if you’re in the middle of working on something, but it will give your laptop a chance to cool down and prevent further damage from overheating.
Disconnect any USB devices linked to it, close any heavy applications, and lower the brightness to lessen the processor’s load.
Alternatively, you can shut down your laptop and let it cool down completely before restarting it.
Raise the Laptop Off Your Lap
If your laptop is overheating, one of the best things you can do is raise it off your lap or any other surface it’s resting on.
If you’re using your laptop on your lap, for example, the bottom of the laptop will likely be touching your legs and thighs. This can cause the air vents to get blocked and cause the laptop to overheat.
Doing this allows air to circulate freely around the laptop and helps cool it down. This is probably the easiest way to keep your laptop cool.
Clean the Air Vents on Your Laptop
To keep your laptop cool, it’s important to clean the air vents regularly. The best way to do this is by using compressed air.
The vents of your laptop are designed to draw in cool air through the bottom of the device and expel warm air out of the top.
Over time, these vents can become clogged with dust and debris, preventing air from flowing freely and causing your laptop to overheat.
Keep Your Laptop on a Flat, Hard Surface
Avoid placing your laptop on soft surfaces like beds or couches, as this can trap heat and cause your laptop to overheat.
A good option is a table or desk, but you can also use a countertop or flat surface. This will help to dissipate the heat more effectively and prevent your laptop from overheating.
You can also try propping it up on something like a book so air can circulate more easily underneath it. Just make sure whatever you use is stable and won’t tip over!
Lower the Performance Settings
Laptops have a few different performance settings that can be adjusted to reduce the power the laptop needs to run, producing less heat.
The “Balanced” power mode in the power options balances battery life and performance, reducing heat production.
Another is to use a lightweight web browser instead of Chrome or Firefox, which can hog resources and cause the laptop to overheat.
Making these changes should help keep your laptop cool and prevent it from overheating in the future.
Check the Thermal Paste
If your laptop is still overheating, another thing you can do is reapply the thermal paste. The fix is relatively simple and only takes a few minutes if you know how to disassemble your laptop.
The thermal paste helps transfer heat from the CPU to the heat sink; over time, it can dry out or become less effective.
To reapply the thermal paste, you’ll need to remove the old paste and clean both the CPU and heat sink. You can then apply a new layer of thermal paste and reassemble your laptop.
Give Up and Get a Cooling Pad
If you’ve made it this far and your laptop is still not cooling down enough, we’re afraid you’ll have to invest in an external cooling pad.
An external cooling pad can help dissipate heat from your laptop and keep it running cooler. This is especially helpful if you often use your laptop for gaming or other resource-intensive tasks.
They come in all shapes and sizes and help keep your laptop cool. There is a variety of them available on the market, so be sure to do some research to find one that best suits your needs.
By following these simple tips, you’ll be able to keep your laptop functioning properly and avoid any overheating issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Temperatures between 50-95 degrees Fahrenheit are optimal for laptops. Any laptop that gets hotter than this will throttle and slow down on purpose to prevent hardware damage.
In addition to shortening the lifespan of some inner components, heat can damage your laptop overall. A prolonged period of heat can eventually reduce the lifespan of your laptop.
Cooling pads with built-in fans are good for laptops since they can keep your laptop cool by improving airflow and dissipating heat. It’s just a matter of preference.
