Here are the cleaning solution recommended to clean the contacts of computer components:
- Rubbing Alcohol
- Isopropyl Alcohol
- Glass Cleaner with Ammonia
- Water mixed with a little amount of dishwashing detergent
Why Is Cleaning the Contacts of Computer Components Recommended?
Component contacts should be cleaned with isopropanol. don’t use lotion. the lotion contains impurities that will damage contacts. Water and soap will cause corrosion, and glass cleaner contains harsh chemicals.
Isopropyl alcohol is often used for cleaning components, except for something sort of a motherboard it’s probably best reserved to be used as a final resort if something is just too dirty to be cleaned by other methods.
Usually, alcohol is simply used for things like cleaning thermal compounds off of CPU heat spreaders though, and dousing things in it can potentially carry some risk of injury.
Compressed air is often wont to clean the dust off of components, though you would like to form sure the can is held upright and not tilted an excessive amount to avoid spraying liquid onto things.
Using a soft brush is perhaps a safer option for just removing dust though. RAM contacts are typically not getting to require cleaning.
For PSUs, it’s probably better to only clean them with air from the surface. And in fact, you ought to confirm whatever you’re cleaning is powered down.
If one is refurbishing components for resale or cleaning up from a spill or something, more thorough methods could be desired, but you almost certainly don’t get to get too over-excited if you’re just performing regular maintenance on your system.
Proper Use of Other Tools
Keeping computers clean inside and out may be a vital part of a maintenance program. Dirt can cause problems with the physical operation of fans, buttons, and other mechanical components. On electrical components, an excessive buildup of dust acts as an insulator and traps the warmth.
This insulation impairs the power of warmth sinks and cooling fans to stay components cool, causing chips and circuits to overheat and fail.
NOTE: When using compressed gas to wash inside the pc, blow the air around the components with a minimum distance of 4 inches (10 cm) from the nozzle. Clean the facility supply and therefore the fan from the rear of the case.
CAUTION: Before cleaning any device, turn it off and unplug the device from the facility source.
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Computer Cases and Monitors
Clean computer cases and therefore the outside of monitors with a light cleaning solution on a humid, lint-free cloth. Mix one drop of dishwasher detergent with 4 oz (118 ml) of water to make the cleaning solution. If water drips inside the case, allow enough time for the liquid to dry before powering on the pc.
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LCD Screens
Do not use ammoniated glass cleaners or the other solution on an LCD screen, unless the cleaner is specifically designed for the aim. Harsh chemicals damage the coating on the screen. there’s no glass protecting these screens, so be gentle when cleaning them and don’t press firmly on the screen.
- CRT Screens
To clean the screens of CRT monitors, dampen a soft, clean, lint-free cloth with water and wipe the screen from top to bottom. Then use a soft, dry cloth to wipe the screen and take away streaking.
Clean dusty components with a can of compressed gas. compressed gas doesn’t cause electrostatic buildup on components. confirm that you simply are during a well-ventilated area before blowing the dust out of the pc. A best practice is to wear a dust mask to form sure that you simply don’t inhale the dust particles.
Blow out the dust using short bursts from the can. Never tip the can or use the can the wrong way up. don’t allow the fan blades to spin from the force of the compressed gas. Hold the fan in situ. Fan motors are often ruined from spinning when the motor isn’t turned on.
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Component Contacts
Clean the contacts on components with isopropanol. don’t use lotion. the lotion contains impurities that will damage contacts. confirm that the contacts don’t collect lint from the material or cotton swab. Before reinstallation, use compressed gas to blow lint off the contacts.
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Keyboards
Clean a desktop keyboard with compressed gas then use a hand-held vacuum with a brush attachment to get rid of the loose dust.
CAUTION: Never use a typical vacuum inside a computer case. The plastic parts of the vacuum can build up electricity and discharge to the components. Use only vacuums that are approved for electronic components.
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Mice
Use glass cleaner and a soft cloth to wash the surface of the mouse. don’t spray glass cleaner directly on the mouse. If cleaning a ball mouse, you’ll remove the ball and clean it with a glass cleaner and a soft cloth. Wipe the rollers clean inside the mouse with an equivalent cloth. don’t spray any liquids inside the mouse.
What Are Isopropanol And The Way Is It Used?
Isopropyl alcohol (2-propanol), also referred to as isopropanol or IPA, is that the commonest and widely used disinfectant within pharmaceutics, hospitals, clean rooms, and electronics or medical device manufacturing.
Different solutions, purity grades, concentrations, and alcohol types yield beneficial cleaning and disinfection properties when applied correctly; or dangerous consequences when used improperly. This post will assist you to identify key uses, best practices, and proper disinfection with isopropanol.
Likewise, you’ll see our other posts on IPA as a universal cleaner and the importance of high-quality USP IPA.
Why Is 70% the foremost Effective Concentration of isopropanol for Disinfection?
Isopropyl alcohol, particularly in solutions between 60% and 90% alcohol with 10 – 40% purified water, is rapidly antimicrobial against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Once alcohol concentrations drop below 50%, usefulness for disinfection drops sharply.
Notably, higher concentrations of alcohol don’t generate more desirable bactericidal, virucidal, or fungicidal properties
How Do I Clean A Computer With Isopropyl Alcohol?
If you’re using high purity isopropanol, the benefits are that it’s nonconductive (being a nonpolar solvent), isn’t reactive with the items you’d normally find during a computer, and usually dries fast.
Water may be a polar solvent, so you do not want to be using it in computers in larger quantities. 70% seems to be what people use, but you want to be using 90% or better.
It’s a very effective cleaner that at the quantities you employ won’t find yourself poisoning you, or dissolving your fingertips.
It’s safe to immerse entire devices in isopropyl alcohol—it seems to be a standard thanks to saving ‘dead’ cellphones—but I would not recommend it as you will see. It probably won’t damage electronics;
This thread on the HP calculator forums talks about immersing a whole calculator in alcohol, though with no follow abreast of whether it works.
And this is often allegedly a whole PC soaked in lotion. (No, don’t do that. isopropyl alcohol is very inflammable – it’ll evaporate into something which will be ignited at coldness (13-15 degrees), and can erupt at around 400 degrees C, and that we don’t want to be liable for house fires.
And since this is often kinda being mentioned within the comments (It’s potentially explosive under the proper conditions – I don’t recommend trying to magnify plastic water jugs unless you are a trained professional and/or a chemistry teacher).
It will, however, probably dissolve things like a thermal paste (which is often conductive, especially in formulas that contain metal). As such, you do not want to be using it in bulk (by spraying or dipping an entire panel).
Additionally, it is a bad idea to mix it with grease, since you would possibly find yourself dissolving some minor thing—conductive stuff in CPU sockets is bad, as would be accidentally removing all the lube from the mechanical parts of a drive.
It’ll also loosen any stickers present on the hardware. It also does nasty things to plexiglass and Lucite, so test before you clean any plastic bits.
Applying it to a towel may leave lint (coffee filters seem to be a standard lint-free alternative), and therefore the computer has many bits that stick out which can catch and burst out bits of it.
I’ve generally used the things for spot cleaning on a cotton swab for particularly nasty, hard to get rid of dirt. it is also pretty good for cleaning contact pins or dirty lenses on optical drives (often employing a lens cleaner) VERY carefully.
As such, while alcohol itself could be safe, be very bound to clean the surfaces again after you’ve got removed the intended residue with something lint-free.
You’ll also want to take care with a cleaning cloth, tissue, or other cleaning material to not bend anything. Bent pins are a PITA.
There also are large, pre-moistened wipes—there are variations for screens and other surfaces—that also contain other substances. These are excellent for external cleaning and are lint-free.
In most cases, air dusters for electronics and a dry microfiber cloth for surfaces work on behalf of me. Save the alcohol for tough situations like cleaning off conductor compound or stuck-on dirt.
Contact Cleaner VS Alcohol
The 100% alcohol would be considered because the ideal material to wash any electronic contacts as they evaporate quickly and leave no residue behind.
But the sole problem with them is “100% pure alcohol is just too expensive”. (It’s also one of the foremost explosive components).
So normally the manufacturer mixes alcohol with other components (which might or won’t be volatile) so that the value and dangers are often minimized. Still, alcohol is that the main content of contact cleaners.
However, the simplest solution for you’d be to be reasonable with both cost and therefore the materials utilized in the merchandise that you simply want to shop for.
You’ll always check about the ingredient components that are wont to make a cleaner. counting on your design requirement you’ll purchase a selected one.
Nobody would advise you to travel for 100% pure alcohol only unless you would like to wash some really expensive equipment that has gold plating over the contacts.
