FireDaemon

Chapter 1: Getting your hands dirty

Before proceeding with this tutorial, please be advised that FireDaemon in no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this tutorial.

If you aren’t comfortable with cleaning your computer yourself, you can take it in to a computer store and they will do it for you. It usually costs around $60 for them to clean it for you though.

Now that that’s out of the way, onto cleaning!

Contrary to popular belief, your computer is not only the screen; it’s actually the big “box” next to your screen or below your desk. The box or as its known “case” holds all the parts of your computer that make it work. Read the steps below to clean your tower:

1. Unplug all the connections from the back of the case. It might be helpfull if you take a picture so you know where to plug everything back afterwords.
2. At the back of the case, unscrew the screws (usually theres 4, 2 on each side of the case).
3. Slide the cover off carefully.  It’s edges are sharp so be careful not to cut yourself.
4. BEFORE TOUCHING ANYTHING, GROUND YOURSELF!  Grounding yourself is as simple as touching the metal case or another metal object.  Static electricity will kill your computer so you must make sure you are grounded before you touch the inside of your computer. It’s also best if you work on your case while its on a table or non-carpeted floor.  Static electricity builds up really easily on fabric surfaces.  You also shouldn’t be wearing a sweater, wear a t-shirt instead so the sleeves dont rub up against the inside of the tower.
5. Also, DO NOT USE WATER to clean your case.  Just use the compressed air and the cotton swabs with nothing on them.
6. I found a video on youtube that will walk you through cleaning your case:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFTJpGCfTBo
7. One thing that the video does not mention is the following: Use the cotton swaps to clean each of the fan blades.  Often dust gets “baked” onto the fan blades and no amount of compressed air will remove it.
8. Reassemble the case, reconnect the connectors and plug everything back in.

To clean your monitor, take a paper towel and spray some of the “Endust for Electronics” on it, and lightly wipe your screen.  If your screen is LCD, do not press down as it will damage it.

To clean an optical mouse, take a cotton swab and stick it into the optical slot on bottom of mouse and twist the cotton swab a few times.  To clean a ball mouse, twist the cover on the back of the mouse and remove the ball.  Clean the ball with a paper towel and “Endust for Electronics”, also clean the tiny rods with a Cotton Swab that is partially saturated with “Endust for Electronics”.  Let it dry and put it back together.

The keyboard is the most bacteria infested part of your computer. People rarely if ever clean it. To give you an example of how gross it is, some scientists did a study and found the following on keyboards: hair, saliva, urine, fingernails, food, flu virus, cold virus, etc.

To truly clean your keyboard its best to remove all the keys, but that can be confusing to put them back in the correct order, so instead get a vacuum cleaner nozzle attachment and hold it as close as possible to the keys. You can also use “Endust for Electronics” on a paper tower to clean the keyboard.
Go to: Part 1 | Part 1.1 | Part 1.2 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

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