Case Clean Out Time

[JSTurner]

Well, I ordered my upgrade parts for my new comp and I know I should clean out my case. What I would love to do is take that sucker outside and soap, scrub and hose it out. Not sure if that's very wise though. Could get water in places that won't dry, etc. If anyone has any suggestions, shoot them over.

Thanks

 

[Csst]

Yea i really don't think that's a wise idea.. I like to throw my in the pool and let it soak overnight and than after that throw it in the microwave for about 30 mins or so that really gets it clean.. J/K i would get a air tank and blow it out really good. most of it should be dust if its really bad maybe you should consider picking up a new case also.

 

[RallyMaster]

I use a can of compressed air and some alcohol swabs to clean stuff inside my PC...mmkoii

 

[Ausm]

Compressed air FTW



Ausm

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: Ausm
Compressed air FTW

Confirmed!

I've always had an air compressor around the house, ever since I can remember, and nothing works better than a blast of compressed air!

Just make sure to blow your fans off with the air going SAME direction as normal, e.g. don't blow air backwards through your fans. Blowing air 'backwards' through fans will pack the bearings with dust and cause noise and premature failure -- found this out the hard way...

 

[JSTurner]

Ahh, if only i was at my parents house. My dad keep a tank of compressed air for airing up the tires of his truck(He's a truck driver). But unfortunately I'm not. I got it clean though. Took a soft paint brush to dust it out, and qtips and windex to clean the fan blades. Only think now I have to do is cut a blowhole for a 120mm fan on the top, and hopefully that'll keep my case cool. Thanks for the suggestions though. =]

 

[Fallen Kell]

Originally posted by: VinDSL

Just make sure to blow your fans off with the air going SAME direction as normal, e.g. don't blow air backwards through your fans. Blowing air 'backwards' through fans will pack the bearings with dust and cause noise and premature failure -- found this out the hard way...

That assumes you use a fan that doesn't have sealed bearings. The Scythe S-Flex SFF21x fans use a sealed bearing and would not suffer this issue. Several other fans also work this way.

That said, most of the dust will be on the side of the fins which push the air, which also happens to be the side which would push the blades in the same motion that they normally spin.

 

[tylerdustin2008]

Water wont hurt it. As long as it is not steel. If it is just dry it off nothing will happen, and no it wont get places a not dry. It will dry just in a matter of time, hour or so.. Thats what i do to my keyboards when they get dirty, wash them and put them under a fan for about an hour, works fine after wards.

 

[crispy2010]

Originally posted by: JSTurner
Well, I ordered my upgrade parts for my new comp and I know I should clean out my case. What I would love to do is take that sucker outside and soap, scrub and hose it out. Not sure if that's very wise though. Could get water in places that won't dry, etc. If anyone has any suggestions, shoot them over.

Thanks

As long as you dry it good that will be fine!

 

[JSTurner]

Originally posted by: tylerdustin2008
Water wont hurt it. As long as it is not steel. If it is just dry it off nothing will happen, and no it wont get places a not dry. It will dry just in a matter of time, hour or so.. Thats what i do to my keyboards when they get dirty, wash them and put them under a fan for about an hour, works fine after wards.

wait wait wait. do you take it apart first or just dunk the whole thing? I know people that take their's apart and put them in the dishwasher, but not in just one piece.

 

[Fraggable]

Just take a leaf blower to it, forget the expensive compressed air.

Outside of course.

 

[crispy2010]

I used to wash my old pc out with a water hose, took out all electronics first. I dont do it any more because of my wc setup, too much to take out. I do construction, I have a ac so I blow out every pc in house every couple weeks.

 

[SparkyJJO]

vacuum for any large clumps (be careful around the electronics though).

Air compressor to blow stuff out.

Usually does the trick.

 

[Atty]

Air compressor and a shot vac.

 

[pkrush]

Just be careful with a compressor if you use one, they have a bad habit of blowing unwanted moisture into sensitive electronics, and they're powerful enough to take a capacitor off the board at short range.

 

[bobbeybibbey]

get a shop vac and an adapter kit for pc cleaning and suck that dust away. which means you remove it from the environment not to be drawn back into the pc again

 

[NickelPlate]

Originally posted by: Fraggable
Just take a leaf blower to it, forget the expensive compressed air.

Outside of course.

LOL. I actually used to do that until I got an air compressor. Just don't get too close with the leaf blower, if you see your graphics card bending under the stress, you're too close .

 

[HannibalX]

I have an air compressor so before I do a new build I will take the case out into the work shop and blow it out. Then I will use a damp cloth to remove anything else that is stuck in there. I will also clean the air filters at this time as well with the air compressor.

For the outside of the case I use Windex to get all the dirt/gunk off. Then I use a VERY LIGHT AMMOUNT of tire foam to make it shine.

A clean case is a happy case!

 

[HannibalX]

Originally posted by: pkrush
Just be careful with a compressor if you use one, they have a bad habit of blowing unwanted moisture into sensitive electronics, and they're powerful enough to take a capacitor off the board at short range.

This is a good tip. Air compressors generally do not dehumidify the air so it will have moisture. I like to let me case dry for 30 mins to an hour.

 

[herbiehancock]

The trick I've found to using an air compressor (I've got two....a small portable that I use to inflate tires, blow out the computer, etc., and a large 5.5hp, 25 gal tank that is used for the air tools and painting)....is to use a blow gun attachment that has a good trigger on it that allows you to meter the air being released....so you can blow out slowly or with all the force available. Got rid of those on/off only blowing attachments. No control over the force of the air you're blowing out.