Now is a good time to do a little cleaning on your computer system to help ensure good operation. Now keep in mind that dust, smoke, and air contaminants collect on the internal parts of the computer system. These tend to collect the most on the CPU cooling fan, the intake fan and power supply fan. Now I don't recommend opening your system up for this type of cleaning since internal cleaning should be done by a qualified person. ASW does offer internal and external cleaning service for local computer users.

You can do some simple external cleaning to prevent serious dirt buildup and keep your system running well. Here are some tips to make the job quicker and safer. Before beginning any cleaning, make sure the system is off.

First, use the soft brush attachment connected to your vacuum cleaner to remove any accumulated dust. This prevents compacting the dust into any crevices, and this should be done before any dry or wet wiping. This method works great on all surfaces including keyboards, power centers, the front covers of the CD and floppy drive, monitor cooling vents, external parts of the printer and scanner, game device and speakers. Don't attempt to vacuum the inside tray of the CD ROM, any of the internal printer parts, or scanner glass. Also soft brush vacuum any air or fan vents on the computer case.

Now you can do your wet cleaning of all external surfaces. All surfaces should be cleaned using only a damp rag using hot water. If you need to use a detergent, I recommend putting about a ounce or two of spray cleaner like 409 of Fantastic in a gallon of water and rinse the rag in this solution. Never spray or apply cleaners directly to any computer components surface and always use a clean, soft, lint free cloth for cleaning.

Never use any abrasive cleaners on any surfaces and use a glass cleaner for the monitor screen using paper towels. Spray the glass cleaner onto the paper towel and not on the screen itself. As for the scanner glass, I recommend not using a glass cleaner, but use a camera lens spray cleaner and lens rag. You can get these items at any camera store or camera department at your favorite discount store.

Internal drive components can be cleaned using the appropriate cleaning device. The CD ROM lens can be cleaned using a wet CD disk cleaner and the floppy drive head can be cleaned using a floppy disk wet cleaning disk. You will have to boot the system to do this type of cleaning. Usually, the cleaning process is achieved by inserting the cleaning disk or CD after applying the cleaning solution, and then attempting to access the device as if you were trying to read the information on the CD or floppy. Both of these cleaning kits can be purchased at Radio Shack, Office Max, Staples or in the computer department of your favorite discount store. Follow the instructions provided with these cleaning kits, and do not use more cleaning solution than recommended.

If you don't use an optic mouse, you may find that your mouse or trackball skips or hangs. Cleaning the internal rollers will correct the problem. Opening the ball cover and removing the roller ball will expose the plastic and metal rollers. You can use a lint free cotton swab and the cleaning solution that is provided with the floppy cleaning kit which is an isopropanol alcohol solution. Place about six drops of the cleaning solution on one end of the swab and clean all gunk from the rollers. Use the dry end of the swab to finish. Repeat the process until the rollers are clean. Never use regular cotton swabs, or rubbing alcohol for cleaning these parts. Lint free cotton swabs are available at Radio Shack, Office Max or Staples. Cleaning the roller ball is best done by hand washing it in the sink using warm running water and some spray cleaner. Be sure to rinse completely, and allow it to dry before placing it back.

After a thorough cleaning, you may want to invest in some dust covers for the printer and scanner only. These items are not usually used as often and using dust covers won't be a pain. Dust covers for the monitor, keyboard or computer are nice, but after the first few times of removing and covering, will wind up in a drawer and not being used. Don't worry about getting covers specific to your printer or scanner. Just measure the width and length of these components and buy some inexpensive universal covers. These are available in the computer department of your favorite discount store, Radio Shack, Staples or Office Max.

Now that your all cleaned up and ready to go, if you have not done so in a while, do a scandisk and defrag to completely finish the great job you have done. If you have any cleaning question, use the e-mail link below. I will be happy to help.

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