Cleaning your desktop, laptop, and accessories

Cleaning your desktop, laptop, and accessories

Before you start cleaning your device(s), make sure it is powered off and, if applicable, everything is unplugged from it (cables, USBs, accessories, etc…).

Desktops

Dust is one of the biggest enemies when it comes to keeping a desktop clean, and it can get everywhere.

You can use a can of air, or an electric blower to get as much dust out of your PC as possible. Make sure to remove the side panels and if possible, the top and front panels as well. You can often do a pretty good clean without needing to remove any components this way.

We recommend doing this outside to create as little mess inside as possible. You may have some dust fall off during transport, just use a vacuum to clean that up at your earliest convenience.

Do not use a vacuum cleaner to dust your PC, as there is a real risk of static damage. 

If your PC hasn’t been cleaned in a while, there’s a good chance you have dust caked onto the fans, vents, and heat sinks. In this case, a quick dusting might not be enough.

If there’s only a few things that need intensive cleaning, such as the GPU, feel free to just grab those out. It’s worth doing a thorough clean now and then. Just make sure you reapply thermal paste if you remove the heat sync.

Lay everything you’ve removed out on a dry nonconductive surface. This should give you a good opportunity to see what really needs your cleaning attention. You can give them another once over with the compressed air or blower while they’re here.

Grab a lint free cloth and wipe any dust build up you can still see. Pay particular attention to any crevices, plastic shrouds, and heat sinks. Thoroughly clean any dust filters too. If needed, you can run these under water and use a toothbrush for a more detailed cleaning, just make sure they’re fully dry before reassembly. For fans you can hold the blades still to give them a better clean on the individual blades.

If there are any fingerprints or oily marks or other stubborn grime, use cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol or equivalent to wipe them clean. Be very careful and of course, make sure to leave them to dry before putting them back together.

Some components, like a graphics card, can get dust build-up inside a covered area. Cleaning these may require disassembling the card, which is possible if you have the right tools (small hex and Torx bits are often required). Hopefully this won’t be required, but if your PC has been extra dusty there might be some caked inside.

Ideally you want to do a light dusting every 3 to 6 months depending on your environment. If you have pets or live in a particularly dusty area, then you’ll want to dust more often. For deep cleanings, every six months to a year is recommended if you want to maintain peak performance.

Laptops

Particles, dust, and hair can lodge anywhere that gaps exist in your laptop: under the keyboard keys, around the screen edges, and both in and around the touchpad buttons, the physical ports, and the air vents. Clearing that debris before doing anything else is logical; you wouldn’t want to clean a larger surface only to scatter dislodged crud from crevices all over it a moment later.

First make sure your laptop is unplugged and powered off. With the lid open, pick up your laptop and turn it up-side-down and gently shake it to remove any loose debris.

Use canned air or an electric blower to clean any remaining debris that may be stuck in the keyboard, start at the bottom row and work your way up. You might need to approach the keyboard from different angles, such as from the side, to get everything. Don’t forget to blow out the ports and air vents. If something is really lodged in there you can carefully use a pair of tweezers or a dental brush to remove it. If using canned air, be sure to keep the can upright so you don’t blow condensation onto the laptop.

To clean the surface of the keys, very lightly damp a small section (about the size of a quarter) of a lint free cloth with some isopropyl alcohol and gently wipe down each key. Depending on the style of the keyboard, wiping straight across could cause the cloth to get caught and accidentally rip a key off. Be sure to wipe down in-between the keys too!

The next phase is cleaning the laptop’s outer surfaces. Dampen a larger section of your lint free cloth with isopropyl alcohol. Moving outward from the keyboard, start with the palm rest and touchpad, then move to the screen border or bezels. After that, close the laptop and work on the lid and underside.

Be sure to not touch the screen with isopropyl alcohol as it will damage it!

To clean the screen get a fresh lint free cloth and lightly spray it with glass cleaner, do not spray it directly onto the screen as the liquid can run off under the bezel and cause damage to the electronics. Very gently, using a circular motion, wipe down the screen. For more stubborn spot apply small amounts of pressure until the area is clean. Too much pressure on the screen can damage the panel.

If you wanna go that extra cleaning mile, remove the bottom cover and use either canned air or an electric blower to remove any dust build up. Most of the dust should be concentrated around the fan(s) and air vents.

Accessories

Your computer accessories will eventually accumulate dust, skin particles, hair, and natural hand oils. But less than five minutes of attention each week can keep them feeling fresh.

Mouse

Wipe your mouse down with a lint free cloth to remove skin oils. Use compressed air to blow any dust or particles that have accumulated in the seams and the scroll wheel. Don’t blow air underneath the right and left clicks, since that can blow grit into the switches and cause the mouse to stop working.

If gunk builds up on the feet of your mouse or keyboard, wipe it off with a lint free cloth or a cotton swab, and use a toothpick to remove the particularly stubborn bits.

Keyboard

Once a week you should unplug your keyboard, flip it upside down, and shake all the gunk out. Then wipe down the keycaps with a lint free cloth to remove some of the oils your fingers have left behind. While the keyboard is upside down, you can also sparingly use compressed air or a keyboard brush to remove particles after you’ve shaken out the keyboard — but beware that compressed air can blow particles into your switches and make the keyboard feel gritty to type on.

Mechanical keyboards need a little more TLC than other keyboards, because nasties can and will fall into the larger spaces between the keys. But a deeper clean every couple of months can keep a mechanical keyboard in top shape for years.

Use a wire keycap puller to carefully remove the keycaps by hooking the tool around the edges of each keycap and gently pulling straight up. Put the keycaps in a sealable container (or in a bowl, if that’s all you have handy). If you’re worried about remembering where the keys go, you can take a picture before hand or find one online.

Drizzle in a little Dawn soap, and fill the container with hot water. Seal and gently shake the container, or just swish the keycaps around in the bowl a bit. Let them soak for at least 30 minutes.

While the keycaps are soaking, use some cotton swabs to dust out any lingering particles under the keycaps, around the switches and the stabilizers. If you have any sticky stains in there, dip the end of a cotton swab in some isopropyl alcohol, and give it a scrub to break up the residue.

If you wipe lubricant off of the stabilizers during your deep clean, you can add a little more. Look for a silicone-based type that starts with a 92.

After the keycaps have soaked for at least 30 minutes, give them another shake or swish, and then rinse them with clean water three to five times, until there’s no residue remaining. Then shake them out and set them out on a towel to dry overnight. Don’t leave water pooled in the stems of any of the keycaps. Once they’re dry, you can put all the keycaps back on, and you’re done!

Headphones

Over time your headphones build up ear wax, dirt, and sweat that can affect sound quality and carry bacteria. Be sure to unplug and turn off your headphones before cleaning so as to not damage the electronics. If your headphones have a removeable battery you’ll want to remove it before cleaning.

Take off the ear pads if they’re removable. Try lightly pulling on the edge of your ear pads to loosen them from your headphones or headset. The bottom edge of the ear pads will slip off of the headphones and expose the speaker underneath. That way, it’ll be easier to deep-clean the headphones and the pads. If you’re not sure if the pads are removable, consult the product manual. It’s fine if you can’t or don’t to remove them.

Wet a lint free cloth in warm water and wring it out as much as possible. Gently wipe the entire surface of your headphones, including the headband and wire, with the cloth. Use the same cloth to clean the ear pads around the outer edges so you can lift up the dirt and grime.

If you notice any of the dirt is really stuck on your headphones, put a drop of liquid dish soap onto your damp cloth and lather it in. Gently rub the soap into any spots that are extra sticky or dirty to break them apart and get your headphones clean. Then, rinse the cloth, wring it out, and wipe off any of the leftover soap residue.

Dip a cotton swab into soapy water and squeeze out the excess liquid. Use the cotton swab to clean off any small holes, vents, and tight corners on the headphones. Then, run a cotton swab around the inside edges of the ear pads. Follow up with a dry cotton swab to remove any soapy residue. Replace the cotton swab as needed.

Take a dry towel and wipe up any residual liquid that you still see on the surface. Then, leave your headphones out and let them dry off completely for about 30 minutes before you use them again.

If you want to sanitize your headphones use a 70% rubbing alcohol solution and wet the corner of a small lint-free cloth. Gently wipe the surface of the ear pads, wires, and headband of your headphones or headset to kill any germs or bacteria living on the surface. The alcohol will evaporate off the surface, so you don’t have to dry it off.

Earbuds

Make sure there’s no power connected to your earbuds so you don’t risk any electrical shock or damage to your electronics.

Some earbuds will have silicone or foam tips over the speakers. Pull them gently off of the speakers to remove them. Wet a lint free cloth with warm water and rub the ear tips with it until you clean off all of the wax and dirt. Then just pat them dry with a towel. If the tips are foam, it’s recommended to replace them with silicone tips for easier cleaning in the future, but it’s not required.

Use a few drops of liquid dish soap in a bowl of water and mix it together. Soak your cloth in the solution and wring it out completely. Then, wipe the surface of the earbuds with the cloth. Any dirt or wax will break down and lift off of the surface so your earbuds are clean.

For any stubborn bits of dirt or wax you can use isopropyl alcohol on a small section of a lint free cloth or a cotton swab to remove it.

Don’t forget to wipe your case for your earbuds!

Be sure to wipe down your earbuds with a dry cloth and let them sit for at least 30 minutes to make sure they’re fully dry before using them.