As the temperatures rise and the sun sticks around a little bit longer, it becomes clear that Spring has finally arrived. As you go through your spring cleaning activities, make sure that you do not neglect your PC! Take a moment to learn why and how to clean out the inside of your machine. It’s something that you can do in only a matter of minutes, but its benefits will last you the whole year.

Open it Up to Clean Inside!

One of the first things to do is open up your PC to clean inside of it. Before you start to open your machine, you’ll want to move it somewhere where it doesn’t matter if you make a mess. Power down your PC, disconnect all of the wires and cables, and move it away from your workspace. Place it on a table where it will be easy to clean up all of the dust and dirt that will eventually come out of the machine. If you can, take it to your garage or even out on your patio if it’s a nice day. Remove the screws that keep the side of your case attached, even opening both sides if you can. Now, assemble your tools and get to work.

Use Compressed Air to Blow Away Dust!

First, remove any large dust bunnies that you can grab with your hands. This is make getting the smaller dust particles easier to remove. It’s helpful at this point to have a garbage can and vacuum cleaner or shop vac handy to suck up or deposit all of the big dust bunnies into. Second, grab a can of compressed air. Follow the directions to the T to get the can ready to use. Make sure that you continue to keep the can upright as holding down will create a freezing stream of air and water that can damage your PC. Third, start spraying. You’ll want to get about 6 inches away from your components to make sure that you can jar the dust loose. Once you’ve cleaned your components, such as your video card and motherboard, blow out all of the dust that fell to the bottom of your case. Now, you’re almost done.

Double Check Your Connections

When you’ve removed all of the dust from the case, take a moment to double check all of your connections. Wires can come loose over time, so checking that they are plugged in securely may save you a headache down the road. Also, take a moment to look for any damage to any parts such as fans that could break down over time. We spend so much time making sure that the software on our PCs works efficiently that we often neglect making sure that we keep them running well by worrying about the inside. In about a half and hour, you can make sure that your PC is less likely to overheat and all of your connections are well maintained.