There will always a need to clean your computer at home, work, and school the keyboard, monitor, and system unit always seem to attract the crumbs, dust, and fingerprints. The Keyboard, monitor, and system unit should be cleaned when they are dirty. Some tools you will need to clean are a can of compressed air, glass cleaner (such as Windex), antibacterial moist towelettes, microfiber cleaning cloths, and a dust mask, if you do not want to breath in dust.

To clean the crumbs from the keyboard, hold it upside down over a wastebasket and shake it gently. Then to clean the keyboard more completely use a can of compressed air to spray between the keys. Most of the dirt will dislodge by these two actions.

To wipe off the germs and dirt, use antibacterial moist towelettes. Make sure your computer is off, just in case, and then give the surface of the keys a once-over with the cloth. Give your mouse a thorough wipe-down too. For your CRT monitor lightly squirt some Windex on a folded piece of paper towel, and then use that to wipe the glass. Never spray your monitor screen directly with Windex. Drips could seep under the edges of the monitor. For an LCD monitor use nonabrasive lint-free wipes on the monitor surface. If there is a stubborn stain, use a soft cloth dampened with plain water. Make sure the CRT or LCD monitor is turned off and do not turn it on again until the screen is dry.

Inside the system unit, dust accumulates on the fans. This can cause component failure and, ultimately, data loss. Use the can of compressed air to blow the dust out of the inside of the system unit. Be careful there is usually a lot of dust. Make sure to blow both the power supply and all fans inside the system unit aiming so dust will exit the case. You may have to un plug some of the cables inside the system unit to get all of the dust. Do your best to get all of the dust out of the case.

If you are brave restart your PC, and while the fans are spinning, spray them once more–very briefly–to really send the dust flying. Don’t forget to run air over the vents on your case lid, too. If they’re filled with dust, the fans won’t be as effective. Shut off your computer once more. Plug all the cables back into the correct places and put the case back on. Turn your computer back on because it is clean and ready to use.

Source: http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-11319_7-6240575-1.html?tag=bnav

written by Walter Perry