A lot of people think that cleaning
their gadgets can’t be done alone or will cost them much. They’re wrong
eventually and that is the reason they end up with layers of dust on our
high-end speakers and keyboards caked with dirt.
Aside from hygiene reasons, it is
important to clean your gadgets to ensure better performance. Yes,
well-maintained gadgets do tend to last longer than their ill cared for
counterparts. Due to the complex electronics involved, cleaning gadgets isn't
as simple a task as mopping the floor. You need to handle components with care
and ensure that you don't damage them while trying to do a basic clean-up. That
is just what we will cover in this guide. Read on to find out how to safely
clean your gadgets.
What you'll need:
While different gadgets need different
cleaning materials, here's a brief list of the items you will need during
clean-up drive:
1. Microfibre
lint-free cloth: This is the cloth that's used to clean eyeglasses. It's cheap
and widely available. A must for cleaning displays.
2.
Dust blower: This is a portable dust blower that you operate with
your hand. Helps remove dust from nooks and crannies you can't reach easily.
Available in electronics stores for as low as Rs. 50.
3. Compressed
Air: A slightly more expensive alternative to the dust blower.
4. Rubbing
alcohol: It's not a good idea to use water to clean gadgets. Rubbing alcohol is
a much safer choice.
5. Flathead screwdriver:
You'll need it when cleaning keyboards.
6. Lukewarm
water: Works when you're cleaning plastic components such as the keys in your
keyboard. Not to be used with electronic components.
7. Toothpicks:
Very useful for removing accumulated lint from charging ports. Be careful not
to break them though!
Once you have
these components, you're ready to clean most gadgets you own. Let's get right
to it.
Smartphones
The most important part of the
smartphone is the display. With touchscreen devices dominating the market, it's
the component you interact with the most. Most smartphone displays have an
oleophobic coating. which repels fingerprint marks and keeps your screen from
being smudged.
If you use rough cloths to clean the
screen, you might end up removing this coating from the screen. That's why it's
important to use a lint-free microfibre cloth while wiping your smartphone
clean. Make sure you switch off your phone and take it off charging before
cleaning.
The other major irritant is lint.
Since most of us keep moving the phone in and out of pockets, lint tends to
accumulate in the ports for headphones and charging. You can quickly remove
this with a toothpick, though be careful not to break it inside the gadget
you're cleaning. When there's too much lint in the ports, you might not be able
to charge your phone or listen to music, so it is important to do this
regularly.
Keyboards
Whether it is a desktop or a laptop,
the keyboard is probably the most used component of the gadget. Here's how to
clean them.
1. Shut down your computer or
disconnect the keyboard.
2. Get a
flathead screwdriver, microfibre cloth, dust blower (or compressed air) rubbing
alcohol and lukewarm water.
3. If your
keyboard is detachable, turn it upside down and shake it. This will remove
quite a bit of dirt and miscellaneous items hiding under the keys.
4. Take a
photo of your keyboard.
5. Most
keyboards have detachable keys. Check with your keyboard manufacturer if the
keys are removable. If you are trying to pop out laptop keys, we suggest that
you exercise caution. A good desktop keyboard is a lot easier to clean this
way, keys on most laptop keyboards may not be user-replacable. We removed the
keys on a Dell Latitude 3440 to clean its keyboard, but we can't say for sure
that the same will work for you. Popping the keys of your laptop may even void
your warranty, so if you aren't sure skip this step.
6. If they
are, you can use a flathead screwdriver to pop each key out. Since the
screwdriver is made of metal or scratch your keys, too much pressure might
break some of the keys, so be careful.
7. Once you've
popped out all the keys, use the dust blower (at a gentle mode) or compressed
air to blow out the dust and any other things stuck in the keyboard.
8. Apply some
of the rubbing alcohol to the microfibre cloth and wipe the keyboard clean. Do
not apply the rubbing alcohol to the keyboard directly. If any keys are dirty,
you can rub them clean too.
9. Put the
keys in a bowl of lukewarm water. The water shouldn't be too hot or too cold.
We're recommending lukewarm water because it's easier to remove dirt when using
it, as opposed to cold water. If it's too hot, you might end up damaging the
keys. Plastic keycaps can also be washed with soap with a little bit of
scrubbing. But if you scrub too hard, you might end up removing the key labels,
so, again, be extra careful.
10. Soak the
keys for around half an hour and then take them out. Clean them out one by one
and dry them thoroughly.
11. Take a
look at the picture of your keyboard and replace the keys one by one. Replacing
is simple - just place the key in the right slot and push it in.
Mouse
Cleaning a mouse just involves using the dust blower or compressed air and removing any dust or particles trapped within. If you find that your mouse doesn't move the pointer on screen accurately, it might be a good time to flip the mouse upside down and clean its feet (the pads at the corners). A lot of grime gets stuck here, leading to accuracy issues.
If you are still one of the
unfortunate people stuck with a mouse that has a trackball, you can clean it by
removing the trackball. Clean the lint that accumulates on the rollers and the
mouse will work much better.
With both keyboards and mice, most of
the dirt accumulates through the oily residue from your hands. Most hard
plastic components can be cleaned with a light spritz of Colin, and Min Cream
is good too for getting rid of dirt stuck to metal and plastic.
Displays
Cleaning a display is quite simple, as
long as you take the following precautions.
1. Avoid wiping screens with rough
cloths such as paper towels and even shirts. This might leave scratch marks on
the display, remove anti-fingerprint coatings on touchscreens, or even
permanently damage parts of the screen.
2. If you're using water to wipe the
screen, do not apply it on the screen. Apply it on the microfibre cloth and
then wipe the screen.
3. We don't recommend any chemicals to
clean the display. A little bit of lukewarm water on a microfibre cloth should
do the trick if a dry cloth isn't helping.
4. Switch off the display (or the
laptop, if you are cleaning a laptop display before cleaning.
Desktop components
If you just bought yourself a shiny
new desktop, you don't have to worry about cleaning it. But dusty as most
Indian cities are, you might want to keep checking the cabinet at least once in
six months to make sure that dust isn't accumulating inside it. In this case,
dust often gets caught in the fans on the CPU or GPU, or the vents in the
cabinet. This leads to increased heat in the cabinet and that leads to
decreasing performance and shortened lifespan of the components.
Here's how to clean these components:
1. Switch off the computer.
2. The most
important step is to ground yourself. If you don't an electrostatic discharge
when you touch the computer (or any component) could damage it. To avoid this,
make sure that your hand is in contact with metal while you're cleaning the PC.
3. If you
bought a branded PC, remember that opening a cabinet usually voids warranties,
so be advised.
4. Use the
dust blower to remove any dust from various components. Wherever there are fans
or grilles, there's bound to be a lot of dust. You should remove all of the
dust. You can use a light brush too, but nothing with hard bristles.
Paintbrushes and shaving brushes are ideal
5. Depending
on your comfort level, decide whether to remove components individually. Dust
often gets caked on fan blades and between the fins of heat sinks. But it's a
bad idea to take these out if you aren't totally sure what you're doing.
6. Moisture
makes dust cake so throw a few packets of silica gel in when you're done
cleaning Try to make sure fans aren't blocked, like by dangling wires.
7. If you are
using a tiny vacuum, use it only to suck up loose dust, not to dislodge it.
There is no alternative to getting your hands dirty while cleaning desktop
components.
8. Cloth can
be used on the cabinet floor and flat surfaces - but fibres will snag if used
on components themselves. This will happen even if you use lint-free cloths.
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