Isopropyl alcohol: clean your pc components with it

Experience tells us that humidity and electrical components don't get along well, so we can't use water to clean our hardware. The logical question would be: So what do we clean it with? Here isopropyl alcohol enters the scene because it is the ideal compound to clean dry thermal pastes, dry and solid powder or any residue difficult to remove.

Isopropyl alcohol: a must in cleaning your PC

Many people (including myself) have ventured to clean the PC with water at some point in their lives. We believed that, just by drying the component, the job was done, but we did not take into account the enemy of the components: moisture and rust. So, we learned the hard way that water is not a liquid to be used in equipment maintenance.

The next step is to know isopropyl alcohol as an almost miraculous liquid because it removes what cannot be easily removed. We will use compressed air, brushes, toothpicks… but it is not possible to remove solid dust with these tools, let alone thermal paste.

Therefore, isopropyl alcohol is perfect for cleaning PCBs, fans, thermal paste, the case chassis, lenses; any electronic component. This is for a number of reasons, which are as follows:

Dries fast. This is one of the things that interests us, since we do not recommend drying the components with dryers or similar devices. Leaves no residue. It ensures a clean cleaning, without leaving any residue due to any component that can be burned due to the heat that there is or that may be in the box. It is a disinfectant. First of all, hygiene is very important, so the idea that we have a box full of mites and bacteria that can be harmful to health does not “cool”.

An example is this.

Isopropilico Liquid alcohol 99.9% High purity - 1.000ml Isopropanol with practical Pourer Buy on Amazon

FAQ, Troubleshooting or Frequently Asked Questions

In order for you to find the answers to your questions, we have decided to make a small compilation section of frequently asked questions about this compound.

What isopropyl alcohol do I have to buy? The ideal is 100% isopropyl alcohol, also called 99.99%. There is no recommended brand per se, but it is enough that it is 100%. Where can I buy it? Online, wherever you want. In the case of wanting to go to a local store, you can try hardware or drug stores. How much? It depends on the brand or the liters that the container has. You can find it for € 5 or € 12, but from there it is not worth raising the price. I can't find it. Why? Maybe you have found it, but they call it different. Look for isopropanol, just in case. Is it the same as ethyl alcohol? No, it is not the same. There are people who use ethyl alcohol to clean their PC, but we recommend isopropyl because it is inexpensive and leaves almost no residue. Do I need a lot of isopropyl alcohol? No Think that it is applied with a brush or ear buds, so you do not need 5 liters because I doubt that you will spend, if you like, 33 cl for each cleaning. How do I apply it to my components? It is best to use a brush, we dip it inside the bottle and apply it. We can help ourselves with a microfiber cloth for the removal of dirt. Is it the alcohol in the medicine cabinet? No, that is ethyl, normally. Ethyl works, but it is always more advisable to use isopropyl. Is it okay to use wet wipes or disinfectants? Yes and no. In my opinion, it is not recommended because they leave residues, but I have seen people who use them and have not had any problems. Of course, why risk?