How to clean pc inside 【step by step】 ⭐️

Having a clean and tidy computer is crucial for it to function properly. Our equipment needs adequate maintenance so that it does not overheat more than it should, has a good air circuit that expels heat outside and has a stable temperature. So, we show you our tutorial on how to clean a PC inside step by step.

Index of contents

Maintenance duties

Depending on where we look, we will see that there are experts who recommend doing this once a month, like others every 6 months or once a year. In my case, I advise you to take a look every 6 months to see how your PC is doing; if it is not dirty, wait another 6 months and open it to clean it. It is somewhat useless to say "clean it every X time" because there are boxes that better retain dust.

The task of cleaning the PC seeks to eliminate and prevent the following:

Remove dust. Dust clogs the case ventilation, sneaking into the heatsinks, GPU fans, power supply, or any case fans. Preserve the air circuit. Every box has an air circuit that must be taken care of so that it expels the hot air well. Reduce or prevent high temperatures. As a consequence of the previous two points, temperatures rise, which is bad for components even though they are made to resist them.

Tools we will need

As we always do, we will first emphasize what you need to start cleaning your computer. You will see that there are optional and other mandatory tools; please, as soon as they are obligatory, try to collect them so as not to waste time and not to clean the PC correctly.

Microfiber cloth

It is essential, that is, mandatory. The reason for this is because almost everyone has one at home and because it is a very cheap utensil that can be obtained anywhere. We will use it to remove the dust that is on the surface of the chassis and the structure of the box if we disassemble all the parts.

Screwdriver

This is another mandatory tool because we will need it to unscrew the heatsink, the graphics card, remove the covers from the box, etc. Simply, we will give the use whose denomination confers it: unscrew. We will need a star or "Phillips" of a somewhat reduced size because the screws of a PC case are not usually large, quite the opposite.

Compressed air

I'm going to put compressed air as an option, but I strongly advise you get one. The main reason for this is because it removes embedded dust quickly. We will try not to keep a close eye on the fans because of the compressed air. and we advise you to stop with your finger the blades, so that they rotate at high speeds. Although later we will tell you how to use it.

Brushes

Here we do “force” you to have one of these on hand because they are very effective in removing dust embedded in the fan blades, such as dust that is in a difficult corner to access. It would be best to have 2 brushes: one medium in size and one small for small grooves.

Alcohol and sticks

I am not talking about ethyl, but the one used in computers: Isopropanol alcohol. The goal is to slightly dissolve the dust or dirt, moistening it. You already know that water is not very friendly to electrical components, so alcohol is a good solution. We will apply it on the rods, we will not spill it. If you do not have this… you can use a disinfecting wipe, but alcohol and swabs are preferable.

Hand vacuum cleaner

This is optional because it's for curling the curl, basically. What we are looking for here is to finish leaving the box without any dust, or with as little dust as possible.

Clean PC inside

First of all, I would like to tell you a couple of tips that give me the experience, although you can add those that you have learned below, if you want.

Try to do the process outside, in a patio or on a terrace because, being in contact with the dust, we inhale it unintentionally and it is very annoying. A face mask would work as well, but I think the first thing is best. Use a surface where you can access on both sides without necessarily turning the box to be able to work on the other side. We are served a large chair, a small table or something similar.

That said, you can do the process in a room and at a normal table, they are simply tips to work better.

Open PC and take apart parts

The first thing we are going to do is open the PC and disassemble all the parts we have, such as the motherboard, GPU, heatsink, power supply, etc. To do this, you have to disconnect all the cables, including the power cable and start unscrewing everything you need. The power supply cables passed behind also, then we will do good wiring management.

You have to remove everything, leaving only the chassis because we are going to give a very strong review of all our box. We will do this to work much more comfortably with the components. Ready to clean the PC inside?

Clean the box

With the chassis of the box empty, we will proceed to take the microfiber cloth and pass it superficially throughout the box: interior and exterior. Clean with this utensil everything you can get.

Now, we will take the compressed air and start using it throughout the box; focus on the corners. Be careful when using it with the fans, use a prudent distance so as not to damage them. If you don't have compressed air, do your best with the brushes.

Finally, use sanitizing wipes to go over the entire box inside. You can use them to clean the fans.

Clean the components

To make it more dedicated, we are going to focus on each component, although they are all cleaned more or less the same. Regarding the fans, such as the GPU, heatsink or source, do the same as we said in the previous step.

As for how to properly clean a heatsink, I refer you to our dedicated guide on how to clean a heatsink. Inside, we tell you all the steps.

Regarding how to clean the graphics card, I refer you to this other guide on how to clean a graphics card to make it perfect.

The power supply doesn't have much else. We will focus on the rear area (where the power cable connector is) and the upper area, where the fan and, normally, a grille are located. We are going to unscrew the grill to better access the fan. With a brush or compressed air we will remove all the dust from the back and top area. Once finished, we reassemble the grid.

As for the motherboard, use compressed air to remove all the dust that is superficial or that is stuck in the connection pins.

We assemble the components

Now, we are going to assemble the components by screwing them as before, everything the same. Of course, when connecting them we are going to pass all the wiring through the other side cover to do a good management of the wiring. The reason for this lies in not obstructing the work of the box ventilation, not covering fans, or damaging the air circuit.

Having good wiring not only has the objective of better aesthetic cleaning, but better ventilation, which responds to lower temperatures.

The rule that you must follow is to use cable ties, although we recommend not to tighten the cables too much because it can damage them. There are people who say that you should not use plastic ties, but I have not had any problems in all these years. That said, you can use normal rubber bands, belcro tapes, etc.

Check that it works

Finally, we have to do the litmus test: start the PC How many times have you dismounted the PC and it has not started afterwards? It has happened to me, things of the clueless. If everything works perfectly, congratulations, you will have cleaned the PC inside thoroughly.

We hope it has served you all and in case you have a question, please send it to us by commenting below.

We recommend the best boxes on the market. How do you clean your PC? How often do you do it? What are your experiences?