How To Clean Your Computer
How To Clean Your Computer
If you, like many other people, have put off cleaning your computer for a while – then this article is for you. This includes more than cleaning the exterior, as you will also want to clean up the inside.
Properly cleaning your computer will make it look nicer and ultimately run faster.
Supplies For Cleaning Your Computer
To get started, you should gather your cleaning supplies. You will need the following:
- Microfibre cleaning cloth
- Isopropyl alcohol
- Q-tips
- Compressed air can
You should also set aside an hour or two to do a thorough job.
Cleaning the Exterior
It is a good idea to start by cleaning the exterior of your computer. You need to turn it off and unplug it before you get started.
This is one of the most important steps because you can damage your hardware if you don’t turn it off and unplug it. Start with your microfibre cloth, and dampen it with warm water.
Next, you should start cleaning around the outside of the computer. Be very careful when cleaning around the ports because you won’t want to get any liquid inside.
How to Clean the Screen
When you clean your screen, you should start with a dry microfibre cloth. You can wipe it down and move from one corner to the other.
Next, you can dampen the cloth with warm water and if it is particularly dirty, you can use a solution of half warm water and half vinegar. You should never use any cleaning solutions, and you should not soak the cloth.
Dampen the cloth, and run it over the screen. You can rub it as if you are waxing a car, but do not scrub the screen because you can damage it.
How to Clean the Mouse
Part of your computer cleaning involves cleaning accessories, such as the mouse. Optical mice do not need you to clean the inside, but the outside can get covered in dirt and can become sticky.
However, if you have a mechanical mouse, it can get dust inside, which will reduce its effectiveness when you use it.
First, make sure that you unplug the mouse from your computer and remove any batteries if you have them. Then you can use some alcohol and a clean microfibre cloth to wipe down the outside.
You need to ensure that you don’t get any alcohol inside the mouse. You can turn the mouse over and wipe the ball with a cloth and alcohol.
Then wait for it to dry completely. Once it has dried completely, you can reconnect it because it is ready to use.
Clean the Mousepad
If you use a mousepad for your mouse, you can clean it. Some are made of plastic or rubber, while others are made of fabric.
You should take soap and water and rub it clean. You can even put it in the washing machine, but make sure that you use cold water and let the mousepad dry completely before using it again.
Clean the Keyboard
Keyboards can build up a lot of dirt and dust over time, and if you eat over your computer, you might have crumbs in the keys. The first step is to get rid of the crumbs and dust.
Once you unplug your keyboard, take the compressed air to clean the debris away from the keyboard. If you don’t have compressed air canisters, you could try and use a straw and blow the crumbs away.
The important thing is to remove them before you clean the keyboard.
Next, you can get a clean microfibre cloth, along with Q-tips and isopropyl alcohol. First, dampen the cloth with alcohol and run it over the keys.
Make sure that you clean the tops of the keys until they are shiny again. Then dip your Q-tips in the alcohol and clean the space in between the keys.
You should let the keyboard sit until the keyboard is dry, which won’t take very long.
Cleaning the Interior of Your Computer
Some people might ask, “How should I clean my computer interior?” You need to do this because over time files build-up, and your computer will slow down as a result.
First, you need to delete unnecessary files. If you use Windows 10, you can go to the Settings and click on System and then Storage.
You will be able to see the folders that are taking up the most space, so go through them and delete any files that you no longer need.
You may find that there are programs that were installed on your computer when you got it, and if you have never used them, you can get rid of them now.
Go to the Settings app, click on Apps & Features, and then delete the ones you never use. You can also launch the Disk Cleanup utility, which will erase temporary files that you don’t need.
If you need to free up more space on your drive, you can look for other files such as backup files or temporary files that you don’t need.
For macOS users, High Sierra 10.13, has its own Disk Cleanup software. You can click on the Apple icon and choose About This Mac.
Then choose the Storage tab and click on Manage. You can delete any files or applications that you don’t need, and you can also move your photo files from your hard drive to the cloud.
You can use the Reduce Clutter feature to get recommendations of files that you haven’t used in a while.
If you want to go through and choose files to delete, you should go to Applications and then choose All My Files. Then you should look through the files and delete anything that you no longer need.
You can sort the files by size so that you can see the largest files first. You can also look at them by file type, which allows you to see videos or photos that you no longer need.
Look at Backups of Old Devices and Your History
You can go to iTunes and enter the preferences. Then click on Devices to see what devices are saved. If there are any old devices that you no longer have, you should delete them now.
Next, open your browser and clean your history. First, go to your preferences and clear all history, which will free up a lot of space and help your computer browse faster.
Finally, go to your trash can, and delete everything. Then you can reboot your computer.
Want To Buy Some New Tech?
Leave your details, and we will call you.
Take a look at our services
Get in touch.
We’d love to hear from you.
Give us a call, send an email or drop us a note and we’ll call you back.