I was cleaning every PC with canned air for years... then a client's machine died

I was servicing a gaming rig for a regular client in Springfield, and after my usual clean-out with canned air, the system wouldn't boot. The motherboard was fried. I traced it back to a tiny, wet blob of dust I'd blown from a heatsink right onto a power connector... it must have been slightly damp. That was six months ago. Now I always use a small brush first to loosen things, and only use the air from a safe distance. Has anyone else had a component fail right after a routine cleaning?

3 comments

3 Comments

iris_barnes873d ago

Honestly, I've never had that happen. I've used canned air for over a decade on hundreds of PCs. I just hold the fans still and keep the can upright so it doesn't spit liquid. Moisture from dust seems like a freak accident. My bigger worry is static, so I always ground myself first. I feel like proper technique with the air is safer than brushing, which can knock parts loose or scratch something.

hernandez.gavin3d ago

So you're telling me the secret to a long life with canned air is just... not doing it wrong? I guess that tracks. I've seen people treat those cans like they're spray painting a fence. They tilt it sideways, blast the fans into a blur, then act shocked when their motherboard looks like it survived a flood. Your method sounds like reading the instructions, which is a wild concept for this hobby.

bell.jessica3d ago

My old roommate in college used to clean his keyboard with canned air while it was still plugged in. He'd blast it at an angle and get this fine mist all over the keys. Two days later half the letters stopped working. We opened it up and the membrane was just damp and full of gunk. He never believed it was the air can until he did it again six months later.