Has anyone ever had hardware go bad by using a house vacuum to clean it?


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there are so many horror stories online about how using a home vacuum to clean out the inside of a computer is bad because of the static it generates, but has anyone ever had anything negative come from this?

I always cleaned the dust out using a vacuum, never anything negative came from it.

 

Canned air gets expensive, and really just blows the dust around.

Just wondering  what your opinions from personal experience are on this.

 

thanks

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I've used a vacuum many times and haven't had any problem.  I do wear a anti static wrist strap whenever I open my PC though.

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I use a Dyson to clean my server racks all the time - 15 years never had a problem.

 

 

*a Henry before the Dyson :)

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i suppose you can do what the "tech Guys" at pcworld do and thats to blow off all the dust with a air compressor, you know the type that you see where you get new tires on your cars wheels, thats good for the motherboard right lol

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I use my compressor to blow the dust out.  If going to sites I use my little 2 gallon one, if at home my 15 gallon one.  Vacuuming doesn't do an efficient job, neither does canned air.  100+psi of air tends to move things around.

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datavac works a charm just bring the device outside first.

It blitz's through a dl380 in minutes and they are real dust magnets.

The UK version is difficult to find but it does exist.

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Doesn't the motor of a vacuum create static charge which could possible be transferred to the components? You could buy a datavac electric duster, they are pretty awesome. When I bought mine I did my laptop, desktop, PS3, and then I thought "hmmm, behind the chest freezers hasn't been cleaned before" and I was able to clean that, and blow the crap out from under the fridge and clean some other areas which would be impossible or unsafe to get a vacuum into.

 

It's also worth noting that your case and components don't have to be meticulously cleaned very often. I do a clean about once every 4-6 months, depending on the level of dust I can seen through my case's side panel.

 

 

datavac works a charm just bring the device outside first.

 

 

I was just typing my reply when yours came up. Another fan of the Datavac!

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I'll say no due to personal experience, my old 1999-2000 Gateway that used to run WME, my 2007 rig, a couple of salvaged rigs, and the beast I build end of last year, all have been cleaned using a vacuum cleaner, about 4 or 6 times a year (fans oiled) not had to spend a penny on hardware, or replacement circuitry components.

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air compressor is hands down the best in my mind as it can really move the air.

 

i try to blow out my CPU/GPU/PSU (and the general case) twice a year as that keeps it from getting too bad (i leave my PC on 24/7). i got one 120mm fan that pulls air out of the case from the back and that's it.

 

but it might vary though from location to location as some people if they got a PC case that really moves around the air that might pack in the dust quicker or if your house is quite dusty etc. but i figure twice a year should keep it within reason as i figure it won't need more than 3 time a year MAX.

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datavac works a charm just bring the device outside first.

It blitz's through a dl380 in minutes and they are real dust magnets.

The UK version is difficult to find but it does exist.

 

 

holy heck., gotta get one of those. seems to retail only $60 online.

thanks for the vid!

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Canister/"shop" vacuums are ideal for this task, due to the attachments (Dyson's DC series, and Shark's Rotator Liftaway series in particular).  For computers, use the crack/crevice attachment (after pulling the cards from all slots AND unplugging the computer itself - and of COURSE wear a grounding strap when cleaning a computer, regardless of methodology).

 

One thing I'd like to see the return of are back-of-fan filters for the air-intake fans of desktop PCs (similar to the fans used for intake air for HVAC and central-vacuum systems) - I'm actually surprised that 3M/Scotch - which makes a LOT of computer-related stuff - not just media - hasn't jumped into this; their Filtrete brand makes precisely this sort of filter for HVAC and central-vacuum use.

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i use the house vac, has a plastic hose, don't jam it in to the case like a maniac, no problems in all these years 

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i suppose you can do what the "tech Guys" at pcworld do and thats to blow off all the dust with a air compressor, you know the type that you see where you get new tires on your cars wheels, thats good for the motherboard right lol

I've used this for years: http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001J4ZOAW/

 

Cheaper than buying cans of compressed air over and over. 

 

It comes with many attachments. 

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Yep, i fried the bios chip on an old gigabyte board several years back using the vacuum on it.   However i was super lucky as the board had 2 bios chips and flicking a DIP switch, got me a working computer again.......the only board i've ever bought with 2 bios chips as well.

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A compressor with an air dryer attached or a Datavac are both great options. I prefer the Datavac because I got tired of waiting for my small compressor to fill back up. I've used a regular Vac to suck the dust that gathers around the outside of my case, around the vents, but never inside it.

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I use a Dyson to clean my server racks all the time - 15 years never had a problem.

 

 

*a Henry before the Dyson :)

 

Same here, Dyson and (if particularly bad or for radiators) a mains powered air compressor.

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I personally try to keep my vacuum away from my most sensitive parts, I use a paint brush to loosen the dust, I only use my vacuum on the outlet near my PSU and that's pretty well shielded. Never had a component failure from vacuuming.

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For what it's worth - I have been told that shop air as in from air compressors, are not ideal as they use hydrolic oil to help with the compression.  As the air comes out, fine droplets of the oil come out as well.   I cannot confirm this, but I guess you can tell if you have a piece of glass or surface where you can blow air on it and you see moisture, then you will know for sure.

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datavac works a charm just bring the device outside first.

It blitz's through a dl380 in minutes and they are real dust magnets.

It is what I have thanks to I believe warwagon sharing it a few years back. Use it for all my electronics and works like a champ.

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there are so many horror stories online about how using a home vacuum to clean out the inside of a computer is bad because of the static it generates, but has anyone ever had anything negative come from this?

I always cleaned the dust out using a vacuum, never anything negative came from it.

 

Canned air gets expensive, and really just blows the dust around.

Just wondering  what your opinions from personal experience are on this.

 

thanks

 

 

Static discharge doesn't always kill components out right. Sometimes when components are affected by ESD they can have weird issues manafesting in a device that can be seen to be running fine but yet, randomly crash. As such, two idential machines built by someone who is earthed and someone who doesn't care about ESD can result in one machine that is stable, and the other that is prone to lockingup, BSOD or in somecases parts completely failing a few months down the line.

 

When it comes to vacuum cleaners creating static, typically it's the small particals of dust and other matter that are brushing against the plastic that generate a charge. A bit like how a franklin's bell works.

The majority of the time, you're going to be holding onto the part that's generating the static charge, since you want to be in control of where the nozzle is inside the computer case. As long as you're earthed, you shouldn't create a build up that'll jump to the inside of your case. However, the issue arises more, when you have plastic and metal combined, such as a metal pipe, with plastic attachments.

 

So when you're sucking the dirt out of the case, you're creating a static charge on the cleaning tube.

 

If you were for example, cleaning your carpets first, and then decided to clearn the inside of your PC, that would be worse then just taking the cleaner directly to it, perticularly if you've got nylon strands in the carpet and you just finished the skirting boards without any other attachments on it.

 

 

I worked in a shop where we had people come in with machines with dead drives, sound issues, motherboards die after a claimed cleaning...

never had an issue myself, i just put everything in the dishwasher :D

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For what it's worth - I have been told that shop air as in from air compressors, are not ideal as they use hydrolic oil to help with the compression.  As the air comes out, fine droplets of the oil come out as well.   I cannot confirm this, but I guess you can tell if you have a piece of glass or surface where you can blow air on it and you see moisture, then you will know for sure.

 

yea you have to make sure you're using an air based compressor, not oil, because as you said, the oil based ones release an oil vapor that creates a film on surfaces.

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