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Cleaning a notbook with a vacuum????

post #1 of 13
7/4/08 at 2:21pm
Thread Starter 
I was looking for ways to clean my aging Dell 1710 and I came across a blog on the Dell site http://yourblog.direct2dell.com/2008...e-laptop-love/. The person says that it is better to use a vacuum instead of compressed air to clean the heatsink and fan. I though everyone used compressed air, first time heard of sucking out dirt and dust.

Take a look at what this person says and see if he if a fruitcake or not.
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post #2 of 13
7/4/08 at 10:34pm
i would imagine actually sucking the dust out is better than blowing the the dust back inside. i always take my computers apart and clean with compressed air because neither works 100%, the only way to clean between the cpu and gpu heat sinks it to actually get in there and clean it out

oh, and btw, your signature says you have a m710, silly goose
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post #3 of 13
7/7/08 at 10:55am
i use a combination of a vacuum cleaner and canned air

cheers ...
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post #4 of 13
7/7/08 at 4:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gameboy99 View Post
I was looking for ways to clean my aging Dell 1710 and I came across a blog on the Dell site http://yourblog.direct2dell.com/2008...e-laptop-love/. The person says that it is better to use a vacuum instead of compressed air to clean the heatsink and fan. I though everyone used compressed air, first time heard of sucking out dirt and dust.

Take a look at what this person says and see if he if a fruitcake or not.
Hello,

I wrote that blog and no I am not a fruitcake. There are a lot of notebookforum members that have sent their computers to me to fix with great success. So, I should have some credibility in knowing how to work on notebooks.

Trust me pulling the dust and debris is really much better then forcing it through the entire system. The reason is that you can not properly control high pressure air entering a chassis. However, by pulling air will control the flow to one central point. Besides it is healthier not to breathe what compressed air haphazardly sprays all around.

Regards,

Richard B
Dell Online Community Outreach
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post #5 of 13
7/8/08 at 2:02am
i actually burned up a fan with compressed air once, so now i am ultra careful with it. i have always wanted to get one of those mini vacuum's, it would make my life way easier, with 3 laptops...
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post #6 of 13
7/9/08 at 3:07am
Mini-vacuums in my opinion are overrated. I bought one a while back and it was a massive dump. Damn thing sucked at sucking.

I personally think pulling the whole laptop apart and blowing compressed air through the HS/fan is the best way, a vacuum will work but compressed air drives the air at much higher speeds, thus knocking more debris free.
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post #7 of 13
7/9/08 at 3:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonket View Post
Mini-vacuums in my opinion are overrated. I bought one a while back and it was a massive dump. Damn thing sucked at sucking.

I personally think pulling the whole laptop apart and blowing compressed air through the HS/fan is the best way, a vacuum will work but compressed air drives the air at much higher speeds, thus knocking more debris free.
I agree that taking apart the system and cleaning it is absolutely the best option. Not doubt about that! Unfortunately, your average person is not willing, or is afraid to perform that kind of maintenance.

I personally use an ordinary vacuum that has a detachable hose. But, I am very careful not to spin the fans to fast. I have been using that method for years. I can't expect an average notebook user to do that first time without possibly breaking something. There are some mini-vacuums that do not suck at sucking and would do the job nicely.

It may not be a bad idea to lightly use compressed air and then finish up with a mini-vac, since you pointed out that the compressed air will knock some of the debris free.

Good points!

Richard B
Dell Online Community Outreach
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post #8 of 13
7/9/08 at 10:33pm
I would be very carefull using a vacuum around parts such as the keyboard or you may wind up tearing thru the bag in seack of missing keys. For convienience sake a can of compressed air is the simplest most effective means of removing dust and lint from a PC. I might give a vacuum a whirl next time tho, since it can be done indoors.
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post #9 of 13
7/14/08 at 3:52pm
on my old e1705 the gpu heat was getting as high as 89° (80° @ idle). i've been using it for about one year. i took my home vacuum cleaner and sucked out the laptop without opening it up. the temps decreased by around 15 degrees! never got higher than ~73° afterwards. so it makes a huge difference and the vacuum cleaner was a good solution for me. i could see big balls of dust coming out. (i don't know if you can damage the interior when using too much power, though...)
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post #10 of 13
7/15/08 at 12:55pm
If the fan spins beyond its design it could be damaged. Keep in mind you do not have to place the end of the hose against the computer. Even if you hold the hose end about an inch or two away from the vent it still cleans without spinning the fan to high.

Regards,

Richard B
Dell Online Community Outreach
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post #11 of 13
7/17/08 at 2:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by geahphosho View Post
Make Sure U Use A Dyson Hahahaha
I was thinking of a simple handheld vacuum, alot less powerful than a Dyson. It will suck the dust, the fan, and the cpu right out of the system.



Best regards,

Richard B
Dell ONline Community Outreach
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post #12 of 13
7/24/08 at 10:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by qhn View Post
i use a combination of a vacuum cleaner and canned air
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cheers ...
Same here. I use both
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post #13 of 13
9/9/08 at 5:39pm
There are some brushes that are ESD approved you can use for that type of device. My person option is to take apart the system and at a safe distence used canned air.
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