Prevention
It’s often said that prevention is the best cure, so first, we will look at ways to minimise dust build-ups and prevent them from becoming a serious problem in the first place.
The Environment
Computers suck up dust from their immediate surroundings, so the easiest thing to do is to keep them as dust free as possible. A common mistake that end users make is sitting the PC tower on a carpet floor. Carpet is a dust magnet, and computer sitting on it suck up both dust that settles in the carpet, as well as bits of carpet fluff. If your office has a carpet floor, it’s best to sit the computer on top of the desk, or at least on something like a wooden box that will elevate it off the floor slightly. If you absolutely must have your computer sitting on the floor, then frequently vacuum the room.
Another common place for a computer tower is inside a cabinet. While these places are generally less susceptible to dust build-ups than carpet floors, they can still get dusty if they are not cleaned, so every six to nine months, it is a good idea to check for dust on the floor of the cabinet. If there is a noticeable amount there, pull the computer out, and clean the dust out of it.
Dust Filtering
There are some cases where a PC absolutely has to be used in a dusty environment. Even so, there are things which can be done to the computer to make it less susceptible. The best way is to maintain positive air pressure in the case by using more intake than exhaust case fans, and installing filters on the intakes. This way, all of the air coming into the computer will have gone through the filters, and air will always be exiting through the other vents. Some manufacturers, such as Silverstone, offer affordable filters which simply attach magnetically to the case, and thus can easily be installed and removed for cleaning.
Some cases, however are not suited to this. Some only allow for a single 80mm intake fan to be installed, or worse – no intake fans at all. Cases like this should be avoided for dusty environments. Even if no exhaust fans are installed, it’s important to remember that the power supply has an exhaust fan, and will create a vacuum inside the PC if there are not enough filtered intake fans to negate it. This will allow air to enter through unfiltered vents, rather than exit through them.
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