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How to clean the Mac Studio from dust?

R

radus

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 12, 2009
722
449
The Mac Studio is a very complex and packed machine. It is not easy to open and to disassemble.
But as with all Computers there will be a lot of dust inside over time.
I use to open even my Macbook Pro ones a year to clean it - and it is needed.

Dees anybody know a way or is ther a manual how to clean the Mac Studio from dust ( inside ) ?
 
There’s a couple videos showing that if you remove the circular rubber strip there are screws under it.

Disassembling a computer to dust it is just silly IMO. You’re risking damaging something to remove a minor amount of extra dust. Just use a can of air to blow the vents out. I mean it’s your money so if the thought of that dust being there bothers you then you have to do what you have to do.
 
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I expect that iFixit will post a teardown video soon.
That should give a few users some clues about whether an occasional "open just to clean" is useful.

Not everyone lives in a dust-free area. I remember going on site years ago to try to find out why a Mac was overheating. It was a (really busy) wood shop that made those backyard sheds and decorative wood gazebos. Lots of sawdust, and the Mac was in a front area, with only a short hallway, no door to the woodworking area. The Mac even had small chunks of wood inside (packed with sawdust, worst I have ever seen, wish I still had a picture... ). I remember talking to the business owner. We cleaned that Mac every 90 days for a couple of years, until the company moved on to something else. (They actually tried a variety of filter methods, and almost all made it worse (the filters clogged very quickly, then no airflow, after only a couple of weeks - and too much trouble to keep up maintenance on the office computer. It worked longer with no filters, and just dismantle to clean every 90 days turned out to be their best solution.
 
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DeltaMac said:
I expect that iFixit will post a teardown video soon.
That should give a few users some clues about whether an occasional "open just to clean" is useful.

Not everyone lives in a dust-free area. I remember going on site years ago to try to find out why a Mac was overheating. It was a (really busy) wood shop that made those backyard sheds and decorative wood gazebos. Lots of sawdust, and the Mac was in a front area, with only a short hallway, no door to the woodworking area. The Mac even had small chunks of wood inside (packed with sawdust, worst I have ever seen, wish I still had a picture... ). I remember talking to the business owner. We cleaned that Mac every 90 days for a couple of years, until the company moved on to something else. (They actually tried a variety of filter methods, and almost all made it worse (the filters clogged very quickly, then no airflow, after only a couple of weeks - and too much trouble to keep up maintenance on the office computer. It worked longer with no filters, and just dismantle to clean every 90 days turned out to be their best solution.
Click to expand...
I’ve had my MacBook in the desert for a year and blowing it out with a can of air worked perfectly. Of course some industrial environments can be worse but at that point I hope people are wearing a respirator to protect their lungs. You can’t take them out to clean 😢
 
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Looks like you can use a hair dryer to loosen the adhesive strip under the ring and lift to access the screws to disassemble the unit then dust with a paint brush or vacuum. Better to leave the ring off and store in original box. Not a fan of using compressed air on funnel type cooling as it just clogs it more. Just hope the fans are accessible and standard sized since they will eventually require lubing or replacement.
 
Every computer should be cleaned.
Removing dust will give you the chance that never you will get a worst damage because the fan has stopped to work.

IMO Every one or two year i look inside my computers to remove dust,
 
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Max Tech has already posted a tear-down video. Which yielded the first two surprises we didn't expect : not only is the SSD socketed and replaceable, there is another socket inside for a second drive.
 
It’ll be simple to remove the bottom intake grill to clean that - no sweat.
But to clean the actual innards of the machine will require a complete disassembly- removing a lot of tiny screws.
 
I have 2 HEPA air filters in my room and runs 24/7 - both for allergy reasons and to minimize dust.

With this setup, the computers, TVs, entertainment, etc are all very clean over time.

I have a large industrial/commercial Oransi HEPA 3 stage filter for the entire room and a small desktop 2 stage model for blowing clean air to me.

I was thinking of putting my Mac Studio on top of the desktop filter to really prevent dust and to keep it cooler..
 
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Just saw a video review where the owner was saying that their Studio was indeed gathering dust @ 5min 38 seconds:


Short of vacuuming every now and again, have any of the more OCD inclined Studio owning folk thought about doing something to mitigate this?

Some sort of ring mesh on the inlet? Put it in a mesh box? Anti dust spray on the table surface?! Or perhaps just raise the Studio up a couple of inches off the table?

Interested in a thread about it. Any Mac Studio is a big investment and I want it to stay healthy for a long time.

I keep my 5,1 Mac Pro very clean and it's still a quiet machine all these years later.
 
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Keep a can of compressed air handy for a weekly blast at an angle??
Cheap and cheerful!

I keep my MBP raised an inch or so above the desk with some suction feet I purchased a while back.... I feel it helps a little.....
 
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I'm a huge fan of air blaster (;)) and even have one of these (well an older version):https://www.amazon.co.uk/Compressed-Cordless-Handheld-Rechargeable-Electronics/dp/B09FXSBL29/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?crid=39UPOFYVTFQZD&keywords=compressed+air+duster&qid=1653470479&sprefix=compressed+air+duster,aps,68&sr=8-4-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFRSTlLMDJTVEhVRUcmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAyOTE3NTMxV09LWU8yWlBGOUQxJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA3MjE5MjM4RVVaSTZTWlc1QkMmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

But the problem with the Studio is that you'd be blowing the dust INTO the machine. I think a combination of vacuuming and blowing at the same time can help, but prevention is always better than fixing the mess later on :)

Once I've owned one for a long while, I won't be averse to opening it up, but don't want to do that while it's in any kind of warranty period
 
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I think putting it in a harness mounted underneath your table is the best bet. Dust will slowly settle from the air, but without a surface to settle on in front of the machine, and a table blocking dust from coming down from above, you will 'only' get dust twirling around in the air.
 
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I turn mine upside down once a week and vacuum the inlets with a cordless vacuum. Same method I use to vacuum my control surfaces, my A1048 keyboard, and my midi controllers. Probably this vacuuming is doing literally nothing but in my mind it's helping.

Studio.jpg
 
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A squirt of compressed air from time to time is the best way.

Vacuuming isn't a good idea though.
 
I've got my Mac Studio sitting on a towel while I figure out what, if anything, to do to lessen dust. There's no dust entering from the bottom, but a towel does nothing for the back :) The fans need the holes in the back to cool the computer, don't they?

Screenshot 2022-05-25 at 11.23.17.png
 
F-Train said:
I've got my Mac Studio sitting on a towel while I figure out what, if anything, to do to lessen dust. There's no dust entering from the bottom, but a towel does nothing for the back :) The fans need the holes in the back to cool the computer, don't they?
Click to expand...

I thought the Studio was pulling air in using the holes in the base and then expelling it out of those at the back, so the holes in the back shouldn't get clogged with dust (if there's no dust being drawn in through the bottom in the first place)
 
eddie_ducking said:
I thought the Studio was pulling air in using the holes in the base and then expelling it out of those at the back, so the holes in the back shouldn't get clogged with dust (if there's no dust being drawn in through the bottom in the first place)
Click to expand...

I live in New York, where dust gets everywhere. I have no doubt that dust will get through the holes in the back :)
 
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