The only time I've cleaned the dust from inside a laptop is when I was opening it up for some other reason.
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How often do you clean the interior of your MacBook Pro for dust?
- Thread starter DeepSix
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I can say this: back when I had two cats, I found my old black polycarbonite MacBook was constantly fighting to stay cool. Part of that was the Intel chip it had which ran crazy hot, but when I saw the problem getting worse, I partially disassembled the machine (easier in those days) and found a just ungodly amount of cat fuzz in there.
Agree "once a week" or "once a month" sounds nuts, but my hunch is that while normal dust may pass right through, junk like pet hair might stand a stronger chance of getting caught in the internals and bunching up to the point where it impedes air flow, and pet owners might need a little more vigilance.
Your post prompted me to open up my 14” MBP M1 for the first time. Surprisingly, as I’ve moved countries and air quality/dust is terrible here, it was spotless inside. It has spent most of its life on my desk, travelling safely in a sleeve inside a satchel to offices/cafes, but given the state of my PS5 since moving here I was expecting it to need a minor clean.
This thread also prompted me to open my 2019 MPB (bought in 2021), so it's been 4 years. Fan was pretty noisy and overheated quite often. Upon opening it up dust built up considerably over the years. Had to use a tweezer to remove dust bunnies that built up inside and around the fans then used my portable vacuum to finish the job. Runs much quieter now.
Do you carry that stand to your bed every night? Looks solid but heavy.
I take it down after I use it
And nope I don’t use my Mac in my bed every day 😂 I use it on my desk too
Never have... I have cracked it open a few times though to upgrade RAM and SSD... Didn't see any bust dunnies.....
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Why not buy another and that way you don't have to constantly move the stand? This is what I do with my tablet stands, I have them in the areas where I use the tablet most. I just drop the tablet down and pick it up when Im done. Dont have to carry a stand, reposition it, adjust it, clean it.
❌ It’s placed next to my desk in my room when not in use.
Additionally, if I need to work remotely that day and attend Zoom meetings, I’ll place the stand on my desk, not my bed. 🛏️ This way, I can easily position my external keyboard and peripherals in front of my MacBook Pro 💻!
Is it safe to use air under the keys? I have one thing stuck under the F3 key and it's bugging the heck out of me as I just can't get it out.
Also, after fathering my MBP for a year after I bought it, I somewhat gave up on if for a bit and realised just how dirty the screen was. I reverted back to fathering it again and tried to clean the screen with the cloth but the stains were far too stubborn. I tried the breathing on the screen technique but that also didn't work. Are there any safe products other than the cloth that can clean the screen without damaging it?
I think canned air would be fine. I wouldn’t use a airgun connected to an air compressor. It might blow the key off lol.
Clean microfiber cloth with water. Just kind of damp, but not dripping. Buy a new one because even washing it there might be something to scratch the screen. Look in the automotive section of any store.
Put a bit of 70% rubbing alcohol on a microfiber cloth and rub gently. What I do is put a small spot and then put my finger on the other side of the cloth rubbing on the screen. It usually takes everything off.
Thanks Russell, I have canned air so will give that try. Will also use the damp cloth method. Not gonna risk the alcohol method as I just don't trust myself 😂
I’ve used 70% isopropyl alcohol. You just put a little bit on the microfiber cloth and gently rub it with your finger behind the cloth. That’s overexplaining, but basically just don’t start roughly scrubbing. You won’t break anything. The biggest thing I think that can get you in trouble is using a cloth that might have sand or some other rough debris in it. That would create scratches. This is why I always use a new cloth since they are cheap. I will later use that cloth to clean my car.
Also like anything, do it in moderation. If you’re wiping it down every 15 minutes then you’re likely to cause some wear over time. If you’re cleaning your screen once a week or so, you’re fine.
Here’s the link of the official Apple instructions.
How to clean your Apple products - Apple Support
Get recommendations and guidelines for cleaning your Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro, display, or peripheral device.
Remember that newer Macbook Pros don't run the fans at all unless the laptop is actually doing heavy processing. So unless you're doing CPU heavy things all the time, the fans spend most of the time stopped. This means that dust buildup will be a lot less than Macbooks from years go which ran the fans constantly.
Thanks again Russell for the useful advice.I’ve used 70% isopropyl alcohol. You just put a little bit on the microfiber cloth and gently rub it with your finger behind the cloth. That’s overexplaining, but basically just don’t start roughly scrubbing. You won’t break anything. The biggest thing I think that can get you in trouble is using a cloth that might have sand or some other rough debris in it. That would create scratches. This is why I always use a new cloth since they are cheap. I will later use that cloth to clean my car.
Also like anything, do it in moderation. If you’re wiping it down every 15 minutes then you’re likely to cause some wear over time. If you’re cleaning your screen once a week or so, you’re fine.
Here’s the link of the official Apple instructions.
How to clean your Apple products - Apple Support
Get recommendations and guidelines for cleaning your Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro, display, or peripheral device.support.apple.com
Don’t y’all get lens cleaners or screen cleaners? I get them free from the opticians office and from health fairs. I still have a ton filling up my dresser drawer 😂
My wife has boxes of that stuff. But can we use it? I guess, if it's OK for the eyes, surely it's gotta be good on a computer screen, right??!?!?!?!?!?😂
As long your Mac or Apple display has standard glass. Most MBPs sold from third parties are standard glass only.
Not for nano texture MacBook Pro, Pro Display XDR, Studio Display and iPad Pro, y’all have to FOLLOW ’s guidelines and use the polishing cloth they have which should have come with it.