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MP 7,1 Spring Cleaning Mac Pro 7.1
- Thread starter OkiRun
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Do use a vacuum and/or compressed air to suck/blow out dust.
Don't use water or liquids.
Don't use water or liquids.
Def don't use a regular vacuum cleaner, those things spew out static electricity like crazy (2 decades ago i destroyed a sound card by vacuuming it (all sounds sounded like robots)), doubt i would trust a "computer vacuum" either even though they would advertise "anti-static" properties.
Either use an anti-static microfiber cloth or compressed air (make sure it's one of those non-condensation...), get the dust out of the case, close it back up, then you can vacuum the dust off your floor or wherever it lands
Either use an anti-static microfiber cloth or compressed air (make sure it's one of those non-condensation...), get the dust out of the case, close it back up, then you can vacuum the dust off your floor or wherever it lands
Do use a vacuum. Do NOT used compressed air. In fact, keep compressed air away from your computers of any sort. Blowing air around does nothing but blow the dust around. And guess what happens when you're done doing that? It.. settles. Back on/in the computer.
Further, canned/compressed air has liquids inside the can. That stuff can end up in your rig. No bueno. Just don't do it.
I have one of these. It's perfect.
ZesGood Handheld Vacuum Cordless, 7000PA Powerful Suction with Rechargeable Hand Held Vacuum Cleaner 120W Cyclonic Motor, for Home and Car Cleaning (Orange+Black)
ZesGood Handheld Vacuum Cordless, 7000PA Powerful Suction with Rechargeable Hand Held Vacuum Cleaner 120W Cyclonic Motor, for Home and Car Cleaning (Orange+Black)
www.amazon.com
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Good tips, but want to comment that the liquid (difluoroethane—a refrigerant) has an extremely low boiling point, and pretty much disappears immediately. It's the "boiling away" that makes it blast. Whether significant liquid actually comes out depends on whether you're holding the can upright or inverted (quick-freeze is the same as dust-off, except one feeds from the bottom, the other from the top). This stuff is routinely used on electronics, even powered on. About the only thing you could do wrong is cool the heck out of something metallic in a humid environment, causing condensation.
Anyway, agreed you don't want to blast dust, unless you take the computer outdoors first. Outdoors, it would be pretty effective at dislodging trapped dust. Better than vacuuming.
How to clean the inside of your computer
Heat is your computer's worst enemy. Over time, dust buildup inside your computer could undermine its cooling efficiency, resulting in shorter life spans for your computer's components.
How to Thoroughly Clean Your Dirty Desktop Computer
Just like your car, your house, and even your body, your computer needs a good cleaning every once and a while to prevent dust build-up and overheating.
It's Time to Clean Your Computer, Inside and Out
Scrub down those keys, wipe the fingerprints off your screen, and delete all the files that have been clogging your tubes.
The amount of misinformation in this thread is simply unbelievable .
Do not use consumer vacuums , hair driers or canned aired to clean the insides of electronic devices . There are serious ESD and chemical damage concerns here .
Remove or open the device's chassis . Use a real compressor , preferably with a water trap , at 60 PSI at 6 inches from the items you are cleaning . Do not be alarmed if it does not seem powerful enough , as all loose particulate contamination should blow out . Let the items you are cleaning dry for between 12 and 24 hours before powering up again , as there are trace amounts of moisture in the hose line .
In my electronics shop , I have used a Makita Mac 700 compressor for the last 10 years . I paid $200 for it brand spanking new , delivered , from Amazon and it has been an awesome investment . It works like a charm and clients are favorably impressed with the results as their used computers "look like new !"
For small articles , an ultrasonic cleaning machine is an excellent choice . You can usually get away with using distilled water instead of expensive detergents . I recommend Skymen brand with the analog control dials . They're twice as expensive as the cheaper ones but Skymen is a real industrial ultrasonic tank manufacturing firm . They make tanks so large , you could practically live in them . They make their own products in house and the build quality is much better than the cheaper brands , so it should be durable .
There are some ESD safe vacuums specifically made for the electronics industry , but I don't need to use them . These cost $250 - 350 brand new and are made by 3M / SCS .
Do not use consumer vacuums , hair driers or canned aired to clean the insides of electronic devices . There are serious ESD and chemical damage concerns here .
Remove or open the device's chassis . Use a real compressor , preferably with a water trap , at 60 PSI at 6 inches from the items you are cleaning . Do not be alarmed if it does not seem powerful enough , as all loose particulate contamination should blow out . Let the items you are cleaning dry for between 12 and 24 hours before powering up again , as there are trace amounts of moisture in the hose line .
In my electronics shop , I have used a Makita Mac 700 compressor for the last 10 years . I paid $200 for it brand spanking new , delivered , from Amazon and it has been an awesome investment . It works like a charm and clients are favorably impressed with the results as their used computers "look like new !"
For small articles , an ultrasonic cleaning machine is an excellent choice . You can usually get away with using distilled water instead of expensive detergents . I recommend Skymen brand with the analog control dials . They're twice as expensive as the cheaper ones but Skymen is a real industrial ultrasonic tank manufacturing firm . They make tanks so large , you could practically live in them . They make their own products in house and the build quality is much better than the cheaper brands , so it should be durable .
There are some ESD safe vacuums specifically made for the electronics industry , but I don't need to use them . These cost $250 - 350 brand new and are made by 3M / SCS .
Good grief—nice info, but a little heavy handed? How many are going to buy this stuff to clean their own computer?
"There are serious ESD and chemical damage concerns here."
Um, no. Neither case. First, you spray the duster upright, the difluoroethane is just a propellent and you're just blasting the dust off with air and pressure depends on how far you depress the button and how closely you have the straw.
And what chemical damage? Even inverted to blast it out as liquid, the stuff is sold to blast electronic components. And not any more ESD risk than your air compressor. You're not going to use that air compressor to blast the dust off in your office, you're going to take it outside, just like using the can of dust-off.
CRC Duster, $6.98 at Home Depot. Someone is a lot more likely to spring for that than your nice equipment.
OK, maybe this will help. Vacuum versus pressure:
Wad a tissue up and place it on your open palm. Raise it to six inches in front of your mouth. Now try dislodging the tissue by sucking air in as hard as you can. Dizzy yet? Now reverse, blow out instead. And go pick up the tissue off the floor.
Sucking creates a vacuum, air rushes in, but it comes in from in front, top, bottom, sides, you won't feel much negative pressure till you get very close. Then it's suddenly too much. But directed air is aimed, goes where you point it, diffuses over distance due to air resistance.
With a vaccum cleaner, you'll need to push that thing right into nooks and crannies in your computer, not good. And you get an expential increase in negative pressure as you get closer, the last half an inch is a killer.
With a can of Duster, simply control how much blast pressure by how close you hold the can, how far your depress the button, how long you hold it down or keep it in one spot. The is no scenario of danger unless you willfully shove the tube into something and blast it with wild abandon. Just give some quick toots, move the can around to like you're using a leaf blower, do it outside so you're not just blowing the dust around your home or office. It's not complicated or dangerous.
Wad a tissue up and place it on your open palm. Raise it to six inches in front of your mouth. Now try dislodging the tissue by sucking air in as hard as you can. Dizzy yet? Now reverse, blow out instead. And go pick up the tissue off the floor.
Sucking creates a vacuum, air rushes in, but it comes in from in front, top, bottom, sides, you won't feel much negative pressure till you get very close. Then it's suddenly too much. But directed air is aimed, goes where you point it, diffuses over distance due to air resistance.
With a vaccum cleaner, you'll need to push that thing right into nooks and crannies in your computer, not good. And you get an expential increase in negative pressure as you get closer, the last half an inch is a killer.
With a can of Duster, simply control how much blast pressure by how close you hold the can, how far your depress the button, how long you hold it down or keep it in one spot. The is no scenario of danger unless you willfully shove the tube into something and blast it with wild abandon. Just give some quick toots, move the can around to like you're using a leaf blower, do it outside so you're not just blowing the dust around your home or office. It's not complicated or dangerous.
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ESD. Heh. You're "one of those" suckers that believes everything you read, eh? ESD isn't a realistic problem with modern electronics. Regardless of the vacuum used. Good grief man. Thanks for the giggle right before bed; I'm certainly going to sleep easier.
OT but that Makita compressor is the best one I've ever had. it's heavy, though. But quiet and powerful.
There are special vacuum cleaners for cleaning out computers. Don’t ever take a consumer vacuum to a computer. That’s just dumb for a lot of the reasons noted here.
Even if you’ve done it once or twice and haven’t been burned yet, everything in this thread about why not to use one is true. You’re risking harm to your electronics.
I know some people in this thread won’t be convinced but I’m leaving this post here so random readers who come upon this thread in the future will hopefully think twice about some really bad advice being given here.
Even if you’ve done it once or twice and haven’t been burned yet, everything in this thread about why not to use one is true. You’re risking harm to your electronics.
I know some people in this thread won’t be convinced but I’m leaving this post here so random readers who come upon this thread in the future will hopefully think twice about some really bad advice being given here.
Don’t forget to prevent fans blades from spinning when dusting them. Holding with chopstick or long shaft is enough, for the rear blower might need slimmer metal shaft. Current 7,1 have not spare fan replacement floating around, when fan broke only Apple can ships it.
Also, powerful compressor is good for cleaning enclosure but never blow them into any bare exposed electric parts such logic board, since they contains some water expelled along with the air. Better safe than sorry.
We used air compressor only for exterior, sometimes mountain bike drivetrain and frame lol.
For ESD related components we have DataVac for that purpose. in my opinion DataVac are more appropriate for home cleaning.
Edit : For someone who have ESD related, that’s serious things. Some folks who never ESD related problem either lucky or they already properly grounded. We have unexpected dead SSD by ESD, is painful but thankfully with some power cycling technique we managed to revive that SSD. Lesson learned, I have underestimated ESD before until disaster strikes.
Also, powerful compressor is good for cleaning enclosure but never blow them into any bare exposed electric parts such logic board, since they contains some water expelled along with the air. Better safe than sorry.
We used air compressor only for exterior, sometimes mountain bike drivetrain and frame lol.
For ESD related components we have DataVac for that purpose. in my opinion DataVac are more appropriate for home cleaning.
Edit : For someone who have ESD related, that’s serious things. Some folks who never ESD related problem either lucky or they already properly grounded. We have unexpected dead SSD by ESD, is painful but thankfully with some power cycling technique we managed to revive that SSD. Lesson learned, I have underestimated ESD before until disaster strikes.
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I used to professionally manufacture household cleaning products . There's basically no such thing as a safe artificial chemical . Many of my workers , twenty five years after the fact , are dying of leukemia . And I'm probably next , because I got my paws dirty too ( I did blue collar work , as well as administration ) . The best chemical exposure is the kind that never happens in the first place , as it turns out .
Everything we did was legal and ethical , to the best of our knowledge at that time . The senior chemist , a brilliant man by the way , gave his seal of approval on all the formulas and processes . And we were inspected by the government . We ran a tight ship and we still screwed up . I wish I had never been involved in this . You'd recognize the brand labels - they are still widely sold in North America and are now owned by an international conglomerate .
When I realized these things , some fifteen years ago , I decided to reduce my dependency on artificial chemicals in my life . I started to religiously read all the product labels on food products and tried to avoid ingredients I couldn't even pronounce , I even worry about what lotions I place on my hands as the skin is the body's largest organ , after all and ingests .
In my electronics shop , I strictly control what cleaning products are used and how they are used . Both for facility management and on the products , themselves .
For cleaning computers I'll tell you what I use .
Chassis , metal and plastic parts : tap water , distilled water , higher purity ( 70 - 100 % ) isopropyl alcohol , lighter fluid , acetone ( nail polish ) , Simple Green and Goo Gone ( both used by bicycle mechanics to remove grease ) , paper towels , cotton swabs with wooden sticks , ESD Black Sticks , compressed air . Acetone , Simple Green and Goo Gone are rarely used . Often a final wash of distilled water is used .
Printed Circuit Boards , processors , associated heatsinks : higher purity ( 70 - 100 % ) isopropyl alcohol , distilled water , cotton swabs with wooden sticks , ESD Black Sticks , fan blown air , clean coffee filters to deep clean thermal areas ( lint free by health law ) .
Gold plated surfaces on electronics ( lands , teeth , terminals and other connectors ) : Stabilant 22 ( rarely used , to remove oxidation found on very old electronics like computers 15 + years old ) . Apple used to recommend this on memory module teeth some twenty years ago .
And the use of Nitrile groves and sometimes face mask during many cleaning operations .
On very rare occasion , a grinder is necessary ( to remove hardened factory thermal grease , like Krytox ) . Full face protection and gloves used .
Since some of the computers we possess and service are collectables , we are very conservative about what substances are used to clean them .
With regards to using canned air , how do you know if the chemicals in them will eventually affect the Ph of the substances they land on ? If it turns acidic , it could eat through circuity or damage things cosmetically . For difluoroethane , there is no information on it's Ph in its Materials Safety Data Sheet . It could clean today and destroy at some time in the future . Not a good idea to encourage someone to risk a $6,000 workstation with $6 worth of canned air .
Really , $20 a year ( the annual cost of an excellent , small , industrial grade compressor ) is affordable to clean the insides of electronic devices . It can also be used for a lot of other purposes at home or studio , such as inflating car tires , cleaning keyboards , etc .
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All good info, I'm just in disagreement on the degree.
You name good, strong (good idea using the gloves) but low-residue solvents. Great. Then you worry about difluoroethane, which boils away before it touches anything. Sure, if you invert the can you can soak the board, but it will be gone in a flash, perhaps leaving light water condensation briefly. You'd have to do it purposefully, but even that's nothing, and something commonly used in testing circuits, even while powered on (carefully). Acetone desolves solder flux, difluoroethane won't disolve anything. (I'm an electrical engineer, pretty familiar with cleaning ciruit boards safely but effectively.) And in normal use, it doesn't touch anything to begin with, you're basically moving air.
Your suggestions are fine. I totally disagree, though, with your original assertion that something like Duster is a dangerous way to blast out your computer (outdoors). It's not chemically dangerous to your computer, and it's no more ESD-prone than the methods you use. I agree with you that vacuums aren't worth it.
If you have ever examined the professional service sources or even consumer instruction sheets released by electronics companies like Apple , HP , OWC , etc. , you'd realize the need to be worried about costly damage caused by static electricity . They don't issue those statements for $%#$ and giggles . Component level ESD guards only protect so much .
On a fun note :
[automerge]1587575768[/automerge]
I use Acetone like it's a nuclear weapon - it is a powerful solvent , oftentimes with negative side affects .
I'm curious if you would discuss what substances and procedures you use to clean PCBs . I suspect an ultrasonic cleaning tank is the best , noninvasive procedure .
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It's been tested over, and over, and over again. If you're stupid and purposely shuffle your feet on carpet to build up a nice charge, then you might... and I can't emphasize MIGHT enough, cause a spark bad enough to cook something. These days, the likelihood of that is basically zero, though. The documents those companies release are all CYA; just like sending anti-static wrist straps, which is so funny it hurts.
But never mind me while I work with electronics that weigh as much as your car and probably cost more than your house does. I don't have any idea what I'm talking about.
Ultimately, do whatever makes you feel better. I'm going to continue using my little USB-charged vacuum to keep my rigs clean.
You are extrapolating your experience to others, but the world is diverse, people who lives where humidity is around 10% half of the year or more knows that ESD is real. Very real.It's been tested over, and over, and over again. If you're stupid and purposely shuffle your feet on carpet to build up a nice charge, then you might... and I can't emphasize MIGHT enough, cause a spark bad enough to cook something. These days, the likelihood of that is basically zero, though. The documents those companies release are all CYA; just like sending anti-static wrist straps, which is so funny it hurts.
But never mind me while I work with electronics that weigh as much as your car and probably cost more than your house does. I don't have any idea what I'm talking about.
Ultimately, do whatever makes you feel better. I'm going to continue using my little USB-charged vacuum to keep my rigs clean.
It's been tested over, and over, and over again. If you're stupid and purposely shuffle your feet on carpet to build up a nice charge, then you might... and I can't emphasize MIGHT enough, cause a spark bad enough to cook something. These days, the likelihood of that is basically zero, though. The documents those companies release are all CYA; just like sending anti-static wrist straps, which is so funny it hurts.
But never mind me while I work with electronics that weigh as much as your car and probably cost more than your house does. I don't have any idea what I'm talking about.
Ultimately, do whatever makes you feel better. I'm going to continue using my little USB-charged vacuum to keep my rigs clean.
Some of the rigs I work with are worth $30,000 . I can't afford to screw up on a Build or service job because I didn't ground or discharge myself . You do realize not all static damage is immediately evident , right ? You can weaken electronic circuits but not destroy them right away , with ESD . So , something that gets zapped might still work today and fail mysteriously a year later .
As a side note , this is why System level stress tests are so important before releasing a rig back to client . You simply push all major components concurrently at load for a number of hours to discover any faults .
I have been working with personal computers since 1979 . And in the beginning , I had no idea what grounding was . I'm willing to bet most if not all of the guys in the early years of the personal computing revolution ( sorry , I had to use that phrase at least once in my life ) didn't ground themselves at first . In time ( and as components got smaller and denser and more sensitive ) , we learned otherwise .
From the Woz :
As others have mentioned, be wary following the advice of some people here. Blowing the dust out is by far the most effective method. Do it outside of course. What I use is the METROVAC Electric Duster ED3L. Current searches show model ED500 which appears to be identical. Believe me when I say dust doesn’t stand a chance with this thing around! Note that there’s an ESD model as well. Oh, and when doing your cleaning, be sure to wear a dust mask.
It used to be that ESD regulations mandated the use of manufacturing facilities with a relative humidity between 30 and 70 % , if someone wanted to fulfill US government contracts for electronics goods .
Then the Industrial sector got lazy , complained compliance was too difficult and costly and so the standard was basically scrapped .
In my shop , I have a German made precision hair hygrometer and when it drops below 30 % RH I fire up the humidifiers and when it goes above 70 % RH I fire up the dehumidifiers . Easy Peasy .
I suppose in order to sell to the government these days , I need to take a hammer to that instrument and smash it to pieces .
I'll defer to your expertise here. But funny story (to me): I've soldered a zillion components, built circuit boards from scratch, taping traces on vellum, even wire wrapped entire computers. But I went 100% software long ago. I can't even remember what I cleaned my boards with after soldering, but I just looked at a dense board I made in the '70s and dam, it's fine 😂 and not a hint of flux.
Recently, I needed a phono preamp, and mine were all dead or horribly noisy. I recapped the best one (PS IVH). Very little flux, but I wanted the job to look nicer. I tried isopropyl, pretty weak against flux, realized I needed actetone. I thought where I might have some...garage, no...what else would use acetone...oh yeah, someone must have left nail polish remover here some place...found "lemon scented" polish remover in a cabinet. It worked great, but felt dumb. Then I decided to bring my Lexicon PCM70 back from the dead, just because I had already spent time to figure out the good audio electrolytics available these days, and might as well have less dead gear.
So surely I should get some real flux remover, right? Not lemon scented polish remover. I look online, dam expensive for such a simple thing. Youtube—yeah, there's a video with a ton of views, how to make you own. I watch intently to learn the secret...oh dam, the main ingredient is...lemon-scented nail polish remover 😂
ESD: Yes, I'm familiar with the dangers, and how easy it can happen. I remember we used to have...I guess it was the PDP-11 used in a system at TRW, and in winter walking up to it to open the big removalable disk door you could easily bring the system down. I remember someone sprayed some wattered-down Downy on the carpet to minimize it, though there was the thought if you let it build up too much it could insulate and negate the effect.
Obviously, components are a whole lot safer once it's in the circuit, and I think more modern use of metal and plastic isilation and protection have made assembled devices not as susceptibleas in the past, but it's still a possibility. And depends on your climate. On component-level handing, you dam better be careful, chips can cost $$$$ abd it's not hard to zap them.
My original comment about ESD was that whether it's your air compressor or my can of Duster, there isn't much difference there. We're both taking it outisde (or similar), unplugged, and taking the lid off before giving it a blast, so same ESD threat (not very much, unless you really want to open it up, shuffle across the carpet in the dead of winter with the heat turned up, and reach in to touch components). I don't have a compressor, myself—have considered it many times but it would get used so rarely, for me.