How to properly clean your laptop?

We assume that you regularly clean your mobile phone due to coronavirus, but admit it, when was the last time you truly disinfected your laptop? Keeping your laptop surfaces, keyboard, touchpad, and ports clean and disinfected is important for your hygiene, especially if you’re not the only one using it.

You can't imagine how much dirt, leftover food, and dust there is in your laptop and how many bacteria are there. If you have time this weekend, make your laptop shine, and thus increase the level of hygiene in your environment. Here are some useful steps you can follow.

Photo by Christine Donaldson on Unsplash

Gather the laptop cleaning supplies

Before we start, here’s a list of supplies and products you will need (or you can use) to properly clean your laptop:

• Clean microfiber cloth

• Gloves

• Can of compressed air

• Fan

• Cleaning gel

• Isopropyl alcohol

• Lysol wipes

• OXO Good Grips Sweep & Swipe Laptop Cleaner from BREO BOX subscription box

Don’t:

• Use glass sprays, aerosol sprays, solvents, or abrasives

• Use very cold water

• Spray a liquid directly at the screen

• Don't use a cloth which can potentially scratch or damage the screen

Turn off and unplug devices before cleaning

The first thing you MUST do before start cleaning your laptop is to turn it off and unplug it! This is the only way to avoid potential accidents and electric shock. If you can, remove the laptop battery to avoid injury due to electrostatic charges.

Also, disconnect and remove all cables and wireless keyboard and mouse receiver. The things we have mentioned above are especially important because you’re going to use wet wipes and a little liquid to clean your laptop later.

Image by Michael Schwarzenberger from Pixabay 

Cleaning the exterior of the laptop

Cleaning the surfaces of your laptop is also important, not just because of the cleanliness but your hygiene, too. Start with cleaning the bottom of the laptop. You can use a microfiber cloth to gently wipe out dust or stains on the surface of the laptop.

But if there are some stains and oily fingerprints on the surface, you can use the damped cloth with distilled water or isopropyl alcohol (make sure that the cloth is not wet). It’s better to use isopropyl alcohol instead of water because it evaporates quickly without leaving any residue on the surface of the device. Once you're done, do the same with the other side of the laptop.

Disinfect laptop

These days when the whole world is fighting against coronavirus, it is important to make sure that you disinfect all the products you use often. Just like disinfecting your phone and other devices, you must do the same with your laptop.

The best way to disinfect your laptop is by wiping the screen, case, touchpad, and keyboard with disinfecting wipes or disinfecting products specially made for cleaning PC and laptop. This is extremely important for your hygiene especially if you are not the only one who uses the laptop. Besides, you can use any disinfecting wipes for this purpose, just make sure they are free of bleach and ammonia.

Photo by Mia Baker on Unsplash

How to clean your laptop screen

Cleaning a laptop screen requires patience and attention. Today, many modern LCS screens on laptops are incredibly detailed and richly colored so just a little touch makes it look messy.

For cleaning the dust, it is best to use a microfiber cloth while for dirt and grime, a damp sponge or towel is most appropriate, for oils and sticky stuff, cleaning solutions are most suitable. Just make sure not to wipe the screen with too wet a cloth or scrub the screen to avoid damaging it.

Keyboard cleansing

Keyboard cleaning can be a complicated and tricky task to do. It's not that hard if you keep one thing in mind - do not allow any liquid to get under the keyboard. Therefore, get brushes to remove dirt and dust. Then, dab a clean cloth with isopropyl rubbing alcohol and rub the keys.

Also, cleaning gel (almost like slime) is a great way to quickly clean your keyboard. Manipulate it into a ball with your hands, and then press it over your keyboard. Then pull it off gently to remove all the dust and any crumbs.

But, there’s an amazing gadget for cleaning your keyboard the best way! OXO Good Grips Sweep & Swipe Laptop Cleaner is a handy little tool for anyone with a laptop they like to eat lunch over or eat sweets while working. One side of this brush has a small microfiber pad you can use to clean off screens, and the other side is a little brush you can use on keyboards so you can easily remove any crumbs and dirt that is impossible to clean with a microfiber cloth.

Also, you can wipe along your screen to remove any dust or fingerprints! You can have everything you need for cleaning your laptop in just one gadget! Another nice thing about the Sweep and Swipe is the brush retracts into the case. It’s small and portable so it doesn’t take much space.

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Cleaning your touchpad

How to properly clean the touchpad? In order to clean the touchpad surface, use a damp cloth to wipe off oily stains and dirt while a dry towel or duster can be used to wipe off dust particles.

Cleaning USB ports and vents

USB ports and vents are often very dusty and dirty parts of the laptop. Do not clean these parts with wet wipes or water spray! Use a brush to sweep away dust particles from the vents. Make sure not to disturb the internal terminals of the ports. You can also use a cotton swab to clean it thoroughly. Finally, you can use an air blower to blow off any remaining dust in the ports and prevent unexpected overheating.

How often should you clean your laptop?

Now that you know how to clean your laptop most effectively, it is important to know how often you do it. There is no general rule but how often you should clean your laptop depends on various factors such as the location and environment where the laptop is used. Still, experts advise to deep clean your laptop at least once every year. On the other side, if your environment is warm and dusty you should clean the laptop at least once every month.

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