HOW TO CLEAN A COMPUTER

You will want a few handy tools to take care of actual dirt: a can of compressed air, cotton swabs, tweezers, rubbing alcohol, a clean dusting rag, and a clean damp cloth will get you started. If you've never cleaned your computer, now is the time to do so! In the future, give it a check-up or cleaning every three months or 30000 clicks.

First, turn off and unplug the computer and monitor, then unplug the mouse and keyboard. Take a look at the back of your CPU, remove any debris or dust bunnies that might be snuggling up to your fan, and give the vents a light dusting with the dust cloth. If you're adventurous you can remove the case from the CPU and blow the dust off the inside components using the can of compressed air, but don't try it if you're not comfortable with it. Wipe the outside of the case with the damp cloth to keep things from looking too dingy.

Next up: the keyboard. If you've never cleaned a keyboard before please prepare yourself, because they can get surprisingly dirty. Turn the keyboard upside down and gently shake it. Gently! Set the keyboard back down and look closely for hair, bits of paper, or other debris that you can remove with your tweezers. Use the can of compressed air to blow between the keys to dislodge any debris that might be hiding, and repeat the "shake and tweeze" maneuver. Wipe the keyboard down with the damp cloth, and if your keys are exceptionally dirty you can clean them with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol.

How you clean your mouse will depend on what type you have. For an optical mouse, clean the area around the sensor (where the light comes out) with a cotton swab dampened with rubbing alcohol. For a track ball or traditional ball mouse, remove the ball and use the damp swab to gently clean the roller mechanisms. Replace everything where you found it, and wipe the outside of your mouse with the damp cloth.

Check your user's manual for instructions on how to clean your monitor screen. While you might be able to use a spritz of rubbing alcohol and a lint-free cloth on most CRTs, some LCDs require specific cleaning solution.

Finally, give everything a chance to fully dry before plugging it all back together and turning the computer on.