Cleaning Your Electronic Device

Something we at iFixYouri hear a lot: “How should I properly clean my electronic device?” As we use our computers, our tablets, and our smartphones on a regular basis, it only stand to reason that they are going to get dirty (In fact, as I am typing this, I am noticing all these little stains and marks on my laptop screen . . . I should take my own advice after writing this).

The problem of course is that some substances and electronic devices don’t mix, namely water, and so many people are hesitant when coming to clean their device; or worse, they aren’t hesitant and they end up ruining the thing they were trying to maintain. So here is a quick course on how to clean your various devices without damaging them, and keeping them nice and presentable.

Smart Phones

Smart phones, like your iPhone or your Blackberry, can take a ton of abuse, and easily get dirty. Forget about just your filthy, filthy hands: in your pocket, in your purse, in your bed, your smart phone can get lint, dirt, and all other sorts of undesirable foreign material stuck in the small holes of your phone. Or you may spill sauce or juice on them while typing and eating. Whatever it is, your phone needs to be cleaned on a fairly regular basis.

Make sure the phone is unplugged and powered off. For simple smudges on the screen, use a lint-free cloth (with the iPhone this comes standard). If there is a hard-to-remove spill of say juice or a soft drink, you can use a small amount of water on just the screen.  Don’t use abrasive chemical cleaning agents like Windex – they weren’t meant for LCD screens.

If you have some lint stuck in the connector or some other small crevice, use the compressed air can.

Laptops

The main culprit in a dirty laptop, or for all electronic devices for that matter, is dust. Dust particles are easily attracted to electronic devices thanks to the fact that they are electrostatic and dust can be electronically charged. For computers and laptops, they have cooling fans in dust is sucked in and piles up.

The screen: use a soft, lint free cotton cloth. If needed, you can use a little bit of rubbing alcohol on the cloth to clean the spots I mentioned earlier, or things like finger smudges.

Keyboard: use a small vacuum cleaner, or an compressed air can, to remove the dust and other particles from the cracks of the keys. NEVER use any liquid to clean the keyboard. After the dust is out of the cracks, you can use a small cloth rag, like the one used on your screen, to get rid of the excess.

Cleaning the inside (if you feel expert enough to open up your laptop): be sure to turn it off first, then remove the cover. Dust can be removed using compressed air. This is the easiest and safest method for cleaning the fans, the motherboard, and the rest of the internal hardware.