Spring is here!
Spring is upon us. Flowers are blooming. Tax day is gone. It’s that time of year when we get out our brooms and mops and cleanup the dust that has accumulated throughout the winter.
It’s springtime! God let a breath of fresh air come through the door this morning as my husband was going out. Although it had a chill in it, there’s a difference—it’s not the chill of wintertime.
There are several things you should check now that spring is here …
SURGE SUPPRESSOR
Along with spring comes thunderstorms. You’ll want to make sure that you have adequate protection for your computer equipment..
There are several different types of surge suppressors on the market—if you go to buy one, make sure that you get a device with surge suppression—not one of those six port extension cords.
A good surge suppressor will have ports for not only your electrical devices but will also have ports for your telephone and network cables as well.
Some of them come with a $15000 or $25000 equipment protection warranty; I don’t know anybody who has ever claimed that—but it might make you feel good.
Brand Name? I like the APC brand. Probably only because that’s what we’ve historically used in the world that I came from. They were the first I think; maybe not.
I’ve got surge suppressors on everything in my house; some of them are APC and some are not. They work. That’s what I care about.
OPEN WINDOWS
We all want to open the window and let that fresh air in. We need to remember to move our electrical stuff away from the open window. Water and electricity don’t mix. That’s simple.
DIRT
We all know that dirt accumulates through the winter. It’s got no where to go.
Not only does it accumulate throughout your house, it also gets sucked into your computer.
If you have a desktop, it’s relatively easy to clean the interior of the computer. There are usually 4-6 screws on the back of the thing that let you take the case off.
Just take the case off and use compressed air to blow the dust out. Or use a vacuum to suck the dust out.
You can also use a vacuum to suck the dirt out of your keyboard.
Whether you use compressed air or a vacuum, there are a couple of things you need to be aware of and take caution to.
VACUUM CLEANER
Vacuum cleaners generate static electricity when you turn them on. Although you can use it to suck the dirt out of a computer (I use mine to clean the crap out of my keyboard), you want to make sure that you don’t turn the vacuum on in close proximity to the computer.
This is especially true if you have a desktop computer and it sits on the floor or close to the floor in a carpeted room.
When you are inside the computer with the vacuum—be careful to not knock any parts loose!
COMPRESSED AIR
If you are using compressed air to clean the dirt out of your computer, DO NOT blow it directly into the fans and power supplies of the computer. Blowing air INTO these devices will cause these to fail.
WHILE YOU HAVE THE CASE OPEN
Take a quick peek to make sure your fans are working.
The fans inside your computer do the job of keeping the computer cool. These things get hot. Heat causes the electrical components to fail.
If you’ve got one that’s not working, get it fixed. They don’t cost much.
CLEANING DIRT OUT OF A LAPTOP
Bring it in. It’s not something you want to take apart yourself.
Spring is upon us. Flowers are blooming. Tax day is gone. It’s that time of year when we get out our brooms and mops and cleanup the dust that has accumulated throughout the winter.
It’s springtime! God let a breath of fresh air come through the door this morning as my husband was going out. Although it had a chill in it, there’s a difference—it’s not the chill of wintertime.
There are several things you should check now that spring is here …
SURGE SUPPRESSOR
Along with spring comes thunderstorms. You’ll want to make sure that you have adequate protection for your computer equipment..
There are several different types of surge suppressors on the market—if you go to buy one, make sure that you get a device with surge suppression—not one of those six port extension cords.
A good surge suppressor will have ports for not only your electrical devices but will also have ports for your telephone and network cables as well.
Some of them come with a $15000 or $25000 equipment protection warranty; I don’t know anybody who has ever claimed that—but it might make you feel good.
Brand Name? I like the APC brand. Probably only because that’s what we’ve historically used in the world that I came from. They were the first I think; maybe not.
I’ve got surge suppressors on everything in my house; some of them are APC and some are not. They work. That’s what I care about.
OPEN WINDOWS
We all want to open the window and let that fresh air in. We need to remember to move our electrical stuff away from the open window. Water and electricity don’t mix. That’s simple.
DIRT
We all know that dirt accumulates through the winter. It’s got no where to go.
Not only does it accumulate throughout your house, it also gets sucked into your computer.
If you have a desktop, it’s relatively easy to clean the interior of the computer. There are usually 4-6 screws on the back of the thing that let you take the case off.
Just take the case off and use compressed air to blow the dust out. Or use a vacuum to suck the dust out.
You can also use a vacuum to suck the dirt out of your keyboard.
Whether you use compressed air or a vacuum, there are a couple of things you need to be aware of and take caution to.
VACUUM CLEANER
Vacuum cleaners generate static electricity when you turn them on. Although you can use it to suck the dirt out of a computer (I use mine to clean the crap out of my keyboard), you want to make sure that you don’t turn the vacuum on in close proximity to the computer.
This is especially true if you have a desktop computer and it sits on the floor or close to the floor in a carpeted room.
When you are inside the computer with the vacuum—be careful to not knock any parts loose!
COMPRESSED AIR
If you are using compressed air to clean the dirt out of your computer, DO NOT blow it directly into the fans and power supplies of the computer. Blowing air INTO these devices will cause these to fail.
WHILE YOU HAVE THE CASE OPEN
Take a quick peek to make sure your fans are working.
The fans inside your computer do the job of keeping the computer cool. These things get hot. Heat causes the electrical components to fail.
If you’ve got one that’s not working, get it fixed. They don’t cost much.
CLEANING DIRT OUT OF A LAPTOP
Bring it in. It’s not something you want to take apart yourself.