ServareVitas Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 So I have a 3 year old laptop and the fan hasn't been cleaned out since I bought it. It's literally clogged with hardened fluff. Why haven't I cleaned it? The tiny screws are in too tight. I can't get them out at all, I have the correct screwdriver but they're just too tight even when I press down as hard as I can and employ levers to turn the driver I just end up splitting the screwhead. Soo as I see it my only alternatives are suction or compressed air through the vents. I've tried the old vaccum cleaner trick to very little avail. I don't have a can of compressed air but I'm debating getting one but honestly don't know if it'll make any difference. I've read of an alternative in which you can use a powerful hairdryer to achieve the same effect. Would that be safe? I'm worried about the fact the hairdryer would be blowing hot air and ergo I would only be able to use it in bursts with cooling time in-between. I've also considered possibly cutting off the screwed down fan panel with a stanley knife so it can be removed and fan cleaned out, once done I could lightly tape it back into place around the edges. It would mean there would be a couple of gaps that weren't there before but don't see that as being a problem as long as the panel is secure and fan is more or less as protected as it was before. Help me, I'm a n00b. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athros Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 (edited) So I have a 3 year old laptop and the fan hasn't been cleaned out since I bought it. It's literally clogged with hardened fluff. Why haven't I cleaned it? The tiny screws are in too tight. I can't get them out at all, I have the correct screwdriver but they're just too tight even when I press down as hard as I can and employ levers to turn the driver I just end up splitting the screwhead. Soo as I see it my only alternatives are suction or compressed air through the vents. I've tried the old vaccum cleaner trick to very little avail. I don't have a can of compressed air but I'm debating getting one but honestly don't know if it'll make any difference. I've read of an alternative in which you can use a powerful hairdryer to achieve the same effect. Would that be safe? I'm worried about the fact the hairdryer would be blowing hot air and ergo I would only be able to use it in bursts with cooling time in-between. I've also considered possibly cutting off the screwed down fan panel with a stanley knife so it can be removed and fan cleaned out, once done I could lightly tape it back into place around the edges. It would mean there would be a couple of gaps that weren't there before but don't see that as being a problem as long as the panel is secure and fan is more or less as protected as it was before. Help me, I'm a n00b. It'll be better if you go to the professional who handled laptop cleaning rather than dealing with yourself, especially with those stubborn screws. If you ran into difficulty of finding one, try the compressed air method; it usually works better than any other method you mentioned. Use it in short burst to your laptop's exhaust port, rather than continuous spray, while the laptop's turned off, and after that turn it on to let the dust blown. And no, using powerful hairdrier is big no for obvious reasons (duh). And the second huge no for the planned rough treatment on the fan. Please, not for me, but for your laptop's sake. Edited July 20, 2015 by Athros Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAFIRE Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 my laptop uses a self cleaning program,which i suppose uses the laptop's own vents to clean off the dirt and stuff through the exhaust port. i will go on my laptop soon to see how the program is called,maybe it's a pre-installed program and can't be downloaded or only works on my type of laptop so don't get your hopes too high. other than that, you could use a air compressor as athros says,as it is what i use to clean my non-laptop pc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taiiat Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 if you want to do it yourself, Cans of Compressed 'Air' are standard procedure. the only other methods for cleaning dust that should ever be considered are a damp paper towel, or a traditional Air Compressor with a pressure nozzle and used from a foot or so away from the targeted components to avoid breaking anything. note when using a traditional Air Compressor that unless you have a moisture filter module, once you're done cleaning, you will want to let components air out and the moisture to evaporate. standard times are 90-180 minutes depending on the humidity level of your area. obviously blowing on targeted areas with a fan will evaporate faster. a Hair Dryer is a horrible choice. it creates almost no pressure, but tons of heat. the exact opposite of what you want. - - - - - note, while cleaning out fan areas, the fan blades should be held in place so they do not spin. it's remotely possible to spin it fast enough to send electricity back through the system the opposite direction it's supposed to go. so to avoid any risk of problems, just make sure the fan blades aren't freely spinning. they can turn, just keep it from spinning up. in an enclosed space like a Notebook's CPU fan, using a think screwdriver or something of the sort to hold the blades in place is sufficient. it's probably not accessible, but if it is, you could also oil the fan while you're at it. chances are it's not accessible at all and you'll just need to take it to someone that has more tools than you (i.e. a professional). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ServareVitas Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 So against advice I decided to experiment with the hairdryer by making a nozzle to go on the end, concentrating the flow of air more narrowly. I blew it into the outlet at the back and underneath my laptop through the panel grating (which if you'll remember I cannot unscrew). I then took a knife and made a small incision on the grating, removing a small piece of plastic from the panel and creating a hole about 4-5mm. I then took a straw and blew with all my might. Tons of fluff rose blowing out of the little gaps in the grating. I got rid of a fair amount of fluff and stopped doing long sustained blows once it became apparent I wasn't dislodging anymore. Being concerned the air being blown in would have moisture I left my laptop to air out for four hours. Upon turning back on my laptop seems A LOT cooler but also A LOT more noisy and when it's processing lots of things it hums extremely loudly almost like a humming screech. Should fans/laptops be noisier after cleaning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00b_m0m0 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I'm a n00b. hello Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts