Cleaning laptop fans

Thag · Post by **Thag** » 2004-09-17 04:00pm

I've been getting a lot of dust and scuzz in the exhaust fans on my laptop, and I was wondering if there's a safe way to clean it out. I swear, this stuff sticks to the sides of the ports, so simply wiping it off doesn't work. I've thought of trying to scrape it off, but that doesn't strike me as wise. What's the best way to do it? For reference, it's a Dell Inspiron 8200.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-09-17 04:06pm

try a can of compressed air, maybe? or a q-tip? also, the fan typically isn't anywhere near crucial components, so it wouldn't harm it all that much to scrape the stuck stuff off.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-09-17 05:14pm

You could try a vacuum with hose attachment. You should be careful about canned air as it can blow the dust in places it really shouldn't be.

Shadowhawk · Post by **Shadowhawk** » 2004-09-18 03:42am

If you ever use forced air around fans, hold the fan still with a free hand or jam a pen in there to prevent it from turning. Forced air can make fans spin faster than their design tolerances and could burn them out.

Thag · Post by **Thag** » 2004-09-18 11:13am

I don't know if I have a vacuum attachment that'll work to get in there, but I do have an airbrush and compressed air. There's the two fans on the back and a grill on the other side of the corner, so I might be able to angle the air back out through the ports. Thanks!