Pro tip: I was cleaning thermal paste wrong for like 3 years

I always used a paper towel and a tiny bit of isopropyl alcohol, rubbing it around until it looked clean. Then I saw a video from a guy in a repair shop in Austin, and he used a coffee filter instead. Tried it yesterday on an old i5 heatsink, and the filter left zero lint behind. The surface was perfectly clean, way better than my old method. Has anyone else found a simple swap like that for a basic task?

2 comments

2 Comments

sethmitchell16d ago

Oh man, I did the exact same thing. Felt like a genius with my paper towels until they left a whole sweater behind on the CPU.

tessap9816d ago

Wait, you used paper towels too? I always thought they were fine for spills until I saw what they leave behind. That fuzz gets everywhere, @sethmitchell, and it's a nightmare to clean out of a fan or heatsink. Now I just use those cheap coffee filters, the plain white ones. They don't shed at all and you can see any dust right on them. Total game changer for cleaning my PC.