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Warning: I thought canned air was fine for everything until a client's laptop fan died

A regular came in with a gaming laptop that kept overheating, and I gave it my usual quick blast with a can of air. Two days later, the fan made a grinding noise and stopped. I opened it up and found the bearing was full of dried dust paste I'd just pushed deeper. My buddy at another shop said he only uses an electric blower for fans now, and after buying a $80 Metro DataVac, I see why. Has anyone else killed a component by cleaning it the wrong way?
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2 Comments
ross.angela
ross.angela3d agoMost Upvoted
My old shop used canned air on hundreds of laptops over five years and never had a fan fail from it. We just used short bursts and never spun the blades. That Metro blower is overkill for most quick clean jobs, don't you think?
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gavine41
gavine413d ago
Hold the fan blades still before you blast them, or you'll wreck the bearings.
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