Question about using canned air on laptop fans

A customer in Phoenix last week told me my shop's standard practice of blasting the fan with canned air was just pushing dust deeper into the heatsink, and after opening three laptops I saw he was right. I switched to holding the fan still with a plastic spudger and vacuuming the fins first, which takes an extra 90 seconds but gets way more out. How do you guys handle laptop dust without full disassembly?

3 comments

3 Comments

willowroberts22d ago

Ever think about the dust you can't see? I've started using a small USB endoscope camera after cleaning. You slide it between the fan blades and actually look at the heatsink channels. Found a ton of compacted lint the vacuum missed. Now I use a thin plastic straw taped to the vacuum hose to really get in there. It's the only way to be sure it's clean.

robin83622d ago

Yeah that's a solid point from @willowroberts, you can never really trust a surface clean. I've had my PC overheat from gunk you just can't see without looking. Your straw trick is actually genius for getting into those tight spots.

karenw2310d ago

Guess how many laptops I probably ruined before I figured out the fan was just a fancy dust mixer? I was that guy blasting away for years, feeling like a genius while packing the heatsink solid. Your vacuum trick is way smarter.