Children’s & YA Fiction

Spring Cleaning

Spring has sprung and it’s time to get that spring cleaning done. This can apply to your computer and other electronics as well. Dusting, wiping the dirt off, and deleting files can extend the life of your computers and other electronics.

First,  let’s take some time to move old photos and videos from your phone to cloud storage. OneDrive and Google Drive are the most popular, just to name a few. Some users will even use social media for storage. Now that we have freed up some space for all the summer pictures and videos, we can clean the outside.

Supplies

Most electronics can be wiped down with cleaners that are mostly isopropanol and distilled water but  there are cleaners specifically for electrics as well. You can make your own using 50/50 91% isopropanol and distilled water.

Cellphones/Tablets/Monitors

When wiping down a cellphone for example, a couple of pumps of this solution on a microfiber cloth should be enough. You can wipe the screen and the camera lens as well as the case that was protecting your phone. These recommendations also will work for cleaning off tablets. Canned air is good to removing larger pieces of dust and debris from your screen before wiping it down.  This can help reduce the possibility of scratching your screen. Using the same cleaner, you can wipe down the screen of your laptop. Be sure to use a lint free microfiber cloth to prevent scratches.

Computers

Slightly more involved than a cellphone or tablet, cleaning a computer requires the addition of a screwdriver. In order to get to the fans and heatsinks of a computer, you need to take the cover of the CPU off. This is an important part of cleaning out a computer but use caution when doing so. In many cases there are metal heat dispersing blocks with fins that love hanging onto dust and debris. These metal objects are fastened to chips with clips or adhesives. Using canned air at all angles at the heatsink will allow those chips to stay cooler and therefore extend the life of your computer. Once the case cover is back in place. You can spray a cloth with the same cleaning solution from above and wipe down the cover, monitors, keyboard, and mouse. The final thing to wipe down before turning the computer back on, (often overlooked) is the cables. Make sure you plug them first, run the cloth over them and take time to check for breaks in the shielding. If you notice any, throw the cable away and replace it before turn your computer on again. Cables the run under desks get stepped on and the shield can wear and crack and tear.