Is it Safe to Clean a PC Outside?

Hey,

Thinking about giving my PC a clean and I was wondering about where to clean it. It hasn't been cleaned in a while and is going to make a massive mess, especially if I use compressed air.

So is it safe to clean a PC outside? Are there any risks? If it isn't safe i'll just buy some dust sheets and cover things.

Thanks.

Clean it wherever you want, just don't pour water on it or anything alike.

Used to take customers pc's that where just unbearably filthy inside, out the back door and take a huge shot vac to them to suck out all the dust and smoking crud that builds. Just prop it up on something like a table. and it wouldn't hurt to use a ground on both you and it as a precaution. The shot vac did a great job of keeping me from having to breath in all that disgusting stuff people let build up over the span of years of it never once being turned off.

You can clean it wherever you like. But if it is absolutely filthy, I would recommend cleaning it in the bathtub/shower area. Easy to wash away all the dust after. ;)

Well, for starters it's probably a good idea to not do it when there are dark clouds in the sky. Otherwise it should be fine.

Just a little tip... If you leave your case open. It actually stays a lot cleaner. The dust doesn't get trapped like a closed case. This is of course in a regular environment. If you have it in an area where there is sand or saw dust flying around and shit, then you may want to have a good enclosure.

i always clean mine out in the garage and just hit it with my big air compressor

Or you can always use filters. It's much better for temps to have the case on generally. But if you're not OCing it doesn't matter.

I always take the PC outside to clean out the dust. It doesn't take more than few seconds worth of canned CO₂.

I hope you got a good circulation in your house...

@horgen:

Isn't canned air just compressed CO₂ (at least a similar gas)? That's why it gets very cold at the can surface when spraying too long. It's just like the CO₂ propellant for my .22 pellet rifle when I was younger. Besides, the wife would have a fit if I let the cloud of dust fly around the house.

As for good circulation...... Well, the house has robust central air conditioning plus every room has a ceiling fan:

Vacuuming the inside of a PC is faster than blowing the dust out? C'mooon. ;-)

It takes a full year, sometimes more, before dust bunnies accumulate inside my PC. One $6 can of compressed air lasts me around two to three years.

Leaf blower is better.

Oooops. My bad. The wife had an errand for me to do (just got back) So, I had to hurry up my post. I guess it would be worth it if you had to dust out the PC frequently.

I always clean mine outside.

@BassMan: I have cats who like to get into things.

Thanks for the responses. I have a wooden table in my front garden so I'll try putting up on there and cleaning it with air and anti static brushes. :)

Will be fine just don't do it:-

• On a cliff edge
• On a busy road
• At the zoo
• In a swimming pool
• When raining
• When snowing
• While skydiving.....

I see no harm in doing so, I cleaned mine outside about 2 weeks ago.
Just don't do anything silly and you should be okay.

I always take mine outside. I don't want dust getting everywhere.

I use a vacuum and a DataVac Metro Vacuum blower

@jun_aka_pekto: I misread your post a little. If you do it outside, it doesn't matter so much that CO2 is heavier than oxygen. It wont get trapped like it can be inside a house.