The best way to clean your laptop's fan?

  • Thread starter Leicht
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Leicht

Leicht

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Leicht92
Hey, I'm just wondering what is the best way to clean a laptop fans. A lot saying that the best way is to use a compressed air can but at the same time, people say it's bad for the fan itself. Do you have any other alternative way for this? or should I just use the can?

Thanks :)
 
Best way would be open the laptop up remove the fan, use a horsehair brush to get most dust off, then compressed air to remove the rest and any dust that is in the laptop.

Also clean the heatsink fins too.

But compressed air is fine, just do in the opposite direction of airflow.(ie Into the exhaust)
 
Grayfox
Best way would be open the laptop up remove the fan, use a horsehair brush to get most dust off, then compressed air to remove the rest and any dust that is in the laptop.

Also clean the heatsink fins too.

But compressed air is fine, just do in the opposite direction of airflow.(ie Into the exhaust)
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Is it possible and advisable to remove the fan ?
 
Use the can. It won't hurt the fan. I would leave the fan in the laptop and blow the air into the fans to blow the dust out.
 
Unless you know what you are doing, then take everything out and clean it then put it back together.
Disclaimer: probably should not do this unless you have done it before.:P
 
I get a thin pipe attachment on my hoover and just put it over the vent of the fan when the laptop is off. If you haven't done it before you can see clumps of dust being sucked out. Works well for me...

Compressed air will force dust further in whereas using your hoover will pull it out...
 
You see, it's like half says using compressed air are ok and other says it's not...:crazy:

I don't want to take risk of damaging my laptop :)

some said using vacuum is not good for the laptop
 
What makes you think the fans need cleaning? I just opened up a Titanium PowerBook from 2002 which was used every day for five years and there wasn't a single speck of dust inside. In fact the same can be said of the other Apple laptops I've opened, ranging from an ancient PowerBook G3 to a 7 year old MacBook. I'm sure it's fiiiine, don't worry about it.
 
Angle grinder.

Though a can of anti-static compressed air will work well, better if you can disassemble the laptop enough to get at the fan. That'll probably void the warranty though, if that's an issue.
 
I have mentioned before not to use a vacum/shop vac to clean a computer due to static electricity.

If you use your laptop in any of these situations you'll acquire a lot more dust then if not i these situations:

1. Live with Dogs and Cats
2. You smoke
3. You use a lot of perfume/cologne around your computer
4. You work in a retail store that requires a lot of dusting (liquor stores is a good example)
5. You work in a restaurant with a lot of frying going on.

Granted the last two probably won't apply to many people with their laptop.

Taking it apart is the best way, but just make sure to remember where everything went, and mark the screws somehow. I use a piece of paper and sketch a rough drawing of the bottom of the laptop. When I take a screw out I tape it to the area on the drawing that matches where I removed the screw.

If you had to use a vacuum cleaner, in suck mode would probably not be potentially as dangerous as blow mode. But still using a can of compressed air is the best option, unless you wanna buy an electronic vacuum/blower.
 
If you are going to clean the fan, remember to not let the blades spin if you use canned air (or vacuum, which you really shouldn't). You can destroy the bearings.
 
Leicht
You see, it's like half says using compressed air are ok and other says it's not...:crazy:

I don't want to take risk of damaging my laptop :)

some said using vacuum is not good for the laptop
Click to expand...

Well if you are still worried about spraying compressed air into your fan then put it this way; the risk of you damaging your laptop's fan due to spraying compressed air in it is ridiculously low, not even worth considering the risk. So I say you can go ahead and use compressed air.
 
I'D just unscrew the fans, take them out, dust them off with a fine brush and screw them back in. That's what I do from time to time. My laptop's often used on my bed, so it gets quite dusty... But removing the fans is everything but hard.
 
To you it is not hard but to someone who is clueless about this sort of thing is another matter.
 
Well, I dunno about other laptops, but for mine, you unscrew like six to eight screws and the fan drops right out... I'm far less tech-savvy than you might think :lol:
 
I always use a vacuum to clean out my laptop and pc. :D I have a rubber nozzle I can put on to prevent static build up. Just remember to lock up the fans before you try to clean them, otherwise, as stated before, you'll destroy the bearings.
 
neema_t
Oh, I thought it was a MacBook Air!
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Its actually a 15" rMBP ;)

Leichit you can unscrew the bottom case with a cross head screwdriver easily and inspect the fans to see if they are blocked or full in any way. On my MBP the fan is very easy to access and asses if it is working or blocked.
 
My ASUS takes only a minute to open it up and for me to reach the fan. I use a little and stiff paint brush to clear out all the dust.

My sister's boyfriend HP Pavilion needs a clean, but whoever decided that you have to unscrew half the laptop to reach the one little fan in the corner under the keyboard has to be an idiot. His laptop is so idiotically made that I decided to not bother before I'd rage and break the whole thing.
 
On my Asus U36SD, i have to unscrew the bottom, then lift the palm rest off to get to the internals.
 
Thanks Everyone who suggested :)👍

Solo
Its actually a 15" rMBP ;)

Leicht you can unscrew the bottom case with a cross head screwdriver easily and inspect the fans to see if they are blocked or full in any way. On my MBP the fan is very easy to access and asses if it is working or blocked.
Click to expand...

So if it's it is currently block, how should I remove it? I know the fans in the non-retina MBP is different than rMBP

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Last edited:
Dennisch
I always use a vacuum to clean out my laptop and pc. :D I have a rubber nozzle I can put on to prevent static build up. Just remember to lock up the fans before you try to clean them, otherwise, as stated before, you'll destroy the bearings.
Click to expand...

How does the rubber nozzle prevent static build up?
 
Because it said so on the package. :lol:

But I think it is because it is made of rubber?
 

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