How To Clean A Motherboard

Keeping your motherboard clean is an integral part of being a responsible computer user. Your motherboard has so many different ports and modules. It also performs a plethora of operations that can be impeded if it’s too dirty.

Dust and debris can impair connections to the motherboard and even keep your computer from working, mainly because they can increase the heat on the board.

Everyone should include a routine cleaning of their motherboard in their list of chores — along with the rest of the computer components. However, some people will need to go further and deep clean their motherboard for it to operate correctly.

If you haven’t cleaned a motherboard before, approach the operation with a lot of caution. Motherboards are delicate, and the wrong move could damage the equipment and make it unusable in the future.

There are two main ways to clean a motherboard: routine cleaning and deep cleaning.

Routine cleaning is something you should include as part of your regular computer maintenance schedule. It doesn’t require much special equipment, and you don’t have to remove your motherboard from your computer to do it. This is the only kind of motherboard cleaning that most people need to do.

Deep cleaning requires alcohol and a lot of caution. This type of cleaning is necessary when the motherboard has been in a filthy environment, or something was spilled on it. If you do it improperly, you can brick the motherboard.

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For reference, I’ve only had to deep clean a motherboard once — when we bought a possibly damaged motherboard for a test build, and there was visible dirt on it. There are three computers used daily in my household, and we’ve never had to deep clean the motherboards we purchased new for them.

Routine Cleaning

To perform a routine cleaning for your motherboard, use compressed air and a very soft brush. Before starting, shut down your computer, flip the power supply switch, and unplug it from the wall. You want the computer to be in an area that’s easy to clean since dust will blow out of it.

1.Open the side panel of the computer. If there are multiple panels, remove them all. You want space for the dust to vacate the machine.
2.Use a can of compressed air to remove the dust by directing the spray across the machine’s components. Your starting place will vary depending on the setup of your computer. It’s best to start at the top and work your way down since dust will fall and settle on lower components as you go.
3.When you approach your motherboard, make sure to work from the case’s back to the front. You do not want the tip of the compressed air can to touch your motherboard directly. Keep it about an inch away from the motherboard. Continue using compressed air on the motherboard until all the loose dust is off.
4.Continue blowing compressed air into the case and onto the components until the loose dust is free of the case.
5.Examine the motherboard to see whether there is still dust on it. Certain areas may be challenging to reach, or there could be stuck on dust that you want to remove.
6.Use the soft brush to remove any dust stuck on the motherboard gently.
7.Spray compressed air across the computer and its components, including the motherboard, one more time to remove any dust you pulled up with the brush.
8.Close your computer and set it back up as usual.
When you clean your motherboard, it’s a good time to do other computer maintenance operations. You can remove the case fans, wash them, and dry them. You can check your wiring for loose connections or clean up any overlapping cables.

Cleaning your motherboard this way, at least every quarter, is an excellent way to keep it working. Removing dust will keep it from overheating, too, which can help you get better performance.

Keep an eye on your motherboard and the inside of your case to determine whether you need to clean it more often. Some computers gather dust more quickly than others, depending on where they’re placed in a room.