How to clean and disinfect your laptop the right way (2023)

FAQs

How do I disinfect my laptop safely? ›

Add distilled white vinegar to the distilled water if the surface grime is difficult to remove. Again, do NOT spray any cleaning materials directly onto a computer. Spray or dab cleaning liquid onto a microfiber cloth, wringing out excess fluid, and gently wipe the monitor with broad strokes.

A microfiber rag with water will do the trick—or, pick up some electronic wipes. Power recommends the brand WHOOSH! because "it's one of the best screen cleaning and laptop cleaning devices out there." Go over the screen once or twice gently with your wipe or rag and make sure not to press too hard, Silverman adds.

“You don't need much to clean a computer,” said Jolie Kerr, New York Times contributor, cleaning expert and host of the podcast “Ask a Clean Person.” “I use exactly four things to keep my laptop clean: Rubbing alcohol, microfiber cloths, cotton swabs and canned air.” Ninety percent or higher isopropyl alcohol is ideal, ...

Clean the surface using a product containing soap, detergent, or other type of cleaner appropriate for use on these surfaces. Launder items if possible, according to the label's instructions. Use the warmest appropriate water setting and dry items completely.

DO use a 70-percent isopropyl alcohol solution (aka rubbing alcohol). DON'T spray a cleaning agent directly on your computer's surface. Spray your cleaner onto a cloth first and then gently wipe the cloth over the surface. DO wring out your wipe or cloth so it's not dripping wet, just slightly damp.

How to clean an LCD (not glass-covered) laptop screen: If you have a PC laptop with an LCD screen, you should not use disinfecting wipes. Manufacturers, such as Hewlett-Packard, say that active ingredients found in both Clorox and Lysol wipes could damage your screen.

Never spray alcohol or another liquid directly on your computer or laptop screen. Use another clean microfiber cloth with a small amount of 70%+ Isopropyl Alcohol or a 70%+ alcohol cleaning wipe. Wipe down your entire screen and be sure to get the edges.

To clean your screen, use a screen cleaning wipe or a soft, dry, lint-free cloth. When necessary, you can dampen the cloth with one of the following: water, isopropyl alcohol (IPA) solution 70% or less, or eyeglass cleaner. Never use glass cleaner or other chemical cleaners. Keep it out of the sun.

There are two effective ways to disinfect your keyboard: using isopropyl alcohol swabs or disinfecting wipes. When using alcohol, always make sure it is isopropyl, as, for example, ethyl alcohol can remove lettering off of your keyboard.

How to clean my laptop keyboard? ›

Internally: I do it whenever I can. Deleting unnecessary files and reorganizing folders, as well as running a deep computer scan to uncover any virsuses, malware, or other software that's slowing my computer down. It's depends on your environment. If you use your laptop at most outdoor, you need clean it per month.

Whether you want to upgrade your laptop's hardware or just dust it out, manufacturers don't want you to open most laptops. But dust does build up inside a laptop, whether you can open it yourself or not. Even if you can't open your laptop, you can still attempt to dislodge some of that dust.

Clean your screens: Everything from your smartphone and tablet to your laptop and television will benefit from a gentle wipedown with baby wipes if you don't have lens or screen wipes available.

If there are dirty fingerprint smudges everywhere, use a slightly damp cloth with water only. DO make cleaning easier, and prevent cracks and scratches, by using a screen protector on your laptop, tablet or smartphone. DON'T use glass cleaners or household detergents to clean screens.

There are times when you may want to disinfect a keyboard, especially when using a public computer or one with multiple users. According to Apple's website, use Lysol Wipes or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes to do the job. Do NOT use disinfectant sprays or wipes containing bleach.

Want to thoroughly clean your keyboard? Use compressed air. It allows you to blow out dirt and dust particles from your keyboard as well as any particles lodged in between the keys. Be sure to hold the compressed air can upright and away from your body, and aim it at the keyboard while depressing the nozzle.

Use an anti-static cloth to lightly dust your computer casing. Do not use furniture cleaners or strong solvents. Use a can of compressed air to blow out debris from the air intake slots. Ammonia diluted with water—or glass cleaner comprised mostly of ammonia and water—is a safe cleaning solution for computer surfaces.

What is a natural cleaner for laptop screen? ›

The ideal solution is plain distilled water, which contains no chemicals and is gentle on the screen. If heavier cleaning is needed, a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and distilled water can also be effective. Make sure you use plain white vinegar, not apple cider vinegar or any other kind.

Gently wipe the screen and device.

Use a Windex^® Electronics Wipe to remove fingerprints, grime and other unsavory smudges from the screen, keyboard and plastic casing.

Technology company HP has shared some rather helpful tips on how to keep your laptop or PC clean nicely disinfected. They recommend the use of an alcohol-based disinfectant, such as a hand sanitizer with 70% isopropyl alcohol and 30% water.

While you can purchase keyboard key removal tools, you can also easily remove laptop keys using a flat head screwdriver. When cleaning your laptop keys, all you will need is some compressed air, rubbing alcohol, and cotton swabs.

Vacuuming a keyboard can be done to clean the top layer and larger particles of debris off of your keyboard but it is not recommended. If your keycaps are not secured properly, they may get sucked into the vacuum. We recommend that you remove the keycaps first. Compressed air is usually a better option than vacuuming.

To keep your computer sanitary and free of germs, follow a proper maintenance and cleaning schedule of every three to six months. If you notice lots of dust following cleanup, you may want to increase the frequency to reduce the dust and debris buildup.

How long will this take to clean? Cleaning the outside of your laptop takes less than five minutes. If you need to open up the laptop to access the inside, it'll take about 15 minutes.

Having a lot of browser tabs open at once can also slow it down quite a bit. If this is happening, close any apps, browser tabs, etc., that you don't need and see if that helps speed up your PC. If it doesn't seem to help, restart your PC and then open just the apps, programs and browser windows you need.

Why is my laptop so slow? ›

Why is my computer so slow? If you notice your computer starting to slow down, it's likely because you have too many programs running at once. Powering several programs at once takes a lot of processing power, impacting performance and speed.

Close background programs in Windows 10

A chief culprit for slow speeds can be too many programs running in the background. This can use up memory, processing power, laptop battery life and internet bandwidth. Click Start > Settings > Privacy, then click the Background apps option at the bottom of the left-hand pane.

Show activity on this post. Is it safe, judicious to clean wired keyboards with hair dryer on cold setting or vacuum cleaner? A hair dryer on the cold setting will do the job nicely and good quality ones will even allow you to adjust the strength of the air flow.

Open Disk Cleanup by clicking the Start button . In the search box, type Disk Cleanup, and then, in the list of results, select Disk Cleanup. If prompted, select the drive that you want to clean up, and then select OK. In the Disk Cleanup dialog box in the Description section, select Clean up system files.

There are three ways by which anything can be cleaned: Thermally (heat), Mechanically (scrubbing), or Chemically (bonding/dissolving).

Three-Step Cleaning and Disinfecting Method

Step 1: CLEAN: Use soap, water and a clean cloth/brush. Scrubbing to clean. Step 2: Rinse: Use clean water and a clean cloth or place under running water. Step 3: Disinfect: Apply chemical following provided directions (strength and contact time) to the surface.

Sanitizing kills bacteria on surfaces using chemicals. It is not intended to kill viruses. Yes, EPA registers products that sanitize. Disinfecting kills viruses and bacteria on surfaces using chemicals.

What is the process of disinfection? ›

Disinfection describes a process that eliminates many or all pathogenic microorganisms, except bacterial spores, on inanimate objects (Tables 1 and 2). In health-care settings, objects usually are disinfected by liquid chemicals or wet pasteurization.

Combustion gases. These gases include carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide. They can cause flu-like symptoms, respiratory illnesses, or even death. Don't use unvented combustion appliances (such as portable kerosene heaters) indoors.

Building occupants complain of symptoms associated with acute discomfort, e.g., headache; eye, nose, or throat irritation; dry cough; dry or itchy skin; dizziness and nausea; difficulty in concentrating; fatigue; and sensitivity to odors. The cause of the symptoms is not known.

You can easily clean your keyboard using rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs, and a lint-free cloth.

Remove all batteries. Prep a clean cloth or a cotton pad to be sprayed with a 70 percent isopropyl alcohol-based disinfecting solution. (You can also use Lysol or Clorox wipes. DO NOT USE BLEACH ON YOUR GAMING GEAR. )

Use an anti-static cloth to lightly dust your computer casing. Do not use furniture cleaners or strong solvents. Use a can of compressed air to blow out debris from the air intake slots. Ammonia diluted with water—or glass cleaner comprised mostly of ammonia and water—is a safe cleaning solution for computer surfaces.

Cleaning Internal Components

Caked-on dust or dirt can be rubbed away with isopropyl alcohol using either a cloth or a Q-tip for hard-to-reach places. You should never take apart the hard drive or the power supply, not even to clean them.

For fingerprints and smudges, spray 70% isopropyl alcohol onto a cloth, or use a pre-moistened alcohol wipe or a Clorox Disinfecting Wipe, to clean non-porous surfaces like the screen; do not use bleach. Wipe the glass surface and corners, being careful not to let any excess moisture wick from the wipe or cloth.

Can you Clean a Keyboard with Clorox or Lysol Wipes? Clorox and Lysol wipes both work very well for cleaning and disinfecting a keyboard. The wipes can be used to clean the surface of the keycaps and the rest of the keyboard. If you remove the keycaps, you can do a deeper clean with Clorox and Lysol.

How do I disinfect my keyboard and mouse? ›

Using disinfecting products on your mouse or keyboard

You can use an isopropyl alcohol (IPA) solution to safely clean Microsoft mice and keyboards. Apply an isopropyl alcohol (IPA) solution that's 70% or less to a soft, lint-free cloth to clean the device.

Spray the air in a zigzag pattern so you don't miss any nooks and crannies, and make sure you hit all sides of each key. If you don't have compressed air, you can try another device that blows air (such as a blow dryer). Do not spray air directly under the keycaps; it could damage delicate electronics.

Dust with a microfiber cleaning cloth. Use an ammonia-free electronics cleaning wipe or lightly dampen a clean cloth with water and wipe from top to bottom in an S pattern. Do not spray water or screen cleaner directly onto devices, especially onto a screen.

Health experts suggest cleaning your phone at least once a day as a preventative measure. Before you begin, check with the manufacturer for guidance on how to clean your device. Apple and a number of Android device manufacturers offer similar recommendations: Unplug the device before cleaning.

Lysol® Disinfecting Wipes are suitable to use on electronics, making the cleaning process easier than you think.