These days keeping your tech in tip top condition is vital to many. The average adult is awake for 15 hours and 45 minutes every day and 45% of that time is spent using Tech. You may think your screen, keyboard, mouse etc looks clean but studies have shown that a ‘touch’ phone has approx. 25,000 germs per square inch. You will be surprised to know that toilet seats are listed as being cleaner than your phone! How gross is that?
Germs aside, dust is also a problem when trying to keep your technology in good condition. As the dust blocks vents and filters, your gadgets will slow down, malfunction or overheat. Here are some tips for keeping your tech in tip top condition without damaging it:
1. Power down
Make sure everything is switched off completely and unplugged from any power sources. If your equipment has standard batteries, remove these before cleaning.
2. Remove any cases or covers
Make sure any removable covers have been taken off but leave screen protectors on (unless you are planning to change these).
3. No household cleaners
Most cleaning products will end up causing permanent damage to your tech. If you want something that will kill germs and remove grime, then use a high purity Isopropyl Alcohol (AKA Rubbing Alcohol).
4. The power of air
The easiest way to get rid of dust, internal and external, is to use a can of compressed air. These can be brought from most computer stores and comes with a handy little nozzle to direct the air right into those hard to reach places. If your tech is really dusty, remember to do this in an open area as dust/particles will go everywhere! We don’t recommend using compressed air on your computer’s internal fans and this can make them spin too fast and damage them.
5. Into the depths
Cotton buds, toothpicks & tweezers are great for getting into those hard to reach places. Cotton buds are especially good for getting the lunch crumbs from between your keyboard keys.
How often you clean your tech is completely up to you but wiping them down at least once a week will definitely reduce germs and get it on its way to becoming as clean as your toilet seat!
IT Manager
In 2016, Gemma joined Optima’s network team. Her main priority is to provide support to our clients and internal staff. Gemma also takes care of the day to day running of the networking team, making sure all issues are solved within SLA’s and clients are happy with the support we provide. More about Gemma.
Ask Gemma about IT Support / Server Support / Small Business Networks / Backups and Disaster Recovery / Server Virtualisation / Business WiFi Solutions
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