What's Involved in Computer Valeting?
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Computer Cleaning isn’t as simple as grabbing some compressed air and spraying crumbs out of your keyboard, and running a damp cloth over your monitor screen. It’s a complex process, broken down into five stages...
Stage One: The Keyboard:
In most cases, the keyboard can be cleaned effectively with a foam cleanser. Applying this to a cloth, rub the over the face of the keyboard, cleaning each key as you go. Don’t forget to clean the plastic moulding of the keyboard itself – this too accumulates dirt and germs.
You may find, however, that you need to give it a bit more of an intense clean, especially if your keyboard is more than a year old. A thorough clean incorporates removing every key from the keyboard, vacuuming the base of the keyboard, soaking each key in solution, cleaning each key individually, and then reinserting each key back onto the keyboard. If you can’t manage this, call CompuClean to do it for you!
Stage Two: The Monitor:
The monitor is the simplest component to valet, but one that should not be overlooked as being unimportant.
Starting with the foam cleanser, the monitor's outer casing should be thoroughly cleaned. This area can get quite grubby, with pen marks around the monitor screen itself, and a build-up of dust and dirt on top. These areas must be cleaned. Following that, the actual screen area is cleansed. This is typically accomplished with a specialist cleaning wipe, dependant on monitor type, e.g. CRT, TFT, LCD, etc. It is important that the monitor is well maintained, as this is the main viewing area, and if your vision is impeded in any way by dirt it could damage your eyesight.
Stage Three: The Mouse:
Do you ever get sick of 'sticky mouse'? You know, when you move the mouse but it only goes so far, and you have to keep picking it up and banging it down? Why does this happen? Because it needs cleaning!
The mouse is cleaned by firstly removing the trackball. Upon inspection, it will be evident that there is much dirt on it. This comprises of dust, crumbs, hair and other dirt which gets onto your mouse mat and subsequently into your mouse. The problem doesn't stop there. The runners inside your mouse, which the ball rotates and makes the cursor move on screen, are also bogged down with dirt, which stop these from rotating, causing 'Sticky Mouse'. The dirt needs to be scraped from these runners, and extracted from the mouse to prevent further problems. The mouse is then cleaned using compressed air and a low suction vacuum.
Stage Four: The Tower/Desktop Unit:
This is the most complicated and delicate to clean, and should ONLY be cleaned by professionals. Upon removing the casing, you are greeted by a complex design of wires, system cards and vital components.
These are generally coated in a layer of dust, brought in via the cooling fans on the unit. This dirt - hazardous to the health of your machine - needs to be removed!
The areas that are easy to access must firstly be wiped down with a soft brush, removing loose fragments of dirt. Each component should be cleaned in this way. Then, in the less accessible areas, use compressed air to remove the grime. Finally, a low suction vacuum is carefully used, manoeuvring around the components, ensuring that not a spot is left within.
To complete the cleansing of the Tower/Desktop Unit, the outer casing should again be cleansed thoroughly.
Stage Five: The Desk Area
Not only is your computer a haven for germs, but so is your desk. When cleaning your computer, you should endeavour also to clean the working area upon which your computer is placed. This will involve a simple case of grabbing a cloth, picking up the polish of your choice, and blasting away those germs.
How Often Should My Computer Be Cleaned?
Commercial clients with heavy usage (i.e. computers running for long periods with multi users - for example call centre run machines) should be cleaned on a three-monthly basis, to ensure non-stop access to their machines.
Commercial clients with typical usage (i.e. computers running typically from nine till five, Monday to Friday) should have their units valeted every six months. This will ensure that their machines will continue running healthily, and prevent time consuming, expensive breakdowns.
Domestic clients who have casual usage (i.e. computer running on an evening to browse the internet, type school assignments, play games, etc) should have their machines valeted annually. Again, this regular preventative maintenance ensures that the machine is constantly in good working order, just when you need it.