Welcome to CompuClean: Computer Valeting!
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If you are worried about Swine Flu and the effects that it can have on your workforce, now is a good time to consider Computer Valeting from CompuClean.
Computer Cleaning Week has come and gone, but you can still benefit from the tips that CompuClean brought to you during it!
For each day of Computer Cleaning Week, we will be revealing ways that you can make your home or office computer and accessories cleaner. Check back daily!
Day 1: Cleaning the Monitor
Why It's Important:
Fingerprint smears - because you've jabbed the screen to point out that particular figure to your boss - can cause unnecessary eyestrain, leading to further complications with your eyes in later years.
What To Do:
Clean the monitor using specialist screen wipes or solution on a regular basis - this removes the dust that also accumulates quickly.
Day 2: Cleaning the Mouse
Why It's Important:
The mouse has over 1500 germs per square inch on it's surface - compared to the 47 germs per square inch on a toilet seat. Your hand is constantly in contact with the mouse - so if you've been scratching your head, wiping your nose, or picking that scab, the germs and skin debris on your hand will pass on to your mouse.
What To Do:
Clean the mouse daily using a foam cleanser. This removes the general dirt and grime that builds up. Also use antibacterial wipes to kill the germs that are festering.
Day 3: Cleaning the Keyboard
Why It's Important:
We probably spend the majority of the day in front of the computer, with hands on the keyboard. We probably cough, sneeze and eat right over our keyboard, meaning that germs and food will be deposited there. The keyboard has over 3000 germs per square inch on it - for a normal sized keyboard, that's over 96000 germs in total, which can include e.coli, MRSA, c.dif and salmonella.
What To Do:
Clean the keyboard using a foam cleanser to remove the daily build-up of dirt and grime. Make sure that each key is properly cleaned. Use antibacterial wipes to then kill the germs. At least once a month, use a specialist low-suction vacuum cleaner to remove the grime that builds up under the keyboard - and if you don't think there's anything there, turn your keyboard upside down right now and give it a good shake - but be prepared to clean up the mess!
Day 4: Cleaning the Tower/Desktop Unit
Why It's Important:
Without the desktop unit, you haven't got a pc. In here, it gets really hot, so cooling fans suck in cool air to keep the temp down. But with the cool air, they also suck in dust and paper particles from the outside environment. These slow down the fan, making it less effective. This subsequently builds up the heat inside the pc, making the machine sluggish, and could also cause major components to malfunction.
What To Do:
Every six months, open up the tower/desktop unit, and carefully vacuum out the dirt and dust that have build up around the fans and other components. This is a delicate job, and if you are not confident doing this, you should call a professional who has the correct equipment.
Day 5: Telephones and Printers
Why It's Important:
We're on the phone all the time in the office, and germs easily transfer from hands to telephone handset and buttons. Telephones have over 25,000 germs per square inch on their surfaces - compared to 47 germs per square inch on a toilet seat.
Also, printers in large offices are subject to 'button pressing' from many of your colleagues, who may not be as hygienic as you - they might not wash their hands after nipping to the loo!
What To Do:
Regularly clean all touchable surfaces - phone handsets, buttons, and printer buttons and menus - with antibacterial wipes and specialist plastic cleanser.
Conclusion:
The office can be a disgusting, germ infested environment - but if you regularly keep your IT equipment clean, you'll minimise the risk to you, your staff and your colleagues.
When we talk about Computer Valeting, we mean physical cleaning of the dirt, dust grime and germs that have built up on your PC!
Take a look at the back of your computer. Can you see the air intake? Behind that, a fan starts to rotate the minute you power up your machine, taking in cool air to keep the temperature on your processor down. Along with that cool air, dust and particles get sucked into your machine. These rest on vital components of your PC - motherboard, RAM, graphics card, printer card, network card, etc, and build up layers of dirt on them. They also build up around the fan, slowing it down. One day, that fan will stop... your processor will overheat... your work will be lost... Costing you untold £££'s to rectify... Or maybe even costing you a new machine.
Take The CompuClean Test:
Computers today are subject to all sorts of filth. Many factors contribute to the dirt, dust, grim and germs that regularly build up on your PC. The environment in which your computer is, if you eat and drink at your machine, and the kind of work that you use your computer for. We'd like you to take part in our test, and send us your results. To take the test: Take 3 sheets of clean, white A4 paper, and lay them side by side on your desk. Pick up your keyboard, and turn it upside down. Give it a bit of a shake, and watch everything fall onto the paper! You may find, amongst other things, bits of staples and paperclips, paper, dust, crumbs of food and dried fruit, hair, finger nails, dead skin, and dead insects! We'd like you to send your results to testresults@computervaleting.co.uk.
Just imagine what grime builds up inside your tower/desktop unit!
Things You Don't Really Want to Know:
Every time you place your fingers on your keyboard, your mouse, and your monitor, you leave behind grease, stains, and germs.
In studies carried out by the University of Arizona, it was discovered that the average computer keyboard contains 400x more germs than the average toilet seat - including e.coli. Keyboards are littered with crumbs, nails, hairs, skin, insects and other particles, debris that builds up through daily use. Monitors are usually peppered with the stains of pointing fingers. Not only is your mouse a festing ground for germs and microbes, but it catches dirt as it traverses the mouse mat, causing 'sticky mouse'.
In the UK, businesses lose £11.7bn each year due to sickness. Some of that sickness can be prevented by regular computer cleaning.
Other Factors to Consider:
Every time you power up your computer, the fan on your machine starts spinning, cooling your power unit. Another fan spins on your processor, cooling this. Both these fans suck cool air from outside into your machine.
However, along with this cool air comes a colossal amount of debris from the surrounding environment.
Do you work in an office? Think of all the paper particles floating in the air - and being sucked into your machine. Upon opening a PC unit, you'll be amazed at the dirt and rubbish that builds up amongst the components. A thin layer of dirt residue lies on the vital components. These build up static electricity, which could short at any time. Can you use your PC without it's graphic card? Printer card? Network card? RAM? Motherboard? Hard drive? CD ROM? DVD? If any one of those components shorts, the whole machine is rendered useless until a replacement is purchased. True, components are getting cheaper - but maintenance is cheaper than replacement!
Consider This:
You regularly take your car to the experts to have it serviced - not because it is broken - to keep it in good running order, and to minimize expensive repair costs. Why neglect your PC?
Over time, your computer will build up dirt and dust. Take preventative measures to protect your data!
Benefits of Regular Computer Cleaning: