I usually feel the urge to clean my keyboard when I’m working on the computer, for instance when I see some dust on it. The problem that I constantly face is that I cannot really clean the computer while it is running. The same goes for the computer mouse. The reason is simple: Both the mouse and keyboard send keys or actions to the system which are then executed if the computer is running. And you need to press down the keys or mouse buttons if you want to thoroughly clean the hardware.

Sure, it is possible to shut down the computer to clean the keyboard and mouse while it is off. Then again, why shut down the computer if there is a way to clean keyboard and mouse while the computer is running.

You could try and lock the computer while cleaning, but that method is not foolproof as you may hit a key accidentally that unlocks the PC again.

The idea of using child protection software, like Toddler Keys or Kid Key Lock, makes sense considering that the programs can be used to disable keys and mouse buttons effortlessly.

Toddler Keys is probably the more sophisticated of the two. The program adds an icon to the Windows System Tray upon execution. A right-click displays the available options.

Here it is possible to lock the keyboard, keyboard and mouse, drive doors or power button separately. A keyword to unlock the computer is set in the program options. The default word is quit which needs to be entered to unlock the keyboard and mouse again.

You basically start the program and lock the keyboard and mouse whenever you want to clean your keyboard or mouse. I’d suggest to shut down the computer though before you start thoroughly cleaning it, especially if you are using fluids to do so (via).

You may also want to take a look at Mike’s guide on cleaning the insides of a computer.

There’s no way around this either as your PC’s case has to have vents and air-holes.  If it didn’t the whole thing would overheat and, unless you had a very elaborate heat-pipe system in place, your computer would constantly crash.

The thing is though that with dust clogging up the innards of your PC it’ll crash anyway, or at the very least heat up too much and be automatically shut down by your motherboard’s BIOS to prevent the components melting.  As an example of this, just look at the processor heatsink in the photo below.  This was taken of one of my own computers just this morning.  Underneath the fan the processor heatsink it caked in thick layers of dust.  Under this circumstance the heatsink won’t be able to vent any heat properly and the fan will just be something that spins around uselessly.

You can’t escape dust from entering your PC either.  Some people say you should keep it on a desk or lifted up from the floor by a small stand.  These things, while they may delay the inevitable, can’t prevent the build up of dust.  Other people say don’t keep it on a carpet and instead try and put it on a laminate floor.  Laminate and wood floors are even worse though.  You may not get thick carpet fibres in the PC but at least a carpet can trap a lot of the dust in the room.  With a wooden floor there’s nowhere for it to go except for inside your computer.

So we reach a point, as we all do from time to time, when you need to clean the inside of your computer, as I will have to do today.  I thought I’d share with you then my tips on the best way to do this.

First of all you should make sure that the computer is switched off and unplugged from the mains electricity supply before you take the side off the case.  You should then make sure that wherever you clean the PC, which should be in a place perhaps near an open door as it’ll get messy, it should be well supported on a clean, flat surface.

The best start is with a good strong puff of breath.  You’d be surprised how much dust this will actually clear.  Some people at this point may be inclined to stick a vacuum cleaner in the case, but first I’d recommend a small, unused, paintbrush.  This is a great way to get rid of most of the dust from the components themselves.

This won’t get the dust up from the inside bottom the case though and won’t help with the processor heatsink where you can’t (or at least shouldn’t) remove the fan.  Here you’ll need that afore-mentioned vacuum cleaner.

You should always make sure, when using a vacuum cleaner inside a PC that you observe the following rules.

1. Always use the vacuum on it’s lowest suction setting
2. Have a small, soft brush attachment fitted to the end of the hose

With these two rules in place you’ll be able to gently brush over the components inside the case and remove the dust.  The processor heatsink can be more stubborn but for that I’d recommend the long thin nozzle attachment which you can point inside the fan to get at the dust directly.

You do need to be very careful when cleaning the inside of your PC as the components inside, especially those on the motherboard and plug-in cards are tiny and sometimes very fragile.  Always be very gentle and take your time.

You should normally do this with a PC a couple of times a year or so depending on where you keep the machine and how dusty it gets. Doing this will help prolong the life of your computer, help keep it operating at its maximum speed, help keep it quiet and probably most importantly have the side-effect of reducing your electricity consumption.

Sweeper is a KDE utility included with KDE 4.2, is released under the GPL, and is currently enjoying version 1.2. Sweeper is very simple to use, does one thing and does it well.  Simplicity is certainly one of the best features in Sweeper. You start it up, select what you want to clean, and press the Clean up button. Sweeper is so simple to use, there is no documentation. So why am I writing about Sweeper? Because no one knows about this handy utility.

Starting and Using Sweeper

You can find Sweeper in the Accessories menu under the GNOME desktop. In KDE 4.x you can do a search for Sweeper (in the main menu search) and it will show up. Finding the Sweeper entry can be rough in KDE 4.x. If you click on the Main menu click on the Applications tab and then click on the Utilities entry and then click on the More Applications entry. Under the More Applications entry you will see System Cleaner menu entry, click on that to open Sweeper.

Sweeper Window

The image to the left is the only window for the Sweeper application. There is no window for settings, options, or preferences. This one window is where all the action takes place.

Once you open up the window you will see two panes. The top pane is where you select the various types of data you can clean up. The lower pane is the information pane. As data is cleaned you will see a message in the bottom window indicating the data has been cleaned up.

The buttons along the bottom are pretty obvious. The left-most button selects all data types, the middle button selects none of the data types, and the right-most button does the clean up job.

Once you clean up your system and you close Sweeper, the next time you open the application all data types will be, once again, selected. Having all data types selected is the default action and can not be changed. You can also not add data types to the applications. This is truly a “what you see is what you get” utility.

Final Thoughts

Sweeper is a great way to keep your Linux system clean and free of the tracks you often do not want to leave behind. Instead of having to manage numerous tools for this job, why not employ one single tool to do the trick for all of those cookies, files, and histories you do not want to leave around.