I ask because someone in another thread suggested just blasting canned air into the vent(s). But that person had a PC laptop, and this is a Macbook Pro, and I’m a little leery about it being safe (especially when once using canned air on a desktop tower, the straw jetted out of the nozzle and right into the vent I was spraying). Neither am I entirely comfortable taking apart my computer.
Anyone else, especially fellow MBP owners, who have thoughts on whether (and how, if so) to do this?
Semi-related question: my can of canned air under my sink is quite old. Does that affect its usability somehow?
Using canned air is fine. I’ve done it on my laptop a hundred times.
If you’re super worried about it do it while the machine is off.
and don’t hold the can upside down, otherwise it’ll spray very cold stuff.
You can also spray thru the intake valve. That’ll prevent the fan from spinning the opposite way it normally does. But I do it both ways and see no problems.
I don’t have a Mac laptop, but from time to time I use the vacuum cleaner hose, held up to various vent holes of my laptop (while it’s off). No idea how well that cleans compared with using canned air.
I thought you weren’t supposed to use the vacuum cleaner hose because of static?
And there’s just so many things to “worry” about with using canned air (like the fan direction, the straw, whether it spurts out any liquid because it’s old) that I wanted to get a feel for who does it (and hasn’t had problems), especially MBP owners like myself.
Or, if you don’t dust the inside at all, is that a problem at all for you?
I feel like dusting my laptop every 6 or so months. It makes a difference, but it isn’t huge. I am also an extremely heavy user. My laptop is probably on for 12-15 hours a day.
The fan direction probably isn’t a issue. if you’ve ever taken an electric motor apart you’ll see that it spins freely in place. Direction doesn’t actually matter as far as I know. At least when the computer is off anyway.
If you’re worried about the straw just hold onto it. Besides, it’s highly highly highly unlikely that it’ll squirt off and lodge so deep in your computer that you can’t just pull it out.
I wouldn’t worry about any liquid that squirts out of the thing. Even if it did squirt it’d evaporate in seconds. To convince yourself of this hold the can upside down and squirt some non-porous substance like plastic. It’ll spray a visible white substance that is COLD. But it evaporates in seconds.
Sure, but at the same time, I really don’t want to trigger one of those liquid sensors if I can help it.
And do you (or anyone else) happen to know the answer to my question in my OP about whether canned air “expires” (in the sense of becoming ineffective or the propellent losing its punch or whatever)?
Hmm. In summer/warm climes, mine runs at about 100 degrees (F, of course) more or less; in winter, at around 80 once it gets warmed up. Should I expect lower if/when I dust? How much lower?
And come to think of it, I don’t really know 100% for sure where to spray the canned air to begin with. Any diagrams out there, or do I just blast it into that space between the top and the hinge?
I’d suggest simply phoning your nearest Apple Store and see what they have to say. The people there are friendly and knowledgeable, and in the event they happen not to know the answer to a question someone asks, they are quick to find someone who does…even if it means calling a hotline set up for that purpose at Apple’s HQ in Cupertino.
100F? Just above body temperature? My 15" MBP regularly reaches 80C, I think it’s exceeded 100C before. This was when it was new. It’s almost 3 years old now, and I’ve never dusted it. Are you sure you need to dust your laptop?
Still, we’ll see if anyone else has an opinion.