Is using compressed air a good or bad idea?

[emirpk]

Hi,

What is the general consensus on using a can of compressed air to clean a laptop. I see many articles recommending it but I also see some articles that say it does more harm than good (i.e. Pushes the dust around). I'm not experiencing any major problems but my laptop is about 2 years old and I want to clean it out to avoid overheating issues later on. I don't want to take anything apart, I just plan on spraying the vents. So Is it worth the trouble/risk of damage or should I just pass on it until I have a problem?

Thanks.

 

[USAFRet]

If you're just spraying the air into the vents, you're just blowing it around inside.

 

[skit75]

Vacuum your vents, if you can.

If you must use compressed air, at least make sure your laptop is powered Off. And yes, this will cause dust particles to get into your moving parts, namely your fan's bearings.

 

[Foldalot]

If you're just spraying the air into the vents, you're just blowing it around inside.

When I was spraying the rear vent, dust was coming off from it, and also from the battery compartment (battery was taken off). So I guess that's a way to blow out the dust and not circulate inside

 

[emirpk]

Thanks for your input. So it's better to so nothing than to do something in this case? Or is there an effective way to do this without taking apart anything like foldalot suggests? Any other opinions would be much appreciated.