How To PROPERLY Deep-Clean PC Fans
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- Опубліковано 13 чер 2021
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PC fans can become extremely dirty if routine maintenance is neglected. Here's how to properly deep-clean them!
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#PCFan #PCDC - Наука та технологія
Take a shot every time Greg says Qtips
Oh boi
Is that of the 99% IPA?
Original Garcia's Mexican skull
Skål
Careful Son... These are Americans... People may die.
20+ minutes of thoroughly cleaning just one fan... That's what I call dedication
quality knowledge :)
With 6 120mm, 3 smaller gpu fans plus the one in the psu will take about half a day of cleaning... I can't even clean my room for more than 30 minutes
emphasis on the "+"... he time lapses a lot of it...
@@myvicariouslife4012 yeah its a bit overkill
@@vladtherussian9594 7 Cosair QL120s and 3 from the capellix aio and 2 from my gpu and one from my PSU damn thats a lot of fans to clean -_-
I love PCDC Tutorials!
Actually your videos inspired me to deep clean my own system. I did and the result is amazing . The fresh clean look on the system makes it look brand new again. Thank you and please keep the series going .
how long did it take?
2:35 "I do deep clean my office after everyone of these"
I legit imagined him deep cleaning his office with Q-Tips and Isopropyl Alcohol.
Thanks for everything you do for the community!
I just discovered this channel and wow! I can’t wait to find the videos on deep cleaning the rest of the PC components. So far, I haven’t found anyone anywhere near this thorough and that is awesome.
Sleeve bearing fans will have a lubrication well in the hub, usually under the sticker. Usually there is a rubber stopper to pry off. Sewing machine oil is what's usually recommended but the 3-in-1oil everyone seems to have works, too.
I'm using silicone spray, has worked fine so far.
@@mikeycrackson You can drill a tiny hole where the rubber plug would normally be, and just reseal it with tape after adding oil. I've done it quite a few times over the years to fans like that.
@@mikeycrackson WD-40 is fine and everyone has it laying around, it also has the added benefit of the red injection tube to get inside the housing without any mess.
I had a fan on my GPU make insane noise from time to time for a year or so. I finally decided to open it (unfortunately there was no well and i had to "pop" it, it was a little scary) and lubed it with silicone spray. It's been 8 months and has been running noise free ever since
@@BroNapartay “Red Injection Tube” sounds a lot like a fancy way to say “a straw”
Hope whoever reads this has a good day
you too my guy
Thanks, you too!
Word
good night
I hope a good day has you.
This seems like a very thorough guide, nicely done! Tbh I would never be this meticulous about cleaning even my own fans but it's cool that this deep clean guide exists. To me as long as the visible dust is gone and the dust in the bearing is out I will feel comfortable putting it back in the system. Especially where I live where you have so much dust that cleanings are about every couple months, this level cleaning just isn't very practical. Really cool video though!
Nice! More Deep-Clean series please.
We need to take care of our old parts healthy and happy until back to normal price 👍
We need more of these tutorials so we can properly and thoroughly clean PC parts. Keep up the great work! 👏🏼
Yeah, one specifically on disassembling GPUs and cleaning/repasting would be pretty helpful.
Love these vids, always get a little nervous cleaning fans because of the bearings, I'll definitely pull up this video again when it's time to clean them.
Important note for those using their family's Rubbing Alcohol: Use the cap from an empty water bottle or other container to avoid contaminating the rubbing alcohol once you place the cap back on. This will also let you close it & avoid having it evaporate while you clean.
I own a small porcelain watercolor tray which ended up being perfect for this! If you're doing this often enough you can get a simple porcelain/ceramic dip dish for very cheap which is easy to clean.
Calm down
Having gone to all that trouble, if the fan's more done more than a year or so of service, why not peel pack that central sticker (start with a blade under the edge) and (if there is one) pry out the rubber plug and add a 2 or 3 drops of motor oil?
Exactly what I came here to comment on as well. Refurbish the fan on the outside by getting rid of the dust as shown here but also need to add oil to really get it to "like new" working order (although at around 14:45 in video Greg seems to feel these fans don't need re-lubricating)
@@topperdude2007 it's 'preventative maintenance' - even if a fan's functioning perfectly, if it's been running for 1000's (or quite possibly 10's of thousands) of hours it'll function perfectly for a lot longer with some fresh oil.
I do this exact thing to all my fans in mine and customers PCs. I use drops of WD40 inside the bearings and you can really hear the difference on some of the older fans. Good idea to keep a 12 volt power supply unit around as well so you can plug the fan into it and let it spin to get that oil down inside the bearings.
@@Inf666ipi I wouldn't use WD40 to be honest, it's mostly a fairly volatile carrier and the actual lubricant is very light and also tends to evaporate off fairly quickly, just use oil - motor/engine oil is fine, but you can go as far as getting hold of specifically formulated electric motor oil ('turbine oil' is the same). Funnily enough I also use a PSU for that purpose, but mostly for testing new fans before installing them - just had to return a noisy fan a month back as it happens (a 14cm Noctua Redux surprisingly) .
@@EliteRock the redux fans are definitely a little too budget in quality. I ended up getting Artic Bionix fans instead 👍👍
I just hose down my whole PC every couple of months.
Yeah I use a pressure washer to save time 😂
This technically work if you let the pc dry completely afterwards before turning it on.
I blast mine with a cordless electric leafblower. Works amazingly well.
@@Sam_Saraguy I just the blow port on my shop-vac with the blower attachment on the end of the hose. Works 10/10
Great video, thank you for taking the time to make this.
I needed this, the apartment I was in was notoriously dusty because of the carpeting and the back of my fan blades just have this coat of grime that’s really hard to get rid of
6 months? I haven't cleaned mine for 11 years. Glad I had that cleaned last week.
These antec fans bring me back to my first build, I still have them stored somewhere just in case, stripped from my antec nine hundred :D
i literally watched all of your deep clean videos they are like tv shows to me.
Just finished my new build and needed a new Windows key. Headed right to your channel and you didn't let me down lol. Thanks for the cdkey discount and keep up the good content.
that is how I got my key for my new build. my old build was a free win7 key from school that was upgraded to 8 for 10 dollars and a free win 10 upgrade.
yessirr pls do more of these love your channel 👍
Holy shit seeing the cables and controllers of this fan brought me back to my Antec nine-hundred case!! good times!
Still rocking the Antec case! I did change all of the Fans out a while back, but I now use the ridiculous number of bays for NAS Drives.
@@DrTroop I absolutely love the hdd trays with the fans .. they really made a great case ... idk how new their cases are faring these days.
I had to unfortunately discard it. It was degraded, rusty and IO was "broken".
edit: I did make a big fuzz about it and got pictures and farewells and all .. lol
Thanks for your video, I understand why sometimes I turn on my machine and the fan starts off loud then gets quiet.
Awesome video man! Thought I'd add that not only could the bearings be damaged by not holding the blades, but you also run the risk of damaging the motor itself. A motor getting spun by an external force is just a generator, and you can create some reasonable current with the high RPMs from an air compressor just spinning the blades, enough to cause damage internally sometimes. Also, if you have to leave them in the case to clean them, at least unplug them because if you blast the fan with air without holding the blades you can burn up a fan header.
Its so satisfying seeing your computer deep cleaned.
Thank You !! For Taking the time to share this and all the other things!! Thumbs _up!!
Youve hit a good pattern of video topics, congrats
Must admit you have the patience of a saint, i tend to use a dust cloth 1st and a small brush to get the worst of it off, then use alcohol wipes and go over everything again
The electric dusters aren't too bad about overspinning the bearing, but if you use an air compressor with aa high pressure nozzle, it's actually pretty easy to overspin the bearing and ruin it. And yeah, air and brushes don't do was well as a Q-Tip. That dirt and dust can really get stuck on those blades.
Great video & Great Channel !! Hopefully the noisy fans in my system only need a deep clean, would love to see Greg do a video about How to setup system for quietest operation.. clean fans and fan curves are all I can think of...
Goodness gracious, you could eat off the components you clean.
You are an absolute master at this.
BTW, love the watch my dude. 👍
More therapy for me. Thanks Greg! Whoooooo
Very excited for the next PCDC
Coming this Friday!
Might have to do this soon. I still have soot in my pc after my dryer caught on fire, I left my pc on when I ran out and it sucked up smoke and soot lol
The fan is from an Antec 300 case. Its the top fan (140mm). The fan has a switch for Low / Medium / High. My first gaming case 2006 :(
Great video 👍
Do you have a video on properly oiling a noisy computer fan. Thanks.
Can you do a video on how to deep-clean a radiator? Ive tried compressed air and vacuum but I still have an annoyingly-fine layer of dust inbetween the fins.
I've actually pulled off simple sleeved bearing fans right out of the bearing, used alcohol soaked shop towels to remove the dirty lube completely, dried it out, and added new lube in (hairclipper oil) and then put it back in, and it went from fully ceased to fully functional and quiet.
I use vacuums, can't stand blowing all that dust and dirt back into the air.
same. that dust ends up blowing around the room.
@@leetmanny I also use an old toothbrush with the vacuum to loosen the stuck on dust around the small components on pcbs and hard to reach areas. Works very well. Then for the really stuck on dust/dirt I use 99% isopropyl with a micro fiber cloth that has the really fluffy side on them. Those fibers can catch and hold so much crap. Just have to be super careful with them because the fibers can catch on everything.
Something that most people have are stock CPU coolers, a tutorial on those, too, would be appreciated!
i would love to see a video about methods for fixing a broken CPU fanheader pin argb pin and usb3 pins ?
Can I take the blades off the motor to clean blades easier?
What about using any kind of lubricant?
Also, maybe consider getting larger q-tipw.
@Greg Salazar, idk who to ask about this broblem but, I have a Dell G5 5500 and in less than a year it is almost unable to play games at most 50fps and it overheats past 200°F and it is ventilated and cleaned. Have any idea how to fix/restore it?
Would you clean a PSU fan in a similar way with the q-tip?
Nice how to video. How I clean out fans is to use Paper towels which i moisten with the cleaner and tear the paper towel into smaller pieces which i use like a cotton swab but since the paper towel has a bigger surface area it can clean quicker and easier.
I have a more than 10 year-old Dell Studio XPS and I clean it just like Greg does. I've done this periodically over the years and I am running Windows 10 PRO with no problems at all. I run a few newer games without hassle. Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU X 980 @ 3.33GHz 3.33 GHz
how do I open the back so I add lubricant on that exact fan?
most important reason to me for cleaning everything with proper solvents that break down grease and oil is that there is usually something in the air landing and sticking (oil and grease particulate) that make the surface a giant flytrap for catching dust all over again and not letting it go, We seriously need to focus on developing methods to make computer cases seal-able so no air is entering into it to get the heat out, like those that have heat pipes that run up and out to the case's inside surface so the outside of the case becomes a giant heat sink, now just add proper fins or something and put the fans on the outside like that, where you can easily pop those off disconnect them and clean the outer fins with out worrying about dust inside the case since it is sealed, even if we put fins inside too that circulate air from the inside of the case to cool it down and then back into the inner core of the computer components to cool them off or something, though we need much better heat sink compounds or a way to avoid needing them or something, lol, (since they like to dry out and then stop giving proper heat bridge for the heat to escape to the heat pipes in this case thus causing a massive heat cascade failure as it over heats and causes other heat sink past to dry or cook and fail as well lol)
damn my man did a whole video on one fan
this is a very good video
neat tutorial
It's like you know what I need. Used your code, got the key, watermark free 🚀🦐🤸
Ahhh yes pc/dc my favorite band
how long does the alcohol bottle last after you have opened it, I understand you will use more as you do this often but if i clean mine every 6 months would it be an idea to get a new bottle everytime or can i keep the bottle and use it again?
A bottle of Isopropyl should last you quite awhile. You might use 1/3 of the bottle cleaning your whole PC... I use mine for lots of different applications, keep a bottle of 70% (for cleaning hands, sticky stuff off tables, etc) and 91% (just for cleaning motherboards/other components. 70% dries too fast for use on PCBs and has too much water content) on deck at all times. It will not evaporate or go bad in the bottle, as long as you keep the lid on.
CRC Electronics cleaner spray is the way to go get the spray and solvent action in one go! Does a good job with a duster or compressed air as well to help blow stuff out once you spray it in somewhere as opposed to letting it re-evaporate where it's at. You probably want to re oil the bearings on your fan if you use it but it will get the gunk out of the hub like nothing else. Honestly, the stuff works pretty good at cleaning pretty much everything it is a godsent for cleaning off any gunk or oil or grease if you do any work on your car. Both cleaning off what you're working on as well as you!
Is it safe to run the fan under running water if you cover the center hub or bearing?
No, there are too many gaps and many electronics exposed. You can do that, but you will need to dry it and change oil.
if I run out of qtips, I use a fiber cloth to smoosh all those sticky stuff left by the qtips.. then i use the end of small paint brush together with the fiber cloth to get all those tight corners..
hello i love your videos so far. i have a radeon rx 570 4gb my screen keeps on turning off and when it comes back on my screen is green for like 1 sec any ideas what could it be. i cant replays it im working 2 jobs and provide for 2 house holds please any help maybe about the gpu
Plz upload the deep clean series
i use a paint brush. idk if thats smart or not but it helps get through small areas
Also, don't spin the blades if it is still connected to the motherboard as the fan will generate current and send it back. I've popped a motherboard fan controller in the past by doing that.
The video we have all been waiting for (don't lie)
I live in SA so I am no were close to you but my pc is a night mere for eg resent my computer fans, all of them stopped working so I have to keep the side panels of an keep an eye on temps
Idea suggestion... relubrication/adding lubrication to old fans or fans that have possibly been tainted by fluids like water from a leaking radiator. It has been many years since I saw a good one. With the many types of fans out now showing which kinds to and not to plus some reference links could be helpful.
Reminds me I have an ancient fan from the dark ages of computing in my firewall I should lube or remove and give a good Viking Burial for almost 23 years of service. Come to think of it it has a 10GB (yes GB) HDD in it too. Maybe I should donate it to a museum instead.
you can actually use a leaf blower or I used to use a high powered compressor. 60psi is considered the highest level needed before possible damage.
Wouldn’t an industrial compressor be too strong though? I once tried cleaning the inside of my camera with my school ’s compressor and right away it knocked the mirror off kilter
Can someone tell me what that display is in the background that shows his youtube sub count?
idk if u will reply but can i keep the fan inside my pc will i clean it plls reply
How would you recommend removing the fan from the cpu heat sink? I can’t find a Philips screw skinny enough to fit through the top hole on each corner. I appreciate it if you could share a tool I could buy and use
get a Philips that is thin enough to fit in the hole. Not much else you can do now is there? go to the dollar store
@@-unclebuck- that is very much the problem, I cannot find a Philips skinny enough
What is the LED sign in the background?
Greg how do you clean a pc with soot damage? I
i don't want to get the air blower so ill just sponge the initial layer off with sticky goop then ill wipe the rest i can get to with the qtips
Can LCD screen cleaner be used instead of isopropyl alcohol?
No
What if the fan is jammed with dust how can I clean it?
Hey Greg, I was wondering if I don't have IPA , can I use a sanitizer instead?
Go to cvs... wait wall greens. Oh yeah Walmart, target, any local pharmacy and probably your local 7-11. You should always have ipa for any electronics work. If you’re just playing around then go for it. IPA 99% is the kind you should be looking for and all I stock.
Using cheap hand sanitizer or sanitizer in general is and consists of different chemical compounds. Just buy the damn cheap ipa from ANY local store.
Good luck man
@@RMquickbit ok thanks brother
Don't alcohol hurt plastic?
when i cleaned my fans the kind where the bushing is behind the back anyhow, not fluid or mag lev types as those don't come apart like that anyhow. i always just taken that out and pop the hub out once they get like that. i find the bearing area eventually gets hair, dust even the magnet gets coated and at some point gets so jammed in there even gets in the area where oil is stored and makes that kinda noise. rare cases ive thrown the windings and bearings right in warm soapy water let them dry well and re oil carefully and off they go. i have 200mm fans that are 10 years old and still counting and usually on 24/7 problem free. but of course it will vary and im not responsible to those who try this and kills the fan. i know what im doing and does just fine for me.
I got a chassis and It's dusty as all hell, the fans are starting to make insane noise and I cleaned them a little with my fingers a while ago and I feel like the moisture from my fingers have them attract even more dust... I got no screwdrivers, compressed air or one of those electric wristbands.. I don't know what to do.
have screening on all intakes so dust does not build up inside as much.
i'm confused, how would spinning a fan that goes at ~1400-2000 RPM roughly at only a couple hundred RPM hurt the bearing?
Same here
how is spinning a fan bad when cleaning? It spins all the time when plugged in? Ive never understood this...
Partly because it's a controlled speed but also because it's in a case with little to no chance of hitting anything and breaking a blade.
I want to know the thorough process of deep cleaning a gpu with the correct recomended thermal paste and thermal pads,so I don’t fry my gpu,as thermal paste touching resisters might fry the gpu,I am afraid to do it,please do a video about this in details! @GregSalazer
Nice tips
Thanks for watching!
I demand another ep of DCPC
Ah cool, i did wonder what that electric tool was, nice.
Is that Dave Roberts' jersey in the background?
After keeping up with PCDC and all of these dedicated videos as youve been releasing them, I'll be far too powerful when i deep clean my pc when i move....
While this is good for one fan that you have detached from your case, this is an ideal scenario.
In reality most PC users would have at least 3 external fans, not counting the CPU fan, heatsink and GPU fan.
I have 6 fans not counting the CPU and GPU fan. My case is also quite small so it was a very tight build.
How do I go about cleaning it effectively? I use a very powerful leaf blower once a month and this gets rid of all the loose dust on and around the case as well as on the front/intake side of the fans.
But there is a lot of caked-on dust that is very heavy and doesn't go UNLESS I swipe it with a cloth or tissue. This caked-on dust also happens to be in extremely hard to reach places, like the underside/exhaust side of the fans which is almost impossible to clean without removing them.
The top of my GPU and PSU also has caked-on dust but I can at least get my hand in and easily swipe them clean.
But swiping the underside of each individual blade for nearly 10 fans is not practical.
Looks great externaly. But, as always, the most important thing is: "Is this noisy?". When there is dust in the rotor, a deep clean of this zone, and an appopiated lubrication, is the real meaning of fan cleaning, I think. And OK, what's about the fans with magnetic gear? Well... The fan of the video doesn'l look like one of these, no?
I apreciate very much these kind of videos. The unknown job of an IT employee.
A brush is the best. Easy and economic, and of course, clean enough.
Wait just double checking that duster is blowing air not sucking air right, cus when I saw the dust just disappear I was like 🤯
Didn't lubricate the fan bearing?
Hello,
Could we use water instead of the Alcohol?
I find that using piss is the best.
i want to put a psa here most of these fans for computers are assembled in a way that they have a litte nub and indent that if you pull the fan hard enough it will come oput but because of how when using your hands it will tilt the fan one way or another that wont work what i do is take a somewhat soft sides paddle or sorts i use my brush to be honest and i wack the back side of the fan where it connects intot he cross members and theres this sweet spot of hitting it hard where it really isnt hitting hard but it pops the nub out of the indent and the fan blades come off with the magnets and everything and makes for a quick and easy clean up if your fan ever starts toi make grinding noises this is what is needed to clean it usually the nub it at the end of the shaft that is treated as the barring so you have ot make extra sure to clean that i dont really liek using alcohal for this because it desolved the greeses and then leaves this extra thin residue but the greeses mix with the dust then they wipe off clean and then i put a super tiny ammount of 3 in 1 oil on a q tip and just barely toush that shaft when everything else is clean rigth before you reassemble the fan and its back to brand new
also i use an old bottle brush that never got used to do the in side of the ring not q tips maybe even buy a cheap dollar store tooth brush to do it and only use that for doing these fans liek this every 6 months or so i guess depends on how dusty your house gets
hello. why not re oil this fan?
The problem is the disassembly. I have to unplug the fan from the motherboard if I want to take it out like you have and then plug it back in after I'm done cleaning. Every time I'd risk damaging the motherboard. I can't keep doing this twice a year, because if my board cracks, the repair cost will be a bit higher than the cost of a fan. I'm even nervous about screwing and unscrewing the fan as its grooves were carved by the screws during first installation. I just clean everything while they're in place.
Yep. Im cleaning my fans later today cause ive been noticing em work harder. If I shine a light on the grate i see small caked on dust so Q tips and patience here I come lmao.