That's why i periodically clean my mother boards with water, followed by distilled water and ideally everclear to reduce drying time (Not rubbing alcohol etc., it nearly always has excessive impurities that leave a solid residue, and methanol can be damaging as well as being fairly toxic). note that modern electronics are defluxed with water or water based sollutions when manufactured.
of course i then dry it for 24+ hours on edge in a warm, safe area, usually on cardboard (you don't want metal, honest and cardboard is neutral to static even dry) by my baseboard heaters in winter (when static is it's worst) or just on edge in warmer weather (dry here in colorado). obviously you don't want to get water near drives. also IF you clean the power supply this way give it at least 48+ hours, any moisture left in the power supply can easily damage your' system etc. where as a damp mother board will simply not function and is unlikely to be damaged unless noticeably damp (or left on or with cmos battery installed for an extended period though it's not likely). of course you also need to remove the cmos battery first.
also realize that tight spaces under components can take awhile to dry, especially without the alcohol. some wisdom and skill is required but i've never had an issue and have done this at least half a dozen times to several of my machines and many others, i'm an electronics tech and this is the best way. also as house dust is largely dead skin cells etc. it can be greasy, in which case warm water and a little mild detergent (which must be thoroughly rinsed) will help a lot (a SOFT natural fiber brush can be used when wet, or a stiffer one with care). on the other hand i wouldn't recommend this without some experience with electronics, and appropriate caution with more expensive hardware.
i usually leave the cpu in to avoid the very high risk of bent pins which also requires added drying time in many cases. compressed air is not your' computers' friend due to static and blowing high velocity dust around a computer is an excellent way to cause problems though people do it all the time.
i DO remove the heatsink, remove fan from heatsink, and thoroughly clean heatsink with hot soapy water (clean fan with damp paper towel etc. to avoid damaging the motor/lubrication and washing dust into it!). cleaning the heat sink this way is the best and as safe as any removal and reinstall of the heatsink (always, always clean old grease and replace to avoid air bubbles and hot spots). best/easiest way i've found to remove heatsink grease is with rubbing alcohol and qtips. the alcohol doesn't dissolve the grease but the alcohol and water keep it from sticking back onto the metal once removed. and do ground yourself, especially in winter, and avoid going near carpet or wearing synthetic fibers, cotton etc. is good)
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13. Aug 2017 10:55 by gordon.messmer@gmail.com:
On 08/13/2017 05:18 AM, ken wrote: Also, cowboys scoff, but I always wear a grounded wrist strap when handling electronics.
It's a good idea, especially in low-humidity climates. Also noteworthy: the air moving through a hose can cause a vacuum's hose or attachment to build up a static charge, which is another reason it can be a bad idea to use a vacuum in a computer.