Wow!!!!!!

OMG! This looks like a nest of bees took up home in there.

Yes, I know it was horrible. It was layers upon layers of built up dust. The PC looked as if it was left in someone's dusty basement or room and it has never been opened before. The sad thing is that my Instructor said that he has seen worse Computers than this one yet. I'm not sure if you know this, but if you click on the photo it will enlarge it so you can see all of the dust. :)

That makes this computer a dangerous Fire Hazard.

I just enlarged it and took a look. It is SO HAIRY and FURRY in there! You're right. I suppose it could have caught fire one day. That's actually scary.

Most of it looks like dust and hair, like from bedding or blankets or something....

Because computers 'breathe' I now realize they could take in stuff from the atmosphere around in the room. There's always dust about in the air, we don't notice. So what do we do to stop things like this happening? Do you know what we can do?

Yes, I do agree that it is very scary. Well some of the things that I have learned in college on how to keep your computer running like new and to help prevent fire hazards is to keep it away from smoke as the smoke and tar from cigarettes can and will get inside the computer and cause a variety of problems. Also keeping your computer away from areas of high humidity will help it run better since the moisture in the air won't be able to settle into your computer. I have also heard that it is best to keep your PC out of the Basement, but I know several people who keep theirs in their basement and they didn't have any problems yet. Another thing that you want to do to make sure that your computer isn't at risk of becoming a fire hazard is to check and make sure that the vents on the computer aren't being blocked by anything as this would cause the computer to heat up.

These are some ideas to help prevent that from happening. I hope it helps, and if you have any other questions please feel free to ask. I love working with Computers and I'll be willing to help you out the best that I can. :)

OK thank you. This is very interesting, and I'm glad you made me think about it. If there's tar in there the dust would stick more wouldn't it? And it's not only cigarettes. Incense sticks could do the same I guess.

I hardly ever use my laptop on my lap or on anything soft, like the bed, or cushions. I've heard it can get overheated that way because the vent underneath can't 'breathe' properly. I use it on top of a little low wood table about 1ft high next to where I sit on the floor.

You are Very Welcome!!! :) I'm sorry I'm not really sure if Incense sticks could do the same, but I would try to keep they away for the computer just in case.

That is a good idea. A Laptop can become overheated very fast being on something soft like you have said. It is best to keep your laptop on a nice hard surface like that so your laptop can get proper air flow. :)

I have looked up Incense Sticks just to see what they were and I do believe that they could have the same affect on a PC like Cigarettes.

Electronics will attract dust in the air, so when you have a computer at home you can open it and clean it once a year (or, if it is in a really dusty environment, once every six months). Make sure the dust and hair is cleaned out and that the fans turn.

You can also use cans of compressed air to blow dust out of those hard to read spaces.

I thought so. Thanks for checking it out. (we call them incense sticks in the UK maybe they have a different name in the US)

You are very welcome!!!! :) They might be called incense sticks in the US too, but I'm sorry I haven't heard of them before. :(

Yes, I agree with Swamp Critter that cleaning the dust out of the computer is another good way to keep your PC running without risk of a fire hazard, but be careful of that because it could void your Manufacturer's Warranty by opening the case yourself.

Yes I wouldn't know how to clean the dust out of the inside of my laptop, if there is any (and you can bet there is!) I'd be too scared for a start, to open it up!! I always have bad experiences with....lawn mowers/vacuum cleaners/other gadgets. I open 'em up, can't figure out what's wrong with them anyway....then can't get 'em back together again! :-D

I know that you might be able to blow the dust out of a laptop without opening it by using a can of compressed air. That is another way I have learned in PC Technology Class and it might be able to help without having to even open the case. Laptops can be tricky at times though to work with. :)

After we had construction done on the house, my refrigerator went on the blink .. turned out to be tremendous dust on the coils .. so I opened up my PC and it was an awful mess inside, too, but "cleaner" dust ... if it does this to a PC, imagine the effect on the human body!

C~

Yes I agree that if dust does that to Electronics such as Computers, I would hate to find out what is does to the insides of a Human Body. :(

We have some protection against those things (Isn't Mother Nature wonderful?) If dust gets in our lungs the lungs make mucus to 'wrap it up' so we can cough it out easily. If we get it in our eyes the eyes water to wash it out. Dust getting in our stomach would just get digested!

I never in my wildest dreams thought that PC's can build so much dust. I'll have to check mine. Not for smoke but the dust. I have seen it on the outside of the thing and now I'm wondering about the inside.

Thank's so much for the insight !!!

Always learning something new. :-0

My dog is shedding right now. Dog hair everywhere. I dread to think what might have got inside my laptop. I reckon if I opened it up and looked I could knit a new dog from what I'll find in there:-D (ha ha, but deadly-serious!!)

We live in a high wind and dusty area.......I've seen how much dust in gathers inside  hubby's pc.  Thanks for sharing all that good info, Mazie (I lvoe your name, still!!! )

Ginge, you're so funny about dog hair.  We have 3, 2 with long hair..........I'd send you some of our furs for you to knit too.  Giggles.

Have a good day.

Wow's the word on this PC!!  I've seen some dusty computers, but never that bad!  I'm guessing they kept it setting on the floor.  Any idea if there were pets in the home?

To: Mollyrae

Yes, if it is on the outside there is a good possibility that it could have got inside too. You're very Welcome, I'm glad that I was able to help you learn something new!!!!! :)

To: ginger899


Oh no! You might want to try to keep your Laptop away from your dog, because the shedding hair could end up being "inhaled" by your computer and that could cause a lot of problems. I hope that it didn't affect your Laptop any.





Knit a new dog? May I ask what kind of dog that would be? LOL! ;)

To: kitonthemoon


You are very Welcome!!!! I love talking about Computers and I'm glad that I was able to give you some very good information! I'm also glad to hear that you still love my name! :)


Have a Wonderful Afternoon!!! :)

Wow. That is impressive...and disturbing.  I've seen really dusty computers but not that much.... I wonder what the inside looked like? Do I want to know?

To: 9DodgeFan


Yes, I agree! They probably either kept it on the floor or down in their basement. I did hear that they smoked heavily around it and it really was shown by the smoky smell and the grotty yellow stains on the inside of it.

There might have also been pets around it, but I'm sorry I'm not 100% sure. :( Pet hair can be "inhaled" by your computer and that could cause a lot of problems though.

To: MJIthewriter

The PC had a horrible smokey smell and had grotty yellow stains on the inside of it. The Motherboard was covered in spider webs and dust as well as every single other component in the Computer including the Hard Drive. It was a horrible Fire Hazard! All of the vents were clogged full of dust so the PC wouldn't even be able to get proper air flow at all. You didn't even want to see the Heat-Sink.

The sad thing is that my Instructor said that he has seen worse Computers than this one yet. I was going to take a photo of the inside, but it didn't come out good at all due to the lighting inside the case. :(

I was getting ready to add that putting a computer on the floor can cause this to happen. It is best to keep computers on your desk. Also you can use a vacuum and vacumm the outside of the computer while it is turned off and it won't hurt it.

I have been working on and with computers for almost two years now and have gotten my associates degree in computer networking.  I love computers as well!!

Also I have seen worse, I have seen a machine that came in to be fixed and it was so filled with roaches that they were crawling out of it with it closed. The roaches ruined the power supply! I have also found dead mice in computers. So dust isn't your only concern.

To: Lonelymom


I'm going to College to receive an Associates degree as a Computer Systems Specialist. :)

WOW! I bet that was shocking to see the roaches, the insides of the PC was probably gross too!? And a Dead mouse? Ewww, I wonder how those people leave their computers get sooo dirty. I can see why the PC was having problems, but do you remember what the people said was wrong with the PC?

Also May I ask what you did when you saw those things? I'm glad that mice and roaches don't really creep me out as I might find a computer like that too.

Wow. I didn't think they get any worse without causing a fire or permanent damage...This one makes my highschool art teacher's box look squeeky clean, lol.  I thought that one was full of dust.  I've seen my computer get really dusty.  It collects the most in the fan blades and the processor.  Lately I've been keeping the case open which probably isn't a good idea, but I've found it to run better that way.

To: MJIthewriter

Yes, I believe that those are a couple of the worse places for dust build-up. When you say your Computer runs better with the case open, do you mean it doesn't overheat or it runs faster that way?

I have a comment, but I'm decided to privately message it to you instead.  :)

Okay, that's fine. :)