(^586) PC Hardware: A Beginner’s Guide
Cleaning and Maintenance Supplies
To kee pyour PC in good working condition, you should have a few sim ple tools, some
cleaning supplies, a boot disk from the PC’s installed operating system, an Emergency
Repair Disk (ERD), and a PC maintenance schedule. The tools and supplies can be gath-
ered from computer supply stores and even the grocery store. The maintenance schedule
is likely in the documentation for the PC, and a sample schedule was included earlier in
this chapter (see “Preventive Maintenance for a PC”).
Here is a list of the tools and supplies you should have on hand to care for and main-
tain your PC: A bottle of 70 percent isopropyl alcohol (a quart bottle is probably more than
enough). This is used to clean many of the smaller parts of the PC, keyboard,
printer, and mouse.
A can or two of compressed air. This is used to clean just about everything on
the PC, especially the areas that are hard to reach and those that cannot have
water or liquid on them.
A package of nonshredding cleaning tissues, a soft lint-free cloth, or a
Scotch-Brite HPEC cloth. The Scotch-Brite cloth is recommended.
A package of high-quality cotton swabs. These are used for cleaning just about
any small object inside or outside of the PC.
A #8 Chinese bristle artist’s brush, which has bristles about two inches long and is
one inch in diameter. You can find these at craft stores that sell painting supplies.
An inexpensive pair of pointed-tip tweezers. These are useful for removing bits
of debris from between the buttons on your keyboard or from inside the mouse
ball chamber.
A small brush-head vacuum cleaner for cleaning the keyboard and inside the
system case.
A medium-size Phillips screwdriver for case, keyboard, and adapter
board screws.
A bottle of nonammonia window cleaner to clean the glass on the monitor.
An ESD grounding strap. You can also get ESD mats to place the PC on.Know Your Chemicals
Many liquid cleaning compounds present safety and environmental problems and re-
quire special handling because they are poisonous or harmful in other ways. The best ref-
erence available for information on dangers of a particular chemical solution or cleaner,
including household cleaners, is its Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). An MSDS is pre-
pared for every potentially hazardous chemical product.