Tips To Remember When Caring For Your Laptop
January 23, 2012
After spending your hard earned cash on a notebook pc, and relying on it in a variety of ways, some time should be spent looking after your investment to make it work more efficiently, and to prolong its life.
The Screen
Some notebooks come with their own cleaning cloth. You can always ask around if such a special cloth is not provided — the clerk at your local PC store will be more than happy to answer your queries on cleaning spray. Do not use household domestic cleaners. As a last resort and if your budget is stretched, just use a damp cloth. Make sure you unplug the power from the machine before you start cleaning.
Since you do not want any type cleaner infiltrating the circuitry, when using a spray make sure you are not aiming at the screen directly. Instead, spray a small amount onto a soft cloth and then very carefully wipe the screen. Do not apply too much pressure. The type of cloth you use is very important, as tissue paper or wool could leave some fibers behind or probably scratch or nick the screen. The best type of cloth to use is something similar to the cloth you use to clean your sunglasses.
The Battery
You want to remove the battery from your notebook if it will be left unused for at least two weeks or if you are planning to have it run constantly on AC power. If your notebook spends most of its time plugged into AC power, it’s a good idea to run the battery down once a week until it is completely flat, and then fully charge it.
The Keyboard
As time passes, dust, dirt, food crumbs and all sorts of miscellaneous debris may accumulate on your keyboard. And after even more time, the rubbish might jam between the keys and actuators, and such “jam session” would likely lead to inaccurate, sloppy typing.
A useful tip in removing buildup in the keyboard would be to first power down the notebook, open it up so that the screen is turned up, then turn the laptop upside down. Being very gentle, shake it sideways a couple of times and tap on the underside and around the edges of the case. This should remove some of the larger particles.
A can of compressed air can blast that nasty dust and particles out of your keyboard just like that — this can be used as an alternate strategy. Just be sure you aren’t jamming keys and other objects tighter in their place.
To clean up the keys, use a lint free cloth moistened with water. Since you wouldn’t want the water seeping anywhere into the Laptop, make sure the cloth is just lightly moistened and not sopping wet.
The Chassis
To give the chassis on your laptop a clean, it is a very good idea to contact the manufacturer first, on their tech support line, for advice on how to clean your particular model. The materials used to make laptop cases are so varied, so asking somebody from the manufacturer would surely be a safer option than doing it yourself.