Photo: Rozette RagoTake a look at your laptop. Is it covered in dust? Small scraps of hair? Maybe a stray crumb rests inside an awkwardly placed molding.
If your laptop is now a crumb catcher because you busily eat lunch over it, maybe it’s time to give it a good cleaning.
What you need
Photo: Rozette Rago•
Microfiber cloth: Any microfiber cloth will do, but if you don’t have any freebies that came with eyeglasses, TVs, monitors, or laptops, we like these MagicFiber ones. For most people, this is the only thing you’ll need.
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Compressed air (optional): If you can open your laptop and remove the bottom panel (that’s a big if), then compressed air is useful for blowing dust out from the fans. Any compressed air will do—we’ve used Falcon Dust-Off.
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Screwdriver (optional): If you can open your laptop, you’ll generally need tools to do so, and if you’re lucky, you can remove the bottom of the laptop with a Phillips head screwdriver. If your laptop has Torx (the screw that looks like a star) or other speciality screws, you may need a precision toolkit.
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Cotton swabs and 70% isopropyl alcohol (optional): Any brand of cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol will do.
How long will this take to clean?
Photo: Rozette RagoCleaning the outside of your laptop takes less than five minutes. If you need to open up the laptop to access the inside, it’ll take about 15 minutes.
How to give your laptop a quick clean
Rozette Rago/NYT WirecutterPower down the laptop, unplug it, and remove the battery if you can.
Wipe down your whole laptop with a dry microfiber cloth. This will pick up the majority of dust and light scuffs. If there’s stubborn dust, hair, or leftovers crammed between any keys or design embellishments, give the keyboard deck a series of short blasts of canned air to remove it (don’t hold down the canned air’s nozzle because this creates condensation). Proceed with caution—this step can blow debris deeper into the laptop. Even so, it's the best solution we've found, and even Apple recommends it.
If you spilled something on your laptop, or the keys and trackpad look reflective with finger grease, it’s time to do a deeper clean. Lightly dampen the microfiber cloth with a small amount of water and give the laptop case another wipedown. Don’t forget the trackpad, but be careful not to press down too hard when cleaning it. And don’t ever spray or pour water directly onto the laptop.
For stubborn stains, grab a cotton swab, dip the swab into isopropyl alcohol, and then use the swab to focus on any trouble spots. This is acceptable only for certain materials, typically harder, nonporous plastics (including the keyboard on MacBooks), so do a spot check first to make sure the alcohol doesn’t cause any issues. You should not use isopropyl alcohol on softer plastics, like the material often found on some palm rests, and it may cause issues with some key materials, so always try water first to see if it’ll suffice.
How to remove sticker residueStart with a little water on a microfiber cloth to see if that’s enough to remove the residue. If it doesn’t work, experiment with a small amount of isopropyl alcohol.
If the alcohol doesn’t work, a product like Goo Gone might prove useful as a last resort, though we’ve always found that isopropyl alcohol works with most stickers. Goo Gone has the same cautions for nonporous plastics and can stain some surfaces.
How to get rid of screen smudges
Photo: Rozette RagoTo clean the screen, we’ll return to our old friend, the microfiber cloth. For glass screens that have fingerprints, take a dry microfiber cloth and wipe the screen down with a little pressure. If the screen isn’t glass, use a light touch to gently wipe away any dust.
If the screen has more-stubborn residue, like sneeze drops or soda spots, dampen the cloth with water and wipe the screen again. Don’t ever spray water directly onto the screen. In our experience, special screen-cleaning sprays aren’t useful.
How to clear dust out of the inside of a laptop
Photo: Rozette RagoDepending on the type of laptop you own, you may be able to remove the bottom panel and clear out dust in the fans. This isn’t an issue with every laptop, but if you’ve noticed the fans on your computer kicking on more than usual or that they’re making strange sounds, then it’s worth cleaning.
Power off your computer, and then remove the bottom panel. This requires a screwdriver, often one with a special bit for electronics. Remember where you remove each screw from—some laptops use different-length screws for different parts of the chassis.
Once you have access to the bottom of the laptop, use short bursts of canned air to blow dust out of the laptop. Do the same to the vents and fans, but hold the fan blade in place to prevent it from spinning too fast. (If you can’t open the laptop, do not blow air into the fans, as doing so may make the problem worse.) Once the dust is cleared out, you can replace the bottom panel and screws.
Photo: Rozette Ragosource
