Cleaning a CPU Cooling Fan

A CPU cooling fan will become dirty over time. The dust, hair and grime in the home or office will be drawn in and there’s no way to stop it. It’s not always necessary to replace the CPU cooling fan. In many cases just cleaning will be quite adequate. It’s a simple procedure and it can greatly extend the life of the CPU cooling fan.

Step 1 - Accessing the Fan

To clean the CPU cooling fan, begin by turning off the computer. Disconnect the power cord and the other cords. Move the tower to a place where you can open it up easily.

Step 2 - Removing the Fan

Unscrew the side of the machine. You’ll be able to see the CPU cooling fan on the processor. For cleaning, the best thing to do it to remove the fan first. It will be held in place either by screw or clips (in some cases there might be a combination of both).

Unscrew the fan, keeping the screws secure, or unclip the fan, keeping it supported. Pull the CPU cooling fan gently away from the processor. You can clean the fan while it’s in place. However, to make sure the dist stays clear of the computer, removing the fan first is best.

Step 3 - Cleaning the Fan

Begin the cleaning with a small brush. A very thin paintbrush is ideal for this, the kind of brush you’d use for watercolors, for example, or the brush used to clean an electric razor. Reach into the fan blades as far as possible and clean out the dust and dirt. There will be a great deal more than you’d imagined, so be prepared. Now put a pencil in the blades to stop them turning. Put a nozzle on the canned air and squirt into the fan.

This is more effective than just blowing into the fan, and as it’s dry there will be no buildup of moisture. Keeping the fan blades still is important. Without that they will turn and can build up an electrical charge via the dynamo effect. Take a cotton swab and clean the blades again, reaching as far into the unit as you can. Take your time and be thorough. Once you’ve removed all you can, put the pencil back in place and give the fan a few more squirts of canned air.

Step 4 - Reassembly

You might to add a little more thermal paste to the processor before putting the fan back in place. If your computer uses thermal paste it should cover all the areas of contact between the CPU cooling fan and the processor.

When you’ve done that, put the fan back in place and secure. After this, remove again to check that the paste is properly spread. Re-attach the CPU cooling fan with screw or clips and put the side panel of the tower back in place. Reattach all cords and boot up the computer.