Dust-clogged fan

[SusanB-M1]

Returning from a week's holiday*, I turned the computer on but it made a horrible grinding sound. The engineer had to come (yesterday) and change the fan. Fortunately, this was covered by guarantee, but he was surprised that it had become clogged with dust. The computer is only 18 months old. Is this quite common, or is there anything I can do to avoid this happening again? My house is really a non-dusty one! I would be interested in any comments. Thanks.

*Just near Bergau on the Algarve, which was lovely.

[wahrheit]

A quality fan could easily deal with some dust in the air, be it from you having a nasty household or simply having doors and windows open all day during summer while a construction site is nearby.

My guess: This was a cheapo fan.

[Molinaro]

I always recommend cleaning inside a computer case every 6 months. Use a can of compressed air and blow everywhere until dust no longer comes flying out.

[El Greco]

Too much info on filters for PCs (http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=41670)

[SusanB-M1]

wahrheit, Molinaro and El Greco.

Thank you all for your comments; much appreciated.
I would not attempt to clean the computer myself, but know a few people who can, so I'll make a note to check it in about six months time.
How amazing (well, it is to me!) that there is a website all about keeping computers quiet and clean!!

[Smike]

I vacuum my motherboard occasionally (using the brushy end thing).


It hasn't broken yet...

[wahrheit]

I vacuum my mother occasionally

:eye-poppi

[egslim]

I vacuum my motherboard occasionally
So do I (usually during upgrades), but I make sure not to touch anything with the end of the hose.

[Dan O.]

If the CPU os on the floor and always running it will collect dust like a vacuum as it tries to keep your house just a little bit cleaner.

I have a vacuum with an anti-static hose and attachments. You would be surprised at how much static is created by vacuuming dust with a regular vac in a dry climate. I prefer though to use compressed air when I can take the system outside. Be careful not to force the dust into spaces where it can do more harm like under the CPU or into connectors.

[SusanB-M1]

If the CPU os on the floor and always running it will collect dust like a vacuum as it tries to keep your house just a little bit cleaner.

I bought a new table earlier this year plus a little trolley thing which looks a bit ike a skateboard! to put the tower on.
Thanks to all the above advice, I hope to avoid the trouble in future.

[Ryokan]

My fan gets clogged from time to time. I just go over it with the vacuumer, and if it's very clogged, I poke the dust lumps out with a q-tip.