Pro tip: I was cleaning thermal paste wrong for like 3 years

I always used a paper towel and a tiny bit of isopropyl alcohol, rubbing it around until it looked clean. Then I saw a video from a guy in a repair shop in Austin, and he used a coffee filter instead. Tried it yesterday on an old i5 heatsink, and the filter left zero lint behind. The surface was perfectly clean, way better than my old method. Has anyone else found a simple swap like that for a basic task?

3 comments

3 Comments

angela_dixon1mo ago

Honestly read a forum post years ago where someone swore by using those blue shop towels for this. Tried it once and it was better than a paper towel but still left a tiny bit of fuzz. The coffee filter trick sounds way smarter. Might have to dig my old french press filters out of the cupboard.

sethmitchell2mo ago

Oh man, I did the exact same thing. Felt like a genius with my paper towels until they left a whole sweater behind on the CPU.

tessap982mo ago

Wait, you used paper towels too? I always thought they were fine for spills until I saw what they leave behind. That fuzz gets everywhere, @sethmitchell, and it's a nightmare to clean out of a fan or heatsink. Now I just use those cheap coffee filters, the plain white ones. They don't shed at all and you can see any dust right on them. Total game changer for cleaning my PC.