Finally decided to stop using compressed air for cleaning after I found out the moisture thing

I was cleaning my PS4 fan with a can of compressed air and noticed some weird residue on the board. Looked it up on a repair forum and found out those cans can shoot out liquid propellant that shorts out components. Bob from uptown electronics showed me a photo of a corroded hdmi port from it. Now I just use a soft brush and a vacuum, anyone else ditch the air cans after a close call?

2 comments

2 Comments

schmidt.amy4d ago

Oh man, that residue stuff is exactly why I switched too! One thing nobody really talks about though is how compressed air can actually blow dust deeper into places you can't reach, like right into the power supply vents. I had a friend whose laptop kept overheating after blasting it, and we found dust packed inside the fan housing acting like insulation. A soft brush and a careful vacuum on the low setting has been way safer for my gear, your mileage may vary on that though.

harper_gibson24d ago

I actually see it a bit different from my own experience. I've been using compressed air on computers for probably close to 20 years now and I've never had that problem, but I think the trick is to not blast it directly into the vents. You have to angle it so the air sweeps across the opening, not straight into it, and hold the fan blades still so they don't spin. If you let the fan spin too fast from the air it can actually damage the bearings, which is a real thing.