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Hoovering iMac Vents

J

jackmileshunt

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 14, 2008
36
0
England
Hi,

I have an Aluminium iMac from 2007, it has had heavy use. I have been looking into opening it to clean it, but i'm not willing to take the risks. So, is it safe to hoover both of the vents on the back, and the RAM bay?

I'm kinda worried about the static.

Thanks in advance. :)
 
Shouldn't be issue. Make sure to use a plastic hose and tip though. You wouldn't want anything conductive (metal) to discharge static electricity near or in the computer. Also, clean the bottom vent thoroughly first before you do the top back vent. The air (and dust) is drawn in from the bottom and you will want to remove it the same way it came in. If you vacuum the top first you could pull all the dust and things in even further.
 
I speak from ignorance, but is that honestly safe? I had read in other threads (not that I have one to quote, true) that vacuuming the vents was a bad idea (static, air too powerful).
 
aki said:
I speak from ignorance, but is that honestly safe? I had read in other threads (not that I have one to quote, true) that vacuuming the vents was a bad idea (static, air too powerful).
Click to expand...

Just use an all plastic vac. And, you can always just turn the vac power down?
 
Ok I finally found the thread I was thinking about about vacuum cleaners and electronics. Some interesting information. The original hint is pretty old but presumably the info re static etc is still current. Unfortunately I don't have the tech expertise to have my own opinion but it's worth at least a skim for anyone who is considering dust-clearing options.

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20060401085713897

Also, a useful thread here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=575828.
 
iMac

Cheers for the responses. I am in two minds now, to risk, or not to risk. The computer gets very hot, so it is at risk of overheating anyway, right?

But I don't want to loose my computer. Hmm.
 
Based on everything I have read, were I in your clogs, I would probably either take it to someone professional to get it cleaned (yes, that sounds excessive at first blush; but it seems like the only proper way to do it and do it safely and productively is to pop the back, and that popping the back on modern iMacs is a non-trivial operation); or go the smcfancontrol route and make sure the fanspeeds are suitable for the temps I am seeing.

It is a bit of a disadvantage of the design of the modern iMac that the user can't clean it really.
 
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