The global pandemic has meant we’re much more aware of the spread of germs and, as a result, the surfaces we touch. But the latest Covid spike isn’t the only reason we should keep our PCs and other IT equipment clean.
(Not so) Fun Fact. Did you know that the average desktop harbours 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat?
As new Omicron sub-variants drive another increase in Covid here in the UK, small business owners will no doubt want to do everything they can to minimise the risk of infection in their teams.
Touch screens, keyboards and mice are all areas that harbour germs. It makes sense to regularly sanitise these surfaces, particularly when we use shared equipment. Disinfectant wipes are a simple and effective solution to keep these germs in check.
However, there is another reason why we should keep our PCs and other IT equipment clean – dust!
Dust build-up is a real threat to our equipment. Dust will interfere with a computer’s cooling mechanism and lead to heat damage, crashes, data loss and server breakdowns or even fires. Some environments are dustier than others, but all machines accumulate dust internally over time.
The team at Trusted Computing have noticed that where ‘Tower’ computers are located under desks, they are particularly prone to dust and fluff build-up. So, it’s no surprise that on hot summer days there will be a spike of users reporting that their computers are ‘crashing’.
More often than not, the hardware is shutting down due to overheating as a result of fluff blocking the cooling channels.
This is why it pays for small business owners to keep their office environments as clean as possible.
Vacuuming the desks and floors but also maintaining the air conditioning will help reduce the gathering of dust and fluff in your equipment.
We’d also recommend you keep your computers off the floor and ensure that air vents aren’t blocked.
Once our clients understand these overheating issues, they will often ask us whether they should be vacuuming their computers and servers?
While this might sound like a great idea, we don’t recommend it!
You are unlikely to have the specialised computer dusting equipment and, as a result, you could easily damage your equipment. Using the incorrect equipment will cause static build-up which, in turn, will attract even more dust.
Blowing or sucking out the dust can also cause the fan to spin at high speeds. It acts like a miniature wind turbine and generates a power surge that can burn the internal components.
Instead, we recommend you use a professional computer cleaning company to open the cases and safely clean the interior components at least once a year. This will keep them safe and in good working order.
We hope you found this article useful. Our Managed IT Service is designed specifically to meet the needs of small businesses in the North West of England, allowing them to focus on what they do best. So, if you run a small business and want more information then please get in touch.
