How do you "blow-out" an imac?

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I've searched the net and this forum but didnt really find a way to do this.

With my old "PC", I slid the side cover off every few months and took compressed air and blew the heck out of the inside to remove dust. There was always a lot that had built-up from the fan's sucking it in.

With the imac there is no side cover to remove so I'm concerned that just blowing in to the fan that it would not help because there is no where for the dust to escape.

Is there a safe way of cleaning the inside out?

Thanks!
 

chscag

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Disassembling an iMac in order to blow it out or clean it out is not for the faint of heart. :( Just about any maintenance that needs to be done on the inside first requires the display to be removed. You can find some very good instructional videos on U-Tube which will lead you step by step on how to remove the display to get at the innards of an iMac. Use the Google search function to find them.

I would suggest for now (unless you want to disassemble your iMac) that you use the compressed canned air method to blow dust from around the exhaust areas.

Regards.
 

pigoo3

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One other thought. An iMac sitting on your desk is much less likely to get clogged with dust/dirt/fuzz than a "tower style" computer sitting on the floor.

Boy those towers on the floor can get really really dirty!!:(

- Nick
 
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One other thought. An iMac sitting on your desk is much less likely to get clogged with dust/dirt/fuzz than a "tower style" computer sitting on the floor.

Boy those towers on the floor can get really really dirty!!:(

- Nick
That's true. Also, since an iMac's fans don't run as often, and normally spin slower than a typical PC's fans, they don't suck in as much dust as a PC would even if the PC were on a desk.

I use canned air on one vent while using a vacuum cleaner on the other. Then I switch vents.

If you spend a lot of time rendering video, playing games, or anything else that makes the fans rev up to hair-dryer mode, I suppose you might want to buy a HEPA air cleaner.
 
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Thanks for the replies! From the videos I've seen and the stuff I read, it looks like cracking one open might take 10 years off my life. Not gonna happen.

I like the vaccum\blow idea.

On a related note: I read that if one is a smoker and an apple tech finds evidence of it it will void the warranty. I might have read it on this forum.

Cheers
 

pigoo3

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Thanks for the replies! From the videos I've seen and the stuff I read, it looks like cracking one open might take 10 years off my life. Not gonna happen.

I like the vaccum\blow idea.

On a related note: I read that if one is a smoker and an apple tech finds evidence of it it will void the warranty. I might have read it on this forum.

Cheers

Yes...taking apart an iMac is not super hard...but it's not easy either. And certainly not something to do if it's not necessary.

And yes...the smoking topic has been covered here on the forums.

- Nick
 
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That's true. Also, since an iMac's fans don't run as often, and normally spin slower than a typical PC's fans, they don't suck in as much dust as a PC would even if the PC were on a desk.

I use canned air on one vent while using a vacuum cleaner on the other. Then I switch vents.

If you spend a lot of time rendering video, playing games, or anything else that makes the fans rev up to hair-dryer mode, I suppose you might want to buy a HEPA air cleaner.

So what you're saying is that PCs suck more than Mac's...

:)

T
 

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