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PSA: I used canned air upside down for years before I learned better
I was cleaning out a dusty old tower last week and shot a stream of liquid all over the motherboard. That's when my coworker laughed and told me you're supposed to hold the can upright and use short bursts. I had been tilting it and spraying full blast since I started, thinking more was better. No damage this time, but has anyone else made this mistake or am I the only one who didn't read the label?
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vals381mo ago
My buddy's been doing that for like 15 years and his PCs still boot fine. Honestly, I think people blow this whole upside down thing way out of proportion. Unless you're literally drowning the board in liquid, a little bit of propellant evaporates in seconds. Tbh, I'd be more worried about static zaps from the can than a little frost.
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laura_ross1mo ago
See, I've actually seen the liquid run down into a GPU slot and cause issues later on. It's not just about the frost, it's about where that moisture ends up when you're spraying at a weird angle. Static is definitely a concern too though, you're right about that.
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mark7311mo ago
Man, I totally get that. @laura_ross you're spot on about the weird angle thing. I've had a can of compressed air freeze up on me mid spray and then shoot out a little puddle of liquid right onto the motherboard tray. It evaporated fast, but it still scared me. The static thing is real too, especially if you're working on carpet with dry air. Have you ever had a can get so cold it stopped working altogether, or was that just my bad luck?
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