How Often Should You Really Clean Your PC?

Nairobi dust doesn't ask permission. It gets into fan intakes, settles on heatsinks, and quietly turns a healthy laptop into one that throttles, overheats, and eventually shuts itself down mid-task. Cleaning isn't cosmetic — it's the cheapest repair you'll ever avoid needing.

Laptops: every 6 months, more if it lives on a bed or sofa

Soft surfaces block the intake vents underneath, so heat has nowhere to go. If your laptop spends most of its life on a bed, cushion, or your lap, halve that interval — every 3 months is closer to right.

Desktops: once a year, unless you're near a road

Tower cases pull in more air and more dust with it. If your desk is near an open window or a dusty street-facing room, check the intake filters every 6 months instead.

The warning signs that mean "now," not "eventually"

• Fans running loud and constant, even for light tasks
• The bottom or base getting noticeably hot to the touch
• Random shutdowns during anything demanding — video calls, games, exports
• Performance that drops the longer the machine has been on

What we actually do differently from a can of compressed air

A home clean handles surface dust. We open the case, clean the heatsink fins directly (where the real blockage builds up), check thermal paste condition on machines over two years old, and test temperatures under load before we call it done — not just wipe it down and hope.