this is what happens if you don’t clean it from time to time

You can clean up your Mac on the outside all you want: as in any good romance story, it’s on the inside that really counts. And the inside of computers can accumulate a large amount of dust, as the story of this user who did not clean his PC in six years tells us. Just looking at the image of the result already gives me an allergy.

But Macs are not like the classic towers of PCs: there are peculiarities of the Apple platform that must be taken into account. Let’s see what we have to do to prevent too much dust from accumulating inside our Mac.

The less dust the better

Dust building up inside your Mac is no joke: it can clog air vents, making it harder for your computer to cool down. That, in the long run, causes a drop in performance and overheating that can even cause the Mac to shut down to protect itself. Here’s an example with an iMac with an Intel chip and older design:

The solution is not to open the Mac and clean it, we know that Apple is very secretive about its computers. Opening it to access its interior may imply the loss of the guarantee (device tampering may be considered). It is not as simple as in any PC, that you can open the tower and carefully clean each of the components there.

What we can do is try to keep all the external ventilation slots that the Mac may have clean, keeping them free of obstructions that could make it difficult to cool. It depends on the Mac model you have, but you just need to use a brush with soft bristles that remove accumulated dust at those air inlets and outlets.

By the way, the fact of having a Mac with an Apple Silicon chip that does not require fans or uses them much less does not save you. The image you see on the cover is my Mac mini M1 after picking it up from my desk and checking its bottom air inlets.

In my particular case, I could dare to open the device to remove the dust, since its warranty ran out a few months ago. It’s something you can do too at your own riskAnd always with the right tools.

There is good news: if you take your Mac to an authorized center to do any repair that you need, the technicians will always take the opportunity to clean the inside of the computer using special tools. As soon as they return it to you, you can have the peace of mind of receiving it clean on the inside.

Tips to minimize the entry of dust and other particles into your Mac

Your Mac will end up with dust inside sooner or later, but you can minimize the risks by taking a few precautions:

• Do not smoke in front of the Mac. The remains of nicotine end up accumulating inside it and act in the same way as dust.
• If you have a pet that sheds, try to keep it away from your Mac when it sheds. All those hairs can also end up clogging the computer’s ducts. If you see that it is unavoidable, clean those ducts much more frequently.
• Keep the room and the table where you use your Mac clean, without letting too much dust accumulate on it.
• If we are talking about a MacBook, be careful when eating next to it. Crumbs and food debris can end up getting inside through your keys, causing long-term problems.

With just a periodic brush-up to keep your Mac’s ventilation clear, you can not only maintain optimal performance, but also you can extend its useful life since you prevent its components from making extra efforts and getting too hot. Consider it one more routine in your habits and you will win.

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