How to Clean Your Computer without a Short Circuit

As I sit here in front of my well-loved computer, I start to notice some dust collection here, snack crumbles there, spots on my screen and all sorts of fun little “who-knows” within my keyboard. We know how dirty they must be, but the concept of cleaning such an expensive and necessary piece of equipment can be frightening. So I did my research, and here’s what I found:

Cleaning the Computer Screen

According to How To Clean Anything…

What you may need: soft cloth, anti-static cloth, water, screen cleaner (such as Falcon screen cleaner)

How to tackle the task:

1. Check your computer manual. It may advise you to only clean your screen with a damp cloth, as many computer screens have an anti-glare coating that you risk damaging if you use a harsh household cleaner. (HTCA) Avoid traditional window cleaners – they can easily damage a sensitive computer screen. 

2. If you are using just a damp cloth to wipe the computer screen, be sure to dry the screen off afterwards to prevent streaking.

3. If advised by the manual to use a soft or anti-static cloth with cleaner, be sure to spray onto the cloth and not the equipment!

Cleaning the CPU

 (Aka the big box aka the “brain” of the computer)

What you need: Soft cloth, compressed air, pre-treated computer wipes, vacuum cleaner, and special cleaning attachments, soft bristle brush.

How to tackle the task:

• General Rule of Thumb for CPU cleaning is to use a compressed air can first and blow the dust free, then use your vacuum with attachments to clean it up.
• These guys explain it best: E-How
• Great tip for using the compressed air: use short bursts so your air does not get too cold and harm the “insides” of your CPU.

Cleaning the Keyboard

What you need: compressed air, clean microfiber cloth or towel, pre-treated computer wipes, vacuum and special attachments.

How to Tackle the Task:

• Unplug keyboard from computer.
• Shake out any loose dust, crumbs and “who-knows,” as I call them.
• Spray in between keys with compressed air, using short bursts and keeping can upright.
• Using your vacuum and special attachment(s), get any remaining dirt loosened with the compressed air can.
• Wipe down the keyboard with a soft cloth dampened with plain water. Use your pre-treated computer wipes and wipe down the keyboard. Then, dry with clean towel or cloth.
• Use a Q-tip or cotton ball to clean between and around the keys.
• Should you spill coffee or soda in your keyboard, unplug immediately, turn upside down and allow to dry on a towel.  HTCA has a good suggestion for severely injured keyboards due to drink spills.

Remember to keep your office space clean and free of dust and other allergens. You’ll feel more awake and clear-headed while at work if you take some time each week to clean your work station. And if your company doesn’t have a cleaner or cleaning service yet, Sparkle is always here to help!

Reduce the Risk of Illness… With Education!

We all know that washing our hands keeps us from getting sick. I’m not here to present a lecture on hand-washing, rather, note that communication between cleaner and occupants is vital to keeping your work space a germ-free environment. A clear and distinct plan for cleaning is, of course, paramount to completing an effective clean. But before that can even happen, the business owner or manager must understand that the cleaning company will do their part in providing a sanitized bathroom, kitchen, and any other community areas. Yet it is also in part the occupant’s responsibility to take care of their personal health and hygiene to prevent the spread of illness.

According to an article in Contracting Profits magazine, “Studies have shown that most people don’t correctly wash their hands, and that – moreso than inadequate cleaning – is responsible for spreading bacteria and infections in school, offices and any building that is accessible to the general public.”

This is why education is so important when it comes to personal health. Cleaning companies like ours should communicate clearly to management of the property the right products and messages will help resolve ineffective hand-washing techniques and other hygienic issues. Products include “antibacterial soaps, which come in a variety of dispensation options, including foam and liquid, as well as touch-free dispensers. By cutting down or eliminating restroom touch points, the risk of contracting and spreading illness is greatly reduced.”

“Travis Ryan, general manager of Enviro-Tech Building Services in St. Cloud, Minn., has seen many clients making the transition to touch-free fixtures. ‘It just makes sense from a health, environmental, and economic standpoint,’ he says.”

If you’re a business owner and you are considering replacing soap dispensers with touch-free dispensers in the work place, think about the amount of sick days that will diminish by providing these illness-prevention tools. A cleaner facility means healthier employees, which leads to lesser sick days and of course, higher productivity. As Ryan mentioned, it makes sense economically for this reason.

Here are a few tips to keeping your work space a germ-free zone:

• Post reminders to wash hands in the bathrooms (on stall doors, by the mirrors, on the exit door)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists good points to post anywhere in the office: Stopping the Spread of Germs at Work Or email this article to employees for their information.
• Provide antibacterial dispensers in each work space – 1 per desk and possibly a few more in common areas.
• Consider purchasing phone wipes. Telephones have over 50 times more germs than restroom surfaces.
• Replace manual paper towel and soap dispensers with automatic ones. Since these technologies provide a pre-measured amount of product, it’s actually a money-saver!
• Simply remind employees to sneeze or cough in a tissue or into their arm. And wash their hands after each use of a tissue. Your employees will appreciate that you are looking out for them and taking the time to make sure they are practicing healthy habits.

Lastly, remember to communicate with your cleaning service. “A business relationship that fosters clear communication and a willingness by both parties to effectively fight infection is very important. This includes creating infection control programs to fit the needs of individual customers, buildings and occupants." (CP, Sept. 2010)

Removing Valentine's Day Stains

Some may claim that Valentine’s Day is just a stain on their week. But it is, nonetheless, an excuse to celebrate with chocolate, champagne or wine, strawberries and flowers. At a hotel in Melbourne, hotel workers are complaining that Valentine’s Day is the messiest day of the year.

"For us, Valentine's Day means flower petals scattered all over the floors, spilt champagne everywhere and some very questionable stains all over the beds, but no extra time to clean," said one Hilton Hotel room attendant. "We see exotic fruits and chocolates ground into the carpets, bubble bath all over the bathroom and massage oils all over the bed. And don't even ask me about the whipped cream," she said.

Now, I'm not willing to address the whipped cream and questionable bed stains, but you may run into a similar chocolate, wine or fruit stain during your Valentine’s Day celebration. So I gathered a selection of How To’s from my usual websites of interest:

How to Remove Chocolate from Carpets

How to Remove Oil Stains from Fabric

How to Remove Fruit Juice Stains from Fabric

How to Remove Red Wine Stains from Carpets

How to Remove Flower Pollen Stains from Clothes

Enjoy your V-Day celebration and if you do stay in a hotel this evening, be sure to tidy up after yourself and spare the hotel staff another love-day-induced headache!

How to Clean Your Microwave, Take 1.

Great cleaning tip popped up on our Google Reader today: How to Clean a Microwave. I don’t know about you, but it’s always so awkward for me to clean the inside of the microwave because mine is up higher (I’d imagine this would be an issue with one down low as well). Here’s what How to Clean Anything has to say:

“Cleaning your microwave is as simple as microwaving a cup of water for about five minutes. When it’s done, the inside should be nice and steamy, and wiping out the grime inside will be easier than trying to wipe off the hardened baked on food from multiple plates of leftover spaghetti with sauce incinerated to oblivion. 
I also sometimes add a slice of lemon (if I have any) to make the aroma more pleasant."

When I read this, I thought, “This sounds familiar.” Then I remembered it’s on our very own 43 Tips that Make Things Sparkle! It’s #22: To clean the interior of your microwave without using detergents, place a glass measuring cup inside filled with water. Turn on high for approximately 2 minutes. The steam will loosen any splatters. Depending on how soiled the interior is, you may need to repeat.

Five minutes, as suggested by HTCA, seems a bit overkill. Two to three should do it. When I zap water for my tea, it’s nearly boiling after 2 minutes. But every microwave’s power is different, so use your discretion.

Be careful, I advise you, when you go to remove the hot water out of the microwave. Here’s a slightly disturbing horror story about hot water blowing up when taken out of the microwave. This article actually provides the same cleaning tip as well… go figure! Must be a good one to stand by. I plan on testing it out tonight, so I’ll report back on its efficiency. Safe cleaning, everyone!