That one client who brought in a tower covered in dust bunnies from 2014

Had a guy walk into my shop last Tuesday with a PC so caked in dust the fans wouldn't even spin. He said 'I just want it faster,' but the CPU was hitting 95 degrees under idle. I had to use a shop vac and a toothbrush for 20 minutes just to get the heatsink visible again. Anyone else ever get a machine that looked like it survived a desert storm?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa_brown13d ago

Not sure I see it the same way. A twenty minute cleaning sounds pretty reasonable given the state of the thing. Those compressed air cans barely do a thing on heavy buildup, you have to get hands on with a brush and vac to really get the job done. Popping the fan off and scrubbing the blades with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol is usually what gets them spinning again, not just a quick blowout. Customers like that guy are the reason you keep a dedicated shop vac with a brush attachment in the back.

anna_coleman12d ago

My buddy Mark actually had this exact situation play out at his shop last month. He had this guy come in with a PS4 that sounded like a lawnmower, and Mark spent a solid 25 minutes with the teardown and deep clean. Customer stood there watching the whole time, then complained it took too long and tried to haggle the price down. Mark just pointed to the pile of dust and cat hair he'd pulled out and said "this was blocking your airflow, not my break timing." The guy paid up but left a bad review anyway. Some people just don't get that proper cleaning takes time, you know?