At least once per month I open my desktop PC and clean all the dust that gathered inside since in my opinion dust is the number one killer of electronics. Just look at pictures posted online but electronic shop workers, most times you'll see monstrous amounts of dust inside the things they opened for repairs. To throw mechanical appliances here too, I occasionally grease the ones that need it in hopes of prolonging their life. These are little things that if done often can help save money in the long run by keeping your appliances working. So, what are the little things that you do to maintain your electronics in working order?
As somewhat of a computer expert myself, I wish more people would do what you do. People should get their computer cleaned at least once a year, especially laptops. When people use laptops on anything but hard surfaces, the fans act just like a dust magnet. Computers generate a lot of of heat, so a properly functioning cooling system is a must. Dust inhibits that system from working. That's why dusting is so important.
I will ask you prettycolors do you dust the back of your refrigerator as well? It can actually save you some money. I make a point of dusting off the electronics from time to time but not as often as I probably should. Cooling is very important to electronics and I make a point to operate them in a manner in which they wont overheat. No laptops on the bed for example. This is probably one of those things that I and others should put on the schedule bimonthly.
I do a very poor job of cleaning and maintaining my computer. In fact, my personal computer is somewhere in California being repaired by Toshiba. I'll make sure to dust my laptop next time I get a chance.
I can testify from personal experience that if you don't clean your laptop out very often then you are going to get poor performance and eventually will get the "blue screen of death". I actually take my computer in to get professionally cleaned every six months and it is running like a champ!
I normally clean my electronics regularly. Those that are stationary like my telly, radio I clean off the dust on a weekly basis. It is the best time especially during the weekend because it is the only time that I have to clean up.
When I get the random blue screen of death and I normally didn't install anything, then I know for sure that my RAM is dirty. I just clean my memory using an eraser and after that I stop getting blue screen errors.
It's amazing to see how much dust accumulates in PCs and other electronics. I would clean out my computer more often but it's quite a chore to do properly but the results are better temperatures and airflow. I neglect cleaning my laptop and things like my keyboard though.
My PC is pretty sealed off so there's not much I have to worry about dust and dirt, I mean sure it does get dirty once in a while but not as much as a few seconds of light wiping and dusting off can't handle. Maintaining electronics isn't that easy though, you have to be careful of the parts you're dusting off, sometimes cloths that you use leave scratches or some gunk stuck between corners of circuits and stuff, also dirt and dust can get you're PC or other devices running a bit weird.