Caring for Devices
Caring for Devices
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Just like you keep your classroom clean, it is important to keep your district-issued device and student Chromebooks clean too.
Why should you clean your device regularly?
GERMS! 😷 We spend hours in front of our devices daily. Devices collect bacteria from hands, desks, backpacks etc. In winter months especially, we often contract colds. Sneezing and coughing near your laptop can create build up on your screen. YUCK. Cleaning your laptop regularly helps mitigate the spread of germs.
Performance: Many electronic devices have internal fans drawing in air to keep them cool and prevent overheating. This makes them magnets for dust. Over time, dust builds up in the laptop’s fan and can cause issues with device performance such as: overheating, sluggish performance, and shutting down unexpectedly. The picture below shows the inside of a laptop with a fan that is caked with dust. 😱 Using compressed air to clean your laptop’s fan every so often helps your laptop breathe properly.
Device Cleaning Tools:
Towel: The IT department recommends cleaning devices with microfiber cloths.
DO NOT: Use paper towels. Paper towels can leave lint, and create micro-abrasions when cleaning the screen of your device. Paper towels are not as soft as microfiber.
Cleaning Spray: The IT department recommends using 409 cleaning solution for cleaning device screens, keyboards, etc. Spray the cleaner directly on the microfiber cloth and then wipe down your device.
DO NOT: Spray the cleaner directly onto the device.
DO NOT: Use any type of cleaning wipes. They are often too saturated with cleaning solution, and are meant to clean surfaces like desks or counter tops. The cleaning solution from these wipes can seep into the inside of the device, and the moisture can ruin internal components.
Compressed Air: Compressed air is used exclusively for cleaning dust out of devices. Compressed air is inexpensive, and can be found here. Spraying short bursts of compressed air can clean out ports, particulates that have accumulated in the keys of your keyboard, and most importantly, the fan for your device.
DO NOT: Spray compressed air in long bursts. Spray compressed air in short bursts.
DO NOT: Spray compressed air with the can upside down.
Best practices for district devices:
Keep food and drink as far away as possible from your laptop. This helps mitigate accidental spills and the build up of food particles in your keyboard.
Restart your computer once a week. This helps fix small glitches like lagging, freezing, and WIFI connectivity issues.
Avoid temperature extremes. For example- Cold temperatures can drain your battery faster, create slow charging, and temporary power loss. Leaving a laptop in a cold car for even 30 minutes can create permanent battery damage. Temporary power loss makes it appear that your laptop is dead, but once it adjusts to room temperature it turns on.
Shut your laptop all the way down. If you will not be using your laptop for more than one day consecutively, shut it down. This helps preserve battery life and gives the laptop components time to rest. You can fully shut down your laptop by clicking the windows button>>>power>>>shutdown or by pressing the physical power button for five seconds.
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