Cleaning your laptop: screen, keyboard and ventilation

Written on 17 September 2026

A dirty laptop is more than a cosmetic problem. Dust and dirt in the vents let the temperature rise, and a hot laptop throttles its processor back to protect itself.

That dirt keeps building up as long as you do nothing about it, and it creeps. People who clean their laptop thoroughly often notice the fan running more quietly straight away.

The good news is that with a microfibre cloth and a can of compressed air you do most of the work. In this article you read part by part how to clean your laptop safely, and which products you had better not use.

What do you do before you start?

Switch the device off completely and pull the plug out of the socket. A laptop that is switched on can short-circuit as soon as moisture reaches the electronics.

Then let it cool down for a moment. On a warm screen moisture dries immediately and that leaves streaks behind.

Before you start cleaning, get everything ready: a dry microfibre cloth, possibly a second one you can dampen lightly, and a can of compressed air. For the outside of your laptop you need nothing more.

How do you clean the laptop screen safely?

Wipe the screen carefully with a dry microfibre cloth, in calm straight passes from top to bottom. Circular movements mainly move the dirt around instead of picking it up.

If there are fingerprints or stubborn marks that will not come off, dampen a corner of the cloth with a little water; a mixture of distilled water and nothing else is safest. Squeeze out the excess liquid and never spray directly onto the screen of your laptop, because the moisture then runs inside along the edges of the screen.

Press lightly. Behind the glass sits a panel that is sensitive to pressure, and pushing too hard can cause permanent damage in the form of blotches in the image.

Then let the screen dry for a minute before you close the laptop. That stops moisture getting trapped between screen and keyboard.

How do you get the keyboard clean?

Tilt the laptop carefully upside down and tap gently on the casing. Most crumbs between the keys simply fall out.

What stays behind you remove with compressed air or a soft brush. Work from one side to the other, so you do not keep blowing the dirt back into the keyboard.

Wipe the tops of the keys with a lightly dampened microfibre cloth. Grease from your fingers leaves a sheen that a dry cloth alone will not remove.

I would advise against taking keys off. The clips underneath are small and break easily, and on a refurbished laptop a single key is rarely still available separately.

How do you get the casing and the ports clean?

Cleaning the casing may be firmer than the screen. A damp cloth with a drop of mild soap removes grease and grime from the outside of your laptop.

Wring the cloth out well before you start. No water may run into the seams or the ports of your laptop.

The connectors themselves you clean dry. A bit of fluff in a USB-C port or in the socket of your charger gives a poor contact, and you solve that with compressed air or a wooden toothpick, never with anything metal.

How do you remove dust from the vents?

This is the part that pays off most. The vents draw in air and with it dust, and that piles up against the heatsink.

Use compressed air in short bursts and hold the can upright, otherwise propellant comes out in liquid form. Blow at an angle along the opening instead of straight into it.

Hold the fan still if you can reach it, or blow in such a way that it does not spin up. A fan driven by compressed air faster than it was made for can damage its bearings.

If you notice the laptop still gets hot and blows loudly after cleaning, the dust sits deeper or the thermal paste has dried out. That is work for a technician.

Which cleaning products had you better leave alone?

Glass cleaner, all-purpose cleaner and other aggressive ammonia-based products do not belong near a laptop screen. Those products attack the anti-reflective coating, and that is irreversible.

Kitchen roll and old t-shirts are not a good idea either. Their fibres are harder than they look and leave fine scratches on a clean laptop over time.

A cleaner made specially for screens is possible, but rarely necessary. Water on a microfibre cloth does the same job in practice.

How often should you clean your laptop?

Anyone cleaning their laptop is best keeping up with it: the screen and the keyboard every few weeks. That takes two minutes and keeps the device pleasant to use.

The vents you do two to four times a year. If you have pets or the laptop often sits on a blanket or a sofa, more often is fine, because textiles and hairs are drawn straight in.

Cleaning your laptop regularly is one of the few things that genuinely extends its life. Overheating is, after all, one of the causes of parts wearing out early.

When should you leave the inside of your laptop to someone else?

Opening your laptop to clean the inside thoroughly belongs to maintenance you have to be sure about. On business top series the bottom plate is held by a few screws, but there are cables attached that you damage easily.

Your warranty plays a part too. Check first what your terms say about opening it yourself before you reach for the screwdriver.

With us every laptop is checked and cleaned before sale. What that inspection looks like is in the 30-point check.

What do you need and what does it cost?

The whole kit fits in a drawer and lasts for years. A microfibre cloth costs a few euros and is washable, so you buy it once.

A can of compressed air is the biggest item and does about ten cleaning sessions. Take care to pick a version without lubricant, because some industrial cans leave a film behind.

A soft brush with natural bristles helps with the keyboard and the edges around the screen. An old make-up brush does the job fine, as long as it is clean and dry.

What you do not need are special cleaning sets with sprays and wipes in a box. Those often contain alcohol, and that is exactly what you want to avoid on a screen.

Add it up and you are under ten euros for kit that keeps your laptop clean for years. Set against a repair caused by overheating, that is a negligible investment.

In brief

Switch your laptop off before you clean it and use a dry microfibre cloth for the screen, with at most a little water for stubborn dirt. You get the keyboard clean by turning the laptop over and removing the rest with compressed air or a brush. The vents you do two to four times a year with compressed air in short bursts, because that is where the gain against overheating sits. Stay away from glass cleaner, alcohol and kitchen roll, and leave the inside to a technician. If your laptop feels slow without getting warm, have a look at making your laptop faster.

Why refurbished at DSL Tech?

Every laptop at DSL Tech is checked on more than 30 points and comes with a 2-year warranty. Customers rate us 9.0 on average, you pay securely by iDEAL or in three instalments with in3, and order before 12:00 and your laptop arrives tomorrow.

This article is part of our complete guide buying a refurbished laptop, with grades, warranty, the right specs and the brands set out side by side.

Sources

• Microsoft Support: cleaning your device and keyboard
• Consumentenbond: laptops, maintenance and lifespan
• Milieu Centraal: making your electronics last longer