Frequently Asked Questions

What if I dislodge a cable connector whilst cleaning the inside of my computer?

Answer: PC Valet advise customers to take a photo using a mobile phone or a digital camera when preparing to clean or upgrade the internal components of their PC's. This can be a useful point of reference in case any parts are accidentally dislodged.

How do I use foam cleaner on my laptop or computer keyboard?

Answer: Always make sure your computer is turned off and disconnected from the mains, and always check your manufacturer's warranty and recommendations for cleaning your computer, laptop and screens. Spray foam cleaner on to a lint free cloth then wipe keyboards until clean. We also stock a keyboard cleaning kit, which contains a keyboard and mouse cleaner, foam swabs for between the keys and lint free cloths.

Can you use an air duster inside a computer?

Answer: When using an air duster inside your computer, do not shake the can, use in short bursts and use the directional tube supplied to get into those awkward areas. When cleaning the INSIDE of your computer tower, always ground yourself to prevent ESD damage (Electro Static Discharge). By using PC Valet's grounding products you will be sure to prevent ESD damage to your components.

Can you use a brush inside a computer?

Answer: It is very important you use an ESD conductive safe cleaning brush and to also be grounded at the same time, so you will not build up any static when using the brush to clean dust off any components.

What is Electro Static Damage?

Answer: Electro Static is the unseen enemy that destroys your electronic components without you being aware of it.  A simple, if not technically correct, explanation of how your body produces electro static.
Your body is like a re-chargeable battery, every time you walk on a carpet, open a crisp packet, get dressed and with just every day general movement, you are charging yourself with static electricity. This is natural with today’s types of materials and totally harmless to you. Remember this is happening 24/7.

Electro Static Discharge is simply you discharging yourself of all that built up static electricity in your body. The “big zap,” it hurts sometimes doesn’t it. This happens when you touch a car door handle or a shopping trolley or simply anything metal. So now you have discharged your body of static electricity all at once. What a shock!  Some people can even see the spark at night when they have discharged themselves.

In normal everyday life this is no problem at all. But when you are handling sensitive electronic components in your computer or laptop etc, for example the CPU, graphic card, memory, motherboard etc, the electro static build up in your body can be very damaging to these components if you have not grounded yourself and discharged any electro static charge you have in your body you will damage your very expensive components.

Why do I need to use anti static grounding products?

Answer: By not using anti static grounding products when repairing, cleaning or upgrading your electronic equipment you risk the following:

Catastrophic failure:

This means that you have zapped (see above)  your CPU, motherboard, memory, etc therefore a total failure has happened. You will have to replace some or all of your components just because you haven't grounded yourself.

Latent damage:

This is the most common problem with electro static damage (ESD) example: 2 or 3 or even 6 months ago you decided to upgrade your computer without grounding yourself and now you are finding that your computer won't start, it crashes or freezes and is getting those niggling problems you never had before. It's not your operating programme, it's the damage that has been caused by ESD and not grounding yourself. So when upgrading, maintaining or cleaning your computer, laptop, or any electronic equipment internally, be safe and be sure by using PC Valet’s quality anti static grounding products.

We will be adding more Questions and Answers shortly, so please keep coming back.