How to clean dirty laptop physically/cosmetically?

Have a dell xps 15 9550 laptop bought years ago. It works fine. The exterior of it is a bit dirty but because its silver, it looks good.


Now when you open the laptop and look at the touchpad and the areas around the keyboard etc, there is like dirty fingerprints around that area. Also there is lot of dust around the keys on the keyboard as well. I previously would just take some tissue and wipe the dirty spots. But of course its still dirty. I don't want to use water on it as that can cause damage. I do have these wipes called wet ones...which are meant to wash your hands though but those should not be used on this right?


Also when you go on ebay and see people selling an old laptop, you notice how the area around the touchpad has stains/fingerprints etc. But is there a way to clean this without risk causing damage to it? The thing is i rarely use this laptop by itself, its pretty much connected to 2 external monitors always. But the thing is this laptop seems to collect a lot of dust.


Also my monitors and external keyboard i use for this laptop is very dirty. I previously used some wet ones on it and it was okay but didn't clean it fully. Like on the external wired keyboard, you see dust under the keys on it. But i don't want to get a new external keyboard because i like this keyboard a lot. It was from an old dell desktop and the size of it is bigger than regular size keyboard and i always found it comfortable, which is why i havent bought a new wired keyboard.


Does anyone have tips on how i can clean safely my laptop... my monitor and the keyboard? I did recall i saw some computer wiping screen wipes at walmart that seem to do this. So those are safe to use?

i make a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and distilled water, mixed 50/50 to clean everyhing on my computer. I just use a ran, spray the mixture on the rag and clean the machine.

A can of compressed air or an air compressor can be used to blow out the crumbs, dust, dirty, hair and whatever gets in the keyboards and all of the little nooks and crannies.

I try to avoid isopropyl alcohol because there are some plastics that are sensitive to it that will end up with permanent streaks in it from isopropyl alcohol. Doesn't happen often, but it has happened to me!

My preference is to use some mild soapy water using a few drops of dish washing liquid. That seems to be especially effective at removing the stains on a touchpad.

Apply that solution directly to a microfiber clothe rather than to the laptop itself. Follow up with another microfiber cloth dampened with only water to remove any remaining residue, and finally a dry cloth to dry it all off without leaving any spots.

Sadly, my touchpad is beyond cosmetic help. Some six years of constant use have worn away the surface patterning.

Ugly, but still fully functional....

I gaffer taped a 'Slurpee' straw to a vacuum crevice tool, works great for those tiny, hard to reach spots!

Bree said:

Sadly, my touchpad is beyond cosmetic help. Some six years of constant use have worn away the surface patterning.

Ugly, but still fully functional....

Mine looks exactly the same and is functional as well. Apparently it's just a sticker that can be replaced. Just search "replacement touchpad sticker" for your model.

OldGuyFromCdn said:

Apparently it's just a sticker that can be replaced.....

Thanks, but not on my model unfortunately. The touchpad is moulded directly into the palmrest, with just a slightly textured surface to indicate it's location.

I could fix it up if I replaced the palmrest and made it pretty again. But you know what? I kinda like it. Reminds me every day just what long and faithful service it has performed. And that's getting on for three years of active use, as recorded by the 'power on hours' of its hard drive (still the original).




Edit: I've just worked out that makes an average of more than 9 hours a day I've spent using that machine (note to self: must get out more )

Would you guys say it would be foolish to bring my laptop to a repair shop and have them clean it for me?

Bree said:

Edit: I've just worked out that makes an average of more than 9 hours a day I've spent using that machine (note to self: must get out more )

Winter is coming. Might have to wait until 2020 to get out more.

@paulyjustin: nobody can tell you whether to take your laptop to a shop to get cleaned. That's up to you. Besides, I thought "your shop guy" moved or died or something and you don't seem to trust anybody else (including the folks here who regularly provide you with excellent advice). Good luck.