Hot Mac mini (late 2009) - can I clean the air vents? How?

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Hot Mac mini (late 2009) - can I clean the air vents? How?

I am in Chiang Mai, Thailand where the air can get rather dirty and the daytime temperatures reach 33C (91F).

After about 18 months, my Mac mini is now cycling up the cooling fan every 5 to 10 minutes. The iStat Pro widget shows internal temps of about 50C, sometimes up to about 70C on the CPU heatsink. Looking at the underside of the mini, it's easy to see that a lot of fluff and crud has collected in the vents. How can I clean this out? Or should I take to a local Apple shop to see if they can do it? Advice please. Stephen.

Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.6.7), Belkin WiFi ADSL+ router, HP B209a printer.

Posted on May 21, 2011 2:46 AM

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Answer 1

Euchre

Level 4

1,275 points

May 21, 2011 1:30 PM in response to stephenanders

You can use 'canned air' (compressed air in an aerosol can) to blow out the mini pretty safely. Don't poke the probe deeply into the vents, just far enough to direct all of the air into the vent. You could also use compressed air from a compressor, but be careful to be sure of the maintenance of the compressor and pressure it is set to. If the condensation is not drained from the reservoir tank regularly, or if excessive amounts of lubricant oil is used in the compressor head, you can cause these forms of moisture to contaminate your mini. If the pressure is set too high, you can damage components inside the mini, or knock things like wires and the antennas loose in the mini. Lastly, be careful how dry it is when and where you blow the dust from the mini, because static electricity can build up and discharge. If the air is fairly humid, you should be fairly safe.

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