Leaderboard

Honestly now, I've used ~100+ PSI through a 1/4" nozzle for cleaning out the funk, for years. Could that pressure find ill soldered components, absolutely. Have I encountered this, no.

As ridiculous as it sounds, most computer components such as the motherboard, PSU and certain expansion cards can survive a full dishwasher cycle. Obviously that's not how I recommend cleaning a PC. The following 8-year old video is an example. The internals were covered in cigarette smoke residue, so he decided to dismantle the components and put them through the dish washer, with the exception of the case, battery and the hard disk. I also enjoy watching videos on old hardware such as restoration videos. I have come ones where such hobbyists put components through a dishwasher cycle to clean extensive debris build-up from being left for 10+ years in storage such as a dusty shed. As long as no moisture remains when the PC is powered up, it should be fine. I generally clean my PC with an air duster, which is basically an aerosol can filled with propellant gas. Here in Ireland, humidity is usually on the high side, e.g. I run a dehumidifier to keep the indoor level below 60%. The only component I may wash is the keyboard. I have a Corsair Cherry Red Mechanical keyboard that I accidentally knocked a glass of cider on. I immediately unplugged it, tried wiping off what I could and let it dry. Once dry, many of the letters were sticking. When I started removing the keys to try cleaning below, I realised the mechanical switches were jamming. With what appeared to be a ruined keyboard that I only purchased a few months before the incident, I figured I'll try giving it a bath as we don't have a dishwasher. I partially filled a wide container with water from our dehumidifier (since it's effectively distilled), soaked the keyboard and pushed each key multiples times to force water through the switches. I left it to dry for about a week. It's fully functional again, all keys work and no sticking or other issue since.

For the past 15 years I have always used an air compressor... 60 gallons @ 175PSI set to 80 on the hose, never once has static been an issue. I also don't bother with a dryer on the line, and yeah, I see moisture come out on short bursts, never once has it been an issue for me though I don't have droplets of water come out either. You are more liable to see static issues on plastic hose attachments with a vacuum cleaner and the attachment being that close to the machine for it to suck any decent amounts of dust away. Chances of static jumping from the air in a compressor hose to your machine when you have the air tool ~24 inches away is pretty much non-existent. What is bad is having the pressure too high when you are too close to the machine with the tool, and when you let the fans spin freely. Gonna blow SMD's off or cook a bearing real fast.