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Overview
Air cooling is the most popular way to cool a computer (in comparison with water cooling, LN2 or dry ice). This is mainly due to its cost, low maintenance, and overall longevity. A typical air-cooled heatsink absorbs heat from your CPU and dissipates it into the air via a heatsink fan. Modern heatsink fans last for many years and are typically reusable between builds. When it comes to fan maintenance, there’s really only one task that needs to be done on a semi-regular basis in order to keep your system running smoothly: dust removal.
We love the MetroVac DataVac Electric Duster because it never runs out of air, is incredibly powerful, and is better for the environment. It will even save you money in the long run!
The best way to clean your PC and remove dust safely and effectively is with an air duster. We at TechSauce want to make sure that once you’re happy with the fans installed in your system, you can keep them running for years to come with relatively low-cost maintenance. Our recommendations consider effectiveness, cost, environmental impact, and preventing Electrostatic Discharge (ESD). This way, you can keep your PC as clean as the day you bought it.
Why You Should Trust Us
Our staff at TechSauce has been maintaining PCs and server equipment for years. We know dust buildup can become an issue even while taking all precautions and deploying the best of filters. We personally tested and reviewed several solutions to ensure we are providing the best options available on the market today. With our experience in engineering and fluid dynamics, we carefully examined which options were the best ways to clean your PC. The products we are recommending today we use on a regular basis and have lasted us for years. We can confidently recommend these products to you so you can also keep your components clean and running smoothly.
How We Picked
There are a number of electric and standalone air dusters on the market today. We took a look at the most important criteria we believe are critical to choosing the right PC dust removal tool to have in your home.
Noise: Having a powerful duster is fantastic in removing dust from your system. However, you also don’t want to have to wear noise-isolating headphones when cleaning your PC.
Value: We factor in up front cost, maintenance cost as well as cost-over-time. Especially if you plan to dust your PC off more than once, we firmly believe in having tools that last rather than having to constantly be in the market for a new duster.
Accessories: Dusting your PC is not limited to your tower. You want to be able to get to those “hard to reach” spots, like in between keys of your keyboard, and you may want to have backup filters handy. We want to make sure that when you purchase a duster, it is ready to go “out of the box”.
Performance: Above all else, the duster needs to…well…remove dust. If it blows air onto your components but isn’t powerful enough to remove dust, it might as well belong in the landfill. We want to make sure your next duster will properly remove the dust from even the most dusty systems.
Sustainability: We at TechSauce are firm believers in buying the right tool for the job. This way, you’re making sure that tool sticks with you for many years. This is one of the main reasons we can never recommend disposable cleaning dusters, as they do not meet our standards in this particular category (or in the others listed above)..
The Champ: MetroVac DataVac Electric Duster
We love the MetroVac DataVac Electric Duster because it never runs out of air, is incredibly powerful, and is better for the environment. It will even save you money in the long run!
Based on our extensive testing and research, we concluded that the MetroVac DataVac Electric Duster is the best way to clean your PC due to excellent performance and extortionary long term value.
You may have seen the typical “duster in a can” solutions on the shelves of electronic stores and on the web. Contrary to popular belief, these dusters are not just canned air. They actually contain a propellant which is usually one of the following:
- HFC-134a (a non flammable hydrofluorocarbon that is bad for the environment)
- HFC-152a (extremely popular in stores since it’s cheap, but unfortunately extremely flammable)
- HFO-1234ze (a non flammable Hydrofluoroolefin, but also more expensive, so much less common).
The real question is…will these cans actually remove dust from your computer? They will, but not only are they disposable, bad for the environment, and can possibly catch fire, in the long run they will actually cost you more than getting a proper tool to keep your PC free of dust. For those reasons, we strongly discourage the use of these dusters and instead recommend a proper solution.
Meet the Metrovac DataVac. This electric duster is specifically designed for cleaning your PC and removing dust off of electronic components. Unlike a vacuum cleaner, it will not damage any components in your system due to Electrostatic Discharge (ESD).
The Metrovac DataVac features a 500W motor. It has plenty of power to completely remove the dust from your system without a problem. We of course, recommend you take your PC outside first and blow out all of the dust there. And it’s self-cooling so it won’t overheat while you’re using it. Best of all, it’s environmentally friendly. No HFCs, HFOs or CO2. Just air!
The Grand Champion: DataVac Pro Computer Vacuum
An upgrade from the MetroVac DataVac - the DataVac Pro Vacuum provides both blower and vacuum functions.
A step up from the Datavac is the DataVac Pro Computer Vacuum. This vacuum/blower combo has a 4 amp motor and a 19 inch flexible hose, making dust removal easy. It also comes with 10 bags, a crevice tool, soft-bristle brush, 4-piece micro cleaning tool kit and an air-pin pointer. In situations where moving your computer outdoors to blow off dust is inconvenient or otherwise not an option, the DataVac Pro Computer Vacuum can vacuum up dust without ever needing to move your computer. This all-steel blower is not only lightweight but is powerful enough to remove the most stubborn dust in your PC.
The Runner-Up: XPOWER A-2
If you're looking to get rid of disposable air dusters and maximize value, we recommend the XPOWER A-2.
We’re big fans of the DataVac as the top performing electronics duster. But, we also found some additional dusters that do the job and may interest you as an alternative, especially if you’re looking for some slightly different features. Similar to the MetroVac DataVac Electric Duster is the XPOWER A-2. While this model is made of ABS plastic instead of steel, it still has the same 500-watt motor with 90 CFM of airflow as the DataVac. Additionally, it has two different operating speeds and washable filters to make maintenance easy.
The Contenders
While researching and testing electronic dusters, we considered many different makes and models while trying to find the best way to clean your PC. The contenders below all made our short list, but did not end up with a top-3 recommendation. Based on your requirements some of these may be a good fit for you.
Similar to the MetroVac DataVac is the MetroVac Anti-ESD Computer/Electronics Duster. This one has 70 CFM and includes an anti-ESD strap. This ensures your electronic components will not get electrically damaged if you touch something in your PC. It’s an extremely powerful duster without adding too much noise or heat. Both Metrovac blowers come with a variety of nozzles and attachments to clean your PC and remove dust.
Another alternative we found is the ALPIAZ Electric Air Duster. We love that the battery powered duster can be used cordlessly. It has a 6000mAh Battery and has fast 12.6W charging. As a safety feature, the ABVOT button has to be held down in order to operate to ensure it’ll never be left running.
We also took a look at the SIN SHINE Electric Air Duster. This duster comes with a number of attachments (including three brush attachments) that can be especially useful for laptops and other hard-to-reach areas. With a 27 m/s maximum flow rate, we found this duster to be powerful enough to remove dust from all of our components.
Lastly, we recommend the ALPTHY Air Duster. This has a massive 15000 mAh rechargeable battery, a 10W Type-C port for charging, a 36000 RPM motor that can produce a whopping 70m/s of air, and comes with multiple nozzles. It even has a flashlight to make sure you can clean your PC at night! Last but not least, it has two different air flow modes (27K and 36K RPM) bringing some versatility into your PC cleaning. While the specs look incredible, we do wonder what the cleaning gel is used for.
In case you couldn’t tell by now, we firmly believe that PC dusting is a general maintenance item regardless of your specific PC build. While cases, heatsinks and radiator fans aid in cooling, their cooling performance decreases over time with dust buildup, especially in areas that don’t have filters. We highly recommend these electric dusters which will last you for years, increasing your PC’s performance, and help save the environment.
