angelarivera•1mo agoTop Commenter

Rant: Stop using compressed air to clean game consoles

I was at a retro game store last weekend watching the kid behind the counter blow dust out of an NES with canned air. All that did was push the dirt deeper into the power switch and RF box. I had to show him how to actually take the shell off and use a soft brush and isopropyl alcohol to get it clean. Has anyone else had to fix a console that someone ruined by just blasting air into it?

3 comments

3 Comments

amy_west1mo ago

Oh man, this is such a pet peeve of mine. Watched a friend's little brother blast compressed air into his SNES cartridge slot once and it just jammed a clump of cat hair and dust right into the pins. Took forever with a toothbrush and 91% alcohol to get that gunk out. Canned air is for keyboards, not vintage hardware.

laura_chen411mo ago

See, I kinda disagree actually. I've used compressed air on old cartridges for years and never had a problem. You just gotta hold it at an angle and not blast it straight down into the slot.

xena_bailey181mo ago

I get what you're saying @laura_chen41, but I think it still depends on the console. Blasting air at an angle is better than straight down, sure, but on older systems like an NES the dust just gets pushed into the power switch where you can't reach it without pulling the whole thing apart. I'd rather crack the shell open and clean it the right way than risk making a bigger mess later.