
Cleaning My MacBook After 16800 Hours of Use - soygul
https://quanticdev.com/articles/cleaning-macbook-after-16800-hours-of-use
======
henriquez
This is something people often forget about with laptops. Between dust buildup
and thermal paste degradation, performance will always slow over time due to
rampant thermals. Even tech-savvy people often seem to think their laptop is
simply “slowing down” and “too old” when the solution is often as simple as a
can of compressed air.

I’d really recommend doing the dust cleanup every year or so. It’s usually
easy enough to remove the bottom cover of any laptop without particularly
special screwdrivers.

Desktops (especially the PCs with the case Windows) are a bit easier to
understand because you’ll see the clogged intakes and dust buildup much more
readily.

One thing I like about mechanical keyboards is that the keys can be removed
making cleaning much easier. Six months is a better timeline for keyboard
cleaning, these things get _nasty_ especially if you have pets.

~~~
jessriedel
> It’s usually easy enough to remove the bottom cover of any laptop without
> particularly special screwdrivers.

"particularly special"? The screwdrivers needed to open up a Macbook are
special enough that I've never seen them used for any other object. So are you
just glad that Apple didn't decide to create a new screwdriver standard for
each Macbook model? :)

~~~
neilv
BTW, one of the most useful tools I've found for working on arbitrary modern
electronics (after a basic set of ordinary screwdrivers and jewelers' drivers,
a needlenose pliers, and some kind of spudger) is a $10-$20 set of as many
different security screw bits as you can get. IME, it pays for itself the
first time you need one of the bits, and I wish I'd bought a bigger set the
first time.

~~~
isoskeles
I also find these very useful, but I have some that wore down and start
stripping the screws.

I'd like to find a set that isn't prone to wear, unless that is simply a fact
of life. I'm wondering if I was just being too cheap when I bought my first
set.

~~~
mirashii
I've had good luck with Wiha tools.

~~~
LogicWolfe
I second this. I had an ifixit set and then got this wiha set:
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JQ753W8/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JQ753W8/).
I ended up giving away the ifixit ones because the wiha quality was notably
superior.

------
lmilcin
So note #1: swollen batteries are not a normal state of the battery. This is a
sign of a defect and battery that is swollen is a safety hazard and should
definitely be immediately replaced. Do not throw batteries in a garbage can. I
don't know how it is done in US, here in Poland most large shops take used
batteries for proper disposal.

Note #2: every breathing computer keeps accumulating dust and requires
cleaning every couple of months of years. It is worth it if only to keep the
noise down.

Note #3: it is not safe to vacuum the laptop as it can cause static discharge.
Technically, even just waving a charged object over a piece of conductor can
induce a current and damage susceptible component. The damage might not be
immediately apparent and may cause various types of malfunctions. If you have
no other way of doing it at the very least ensure it is done in humid
environment (over 70% humidity but the more humid the better).

~~~
geerlingguy
FYI there are special vacs for electronics which are made to prevent the
static issue; many shops have one of these: [https://www.newegg.com/black-
metropolitan-data-vac-portable-...](https://www.newegg.com/black-metropolitan-
data-vac-portable-vacuum-cleaner/p/N82E16896367013)

~~~
askvictor
I wonder if some aluminium foil around the vacuum cleaner's tube, connected to
a wire through to ground would be a cheap alternative.

That said, I have heard that ESD isn't nearly as big an issue as it's made out
to be, particularly the idea of slow damage/damage build-up. I don't know if
the ESD thing is akin to an old wives tale with a kernel of truth surrounded
in increasing layers of falsehoods; or perhaps something that was once true
and is no longer, but persists in the collective memory. On the other hand
maybe there's some solid evidence for it. Anyone have any evidence beyond
anecdotes?

~~~
lmilcin
I work with electronics as a hobby. Some time ago I progressed to more
sensitive components and so I am pretty interested in the topic.

Most ESD damage is quite insidious in nature. Imagine your laptop start
loosing performance or one of your application developing a nasty error when
you do some specific operation.

Even elements designed to protect from ESD have their capacity to accept
shocks. For example, your phone's USB connector might be protected from ESD
but that protection will run out at some point. Repated shocks to the USB
connector may reduce life of your phone.

------
TedDoesntTalk
I’ve read a lot of the comments here.

I don’t see many people mentioning the amazing reliability of this laptop.

I’ve had a similar experience with MacBook Pro (7 years, only problem was some
keys started going bad).

There was a time you could not keep a laptop 7 years without significant
component replacement or just having to replace it because it was no longer
able to run modern software due to slower cpu, not enough ram (and not
upgradable enough)... basically hardware obsolescence.

Now the components last AND the hardware is still fast enough to be useful
after 7 years.

What a wonderful world we live in!

~~~
moreati
I have a similar 2013 vintage MBP. It's on it's 5th or 6th charger, 3rd
charger board, 2nd battery, and 2nd speaker

[https://twitter.com/moreati/status/1087046181434417152](https://twitter.com/moreati/status/1087046181434417152)

Except for MagSafe it's a solid design.

~~~
debian3
I’m still on my original magsafe from 2014

~~~
ValentineC
Not the parent, but I wish I could say the same about my MagSafe charger.

The insulation on the MagSafe side started flaking after some time, leaving
blue stuff _everywhere_. Apple's Geniuses say that it's because I mishandled
it, and refuse to cover it.

------
wiredfool
A year ago, I opened up the kids’ 2012 MBP because it was overheating with the
fan on all the time. (This machine has had a long, hard life, including
requiring a new keyboard when a glass of water was poured on it, several hard
drive cables, a couple of batteries, several power adaptors, and I forget what
else)

I extracted a chunk of lint about 1/2 cm thick and the consistency of felt
from the fan intake.

After that, the fan didn’t turn on nearly as often, and thermal management
during Minecraft was much better.

~~~
switz
Every 6 months or so I clean out the fans on my macbook. I used to take them
out entirely, but realized with an old toothbrush and a soft-handed can of
compressed air[0] you can do 90% of the job without the headache.

Always runs like a new machine after that.

[0] be careful not to damage the fan's teeth

------
mothsonasloth
For anyone doing this, please do not use a vacuum hose (unless its anti
static) as it can cause ESD discharge, especially on exposed PCBs

I wrecked a DVR doing this with a Dyson vacuum.

Compressed air or small piece of cotton cloth with rubbing alcohol is the way
to clean exposed electronics.

~~~
umvi
If you don't use a vacuum though the dust just flies out and settles in your
house. I usually hold the vacuum near where I think the dust will fly out
without touching any components. Never had an ESD problem yet.

~~~
chrisseaton
> If you don't use a vacuum though the dust just flies out and settles in your
> house.

Do it outside.

------
g_airborne
I just replaced my MacBook Late 2013 after similar usage. No repairs, no
hiccups or any component failure whatsoever except for a very badly degraded
battery - it lasted about 1.5 hours on a full charge at the end. There’s a lot
to be said about Apple but honestly I don’t see any other manufacturers that
produce laptops that last so insanely long. Hopefully my new one will last as
long as well :)

~~~
zomglings
Thinkpads last insanely long, too.

I have a Thinkpad that I purchased in early 2014 that is still going strong
except for, as in your case, a degraded battery.

My grandparents used to play Freecell on a very early IBM Thinkpad
(manufactured in 1993, I think) that I picked up for free in a garage sale in
2001. This machine lasted well into 2005, and probably still works today.

Highly recommend trying them out. These days you can get equivalent
performance to Macbook Pros for maybe 60% of the cost.

~~~
minerjoe
This. My main development machine is a Thinkpad T60, manufactured in 2006.
Still running strong. For me, it is still a supercomputer. 2x1.8GHz. 4G ram.
1400x1050. Everything I develop on it screams on anything modern. When it
breaks I'm planning on moving backward in time to see if there is an older
model that I can adapt to, probably without spending a single dollar, just
acquiring a thrown away computer.

Limitatations can enable innovation.

~~~
cannam
The T60 with that wonderful 1400x1050 screen is fab, I agree. (I wrote a
sibling comment about using a 2014 Thinkpad as my main box, but I also have
some older ones.) The main problem with it from a modern perspective is that
it's strictly 32-bit, so can't address more than 4G RAM or run many
contemporary Linux distros.

I also have a T40p, from 2003-ish, with the same 1400x1050 display. This is an
even nicer computer to use in many ways - the keyboard in particular is even
better than that in my T60 - but the difference in performance between 2003
and 2006 is striking. It's almost as much as the difference between 2006 and
now. The T6x used Intel Core CPUs, but the T4x was still Pentium M days -
single core and quite substantially slower. The T4x still has a PATA drive, so
it's harder to put in a modern SSD. It's limited to 2G RAM for reasons I can't
remember. It's also much less robust - the T60 series has a completely rigid
chassis (and my T60 still looks like new) but the earlier T40 would bend if
picked up from the front, which would cause both the case and the tracks on
the motherboard to crack (the USB sockets stop working first, then everything
else).

The T40p is a lovely, lovely computer - in some ways the best one I own - but
it's for occasional document-writing only, not really for development any
more.

~~~
minerjoe
This T60 is 64 bit. Core 2 T5600. My cutoff for referbishing a computer for
someone is that it must be 64 bit and it must have at least two cores. Seems
like anything Core 2 duo and later is good enough for almost anything most
people do (except games).

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
My 2013 MBPr just gave up.

I have a T500 Core2Duo T5600 w 4GB RAM sitting in the cupboard. I pulled it
out and put an SSD in it and installed Lubuntu, works fine but I have some
software licenses I’ve paid for that are only available on MacOS & Windows.

Do you think it would run Windows 10 ok? I’d need to buy a license, but at
this stage that might be cheaper than a new / secondhand laptop.

~~~
eigenvector
I run Windows 10 on a Dell Latitude E6400 from 2008 with a 1st gen Core 2 Duo
& 4GB RAM and it runs fine.

Memory hungry apps like Chrome slow down pretty quick, but the OS itself is
snappy.

------
11thEarlOfMar
Side note on cleaning Apple products, may be of interest to iPhone users.

My 2017 6S wasn't charging properly. Charge would start, then a few minutes
later, sometimes less, it would stop. I found that many times, if I inserted
the plug with a bit more force, it would start charging, but later, it would
stop. As is common the cable was frayed near the plug, so I replaced the
cable. The situation didn't change.

I was at the point of deciding to replace the iPhone, since it was getting
dated anyway, when my daughter suggested I clean the plug receptor.... the
light bulb went on.

I grabbed a toothpick and started pulling out lint. Like your bellybutton
lint. There was a lot of lint. It had become packed into the base of the
receptor sufficiently to prevent the plug from making the contacts.

I had carried it in my pocket for 3 years, it likely gathered a few specks of
lint each time I put it in there, and then I compacted the lint when I plugged
it in next.

~~~
willio58
Same thing happened to me. An alarmingly massive ball of lint came out of my
phone.

------
tekstar
I'm on a maxed out 2013 Macbook Pro and I will fight tooth and nail to keep
this laptop functioning for as long as possible. It has a decent keyboard,
still powerful processor (2.3 GHz Intel Core i7), 16GB RAM, dual GPU. and
MagSafe!!! Beloved MagSafe why on earth did they kill you I will never
understand..

I had the Apple store replace the screen and battery about a year ago. The
screen was suffering from the anti-reflective coating (1) recall, but I missed
the repair program window. In every customer support conversation I had
leading up to the repair, they would hint at "consumer protection law". This
was a clue that if I then said "CONSUMER PROTECTION LAW" they would be forced
to do the recall for free even though it was out of date. They ended up giving
me the screen and battery for free.

Apple Store failed to identify and fix one issue that plagued me though, which
was spontaneous black screen and poweroffs, especially when running on battery
below 80%. It seemed like a power issue, or heat issue. I lived with it for
two years, lugging a power brick around whenever I moved spots. With the Apple
Stores closed due to covid, I contacted a local third party mac repair person.
They said they've seen this before, it's a CPU power issue, and if you run a
small script to keep the CPU out of really-low-power state it will stop
happening (2). And they were right! So if you're experiencing this annoying
problem as well, try this python script:

    
    
      from time import sleep
      import os
      while True:
        sleep(0.0002)

You may have to tweak the sleep value - higher values will let your CPU relax
more but may trigger the power issue. Lower values will increase the CPU load
but decrease the chance that the CPU hits this condition.

I've been running this script for 2 weeks now and no freezes. It generates
about 6-8% CPU load, so obviously my battery time is suffering, but the
alternative (random freezes all day) was so annoying that I'm okay living with
this.

1: [https://www.macrumors.com/2017/11/17/apple-extends-free-
stai...](https://www.macrumors.com/2017/11/17/apple-extends-free-staingate-
repairs/)

2:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/9pyort/apple_macbook_p...](https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/9pyort/apple_macbook_pro_sudden_crash_fix_for_models/)

~~~
535188B17C93743
I'm curious if this Thunderbolt driver issue is what you've experienced (when
the CPU load gets too low, something weird happens with the electrical
system).

Here's [1] what's worked for me.

1:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOSBeta/comments/c6f6e7/catalina_...](https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOSBeta/comments/c6f6e7/catalina_random_shutdown_applethunderboltnhikext/)

~~~
tekstar
Thank you!! I'm trying this now without the CPU busy script, fingers crossed

------
LeoPanthera
This is why I loved the no-suffix "MacBook". No fans - no vents - no dust - no
cleaning! For me, the most valuable feature and very under-appreciated.

Eventually I had to replace it and now I'm stuck with a noisy dusty MBP. I
suppose the iPad now fulfills the role of "maintenance free computer".

~~~
chrisseaton
> I suppose the iPad now fulfills the role of "maintenance free computer".

...but he didn’t need to maintain his MacBook Pro in this video either. It
worked fine until the battery degraded and he had to recycle it for that
reason. The MacBook also had a battery that would expire after time.

~~~
sergeykish
Could be his battery was overheating.

------
mastazi
Never use a vacuum on electronics! Use cans of compressed air instead. The
author partially addressed this in the article but I feel that the message
doesn't really come out as clear as it should. The static generated by a
standard vacuum cleaner can damage electronic components, the author is wrong
in their belief that this only applies to desktops and not laptops (and why
would that be the case?).

PS air compressors are not a good alternative: they might suffer from internal
condensation and emit air that is too moist, that's why it's best to use cans
instead.

PPS there are vacuum cleaners specifically designed for electronics. They tend
to be pretty expensive. It's OK to use those.

~~~
jacquesm
Moist air is fine, _wet_ is not. It even helps to cut down on the static risk.
And you should always let it sit for a bit after cleaning before turning it on
in case there was moisture build up.

The biggest risk is to reach into the guts and zap a component, that's a much
higher chance of incidence than any effect from the air itself, after all, the
fan also sucks air through all day long and usually is not grounded.

Make sure you always reach for the frame first before touching anything else
in the guts of a computer.

------
gambiting
Wait, recycling a 2013 laptop? What? I hope he means selling it on, not
actually recycling. Computers just don't age the same way anymore, a 2013
laptop is still perfectly usable nowadays, it would be an incredible waste to
recycle it.

------
lewis1028282
Looks like the anti-glare coating is coming off too. That happened to my
MacBook and Apple replaced the whole screen for free, that's pretty good
considering it was 4 years old.

~~~
prashnts
I ended up rubbing it off. Used a mouthwash for it (alcohol didn't work,
perhaps "microcrystals" did the job). If you do that there will be lots of
micro scratches on screen, but it's still better than looking at stains, and
quite pleasant in dark.

I couldn't get the replacement (didn't know "stain-gate" was a thing).

------
solatic
Laptop makers who make it nigh impossible to take the back cover off without
special tools: "Performance degradation due to the inescapable characteristics
of typical user environments is God's sign of favor for planned obsolescence."

------
markdown
A reminder that Apple refuses to fix 2017 Macbooks that were poorly
constructed (Flexgate), even after having acknowledged that they were poorly
built (by offering a free fix for the same issue on a previous model and
changing the part on later models).

[https://support.apple.com/13-inch-macbook-pro-display-
backli...](https://support.apple.com/13-inch-macbook-pro-display-backlight-
service)

------
compumike
I recently did the same on my MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012) A1425
while performing a battery replacement. Definitely helped to have a thorough
cleaning. Documented here:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAYFDDxUxHA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAYFDDxUxHA)

~~~
soygul
Good stuff right there!

------
hombre_fatal
I know very little about electricity. What is it about vacuuming particles
that produces static electricity where shooting the particles with compressed
air does not?

~~~
gumby
The dust traveling through the plastic vacuum tube is what gives rise to the
static electricity. When you blow clean air into the fan the dust goes into a
cloud in the air.

------
greggman3
Mini rant only tangentially related. I have a 6 year old MacBook Pro (Mid 2014
NVidia). It __mostly __works fine.

Except, the GPU drivers are crap and Apple has no intention of fixing them.
This shows up as bugs in Firefox and Chrome, the apps that hit the most GPU
edge cases, and when I've filed bugs I've basically been told "too old, get a
new machine"

Which isn't an unreasonable POV. I'm sure there just are not that many 2014
NVidia MBPs in the world. Apple doesn't care to fix the bugs. Why should the
browser teams waste time working around GPU driver bugs for so few users?

And yet, it's really hard to justify spending $3400 for a new MBP when nothing
will actually change in my day to day usage.

I also have a 3yr old 1060 Razer gaming laptop. That actually enabled
something, VR, to justify spending $$$$ on it. But, getting a current dual GPU
MBP gets me nothing that my 2014 MBP doesn't already get me except fixing a
few annoying bug livable browser bugs.

Note I have a similar issue with the Razer. Windows won't update to the most
reason version and says their are issues with the hardware and maybe some day
in the future once the issues are worked around Windows will update.
Unfortunately that means I can't use WSL 2 so again, I can spent $3000+ for a
2020 Razer but when I'm done all that will happen is some software bugs will
be fixed, my actual day to day usage won't change.

Tech can be really annoying and it's frustrating to be told the solution is
spend $7000

Just Kvetching

------
russtrotter
I got the 2-for-one variant of this with my 2016 MBP where I purchased a
replacement battery assembly from iFixit to replace the swolen ones. In the
kit, they include: the tools, a link to their iFixit video on the steps as
well as some protective gear to do the job. Highly recommended! Replacing
batteries is a way more involved task on MBPs, but while you're there in the
early stages, you can vacuum or take compressed air to anything you see.

------
vilius
I'm a bit sad that his MacBook is not getting more love after 16800 hours of
service.

I have 2013 MacBook Pro 15, never opened, the battery lasts for 1.5 hours,
tends to overheat a bit. Same story. Morally it felt old but it was still good
and fast machine for me. I was contemplating of buying 16" but just could not
justify throwing away this solidly engineered machine.

During quarantine bought iFixit battery replacement. Disassembled every part,
cleaned religiously every area with blower, replaced swollen battery and
assembled again. Took 2 hours, works fine, no fan noise, battery lasts for a
long time, finally upgraded to Catalina.

Now I have a great laptop and after 7 years of using same machine I felt that
I still needed to upgrade something. So I went to buy a desktop PC. It was
interesting to assemble a modern PC, try Alyx and Windows 10 with WSL. I no
longer need to use Paperspace for SketchUp rendering. After COVID I am
planning to leave PC at home and have my MacBook at Office / Co-working.

Not saying this is the best decision, just sharing a different path taken when
it came to computer upgrading.

------
dghughes
I used my 17 inch Macbook Pro everyday for six years. It would still be going
if not for a failed GPU. I did take it apart hoping it was dust and heat
causing the problems but no it was a fatal hardware fault. It's now just a
shiny aluminum lump.

There's nothing worse for electronics than heat. The damage is cumulative but
nearly impossible to notice until it's too late.

------
Scuds
I replaced the thermal compound my trust old dell Latitude. Barely an hour of
effort undoing Phillips screws and scraping off the seven year old gak.
Roughly a 15 C decrease under load. Fans are less of a blowdryer and more of a
hand warmer.

------
artellectual
I just got my 4 year old macbook pro's battery replaced. The guy who did it
also cleaned up the internals. I can easily use my laptop for another 2-3
years. I spent 100 USD to get it cleaned and battery replaced. Best 100 USD
spent.

------
vz8
Highly recommended for keeping things clean: Metro Vacuum ED500P DataVac
500-Watt, 0.75-HP Electric Duster.

I've had one since ~2012 and it helps me maintain a small fleet of laptops and
workstations for my large family (with many pets).

~~~
milleramp
I also have one and am so happy with it, no more buying canned air. Also
useful for blowing out vacuum filters and roomba’s.

------
knolan
Here is a Schlieren visualisation of the airflow from my 16” MBP.

[https://youtu.be/88mXfMm0M58](https://youtu.be/88mXfMm0M58)

------
daneel_w
My 2009 13" MacBook Pro still runs great after all these years of heavy use.
I've cleaned it and reapplied thermal paste on the CPU/bridge chips twice.

~~~
soygul
> reapplied thermal paste on the CPU/bridge chips twice

does it help noticeably?

~~~
wtallis
I recently reapplied the thermal paste on my 2015 13" MBP. It lowered CPU
temperatures by about 5°C so fan noise is only slightly diminished, but it's
no longer crashing under load on a weekly basis. And this was using an old
tube of cheap paste I had lying around for years.

------
czbond
Thanks for sharing. My battery is swollen on my 2014 MBP, and trackpad
becoming unusable. New battery replacement coming soon - I'll do this along
with it.

------
sungam
Typing this on my 2011 MBA which has been used a similar amount. Screen
replaced during warranty and keyboard replaced subsequently but working fine!

------
dan_m2k
I use the Dyson on my Mac’s exhaust every so often for the same reason, it’s
satisfying to see the amount of crud that comes out of it.

------
brunojppb
It reminds me 6 months ago when also opened up my 6 years old macbook pro and
saw the dirt inside. The battery was totally destroyed so I ordered a kit at
ifixit and replaced it myself.

Now the macbook feels like new and the battery last forever. I hope we still
have the option to repair our devices in 5 years.

------
opan
Thank you for the video + article combo. I enjoyed listening, but also that I
was able to look back at the text to see specific things instead of having to
rewind the video/audio and listen again.

------
jpalomaki
Has Apple commented on the ”swollen battery syndrome”? Are these batteries
just expected to behave like this when they get old? This seems to be very
common problem with old MacBooks.

~~~
jacquesm
_some_ swelling is ok, the batteries are not rigidly enclosed so they tend to
do that over their design life. Excess swelling is not ok and usually an
indication of overheating for instance due to bad airflow. The laptop on
display here looks like a textbook case of that.

------
pelim
I would not recommend to clean the fan with a vacuum cleaner because the
rotation will generate a low voltage

------
polynomial
How about compressed air on a MacBook Air? Seems trickier than on a normal
MacBook Pro.

~~~
bserge
The Air fan is basically useless, you might as well leave it be.

[https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/9vbks0/retina_macboo...](https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/9vbks0/retina_macbook_air_teardown_cooling_fan_does_not/)

------
liveoneggs
my 2018 macbook pro just got cleaned by apple when they replaced the keyboard.
I assume it will be done by them every 18 months or as long as the recall is
in effect. (sucks that your data is all deleted though)

------
k7f
Next time. Making peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

------
bobosha
I didn't know they needed "cleaning".

~~~
hn_check
If airflow travels through something and you don't work in a dust free
environment, it needs to be cleaned periodically.

It's too bad that OS' weren't more wise to this. Right now there are certainly
millions of desktops and laptops that are running far below their potential
because it is forced to thermally throttle, yet there is no indication for the
user beyond things being slower than it once was.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
Windows doesn't have a temperature display accessible to users. That strikes
me as being in order to sell more hardware.

In-laws were going to throw away their computer, random freezes in the summer.
Needed a thorough clean, "good as new".

PC World/Microsoft lost a sale though.

~~~
hn_check
A temperature display itself probably wouldn't be of much use because the CPU
will reach an operating temperature and modulate the frequencies/boost to
avoid exceeding it. One user could be enjoying full performance at that
temperature, while another user is running at 1/10th the speed.

The OS does see the perpetually fluctuating frequency state of the processor,
though, and can monitor it over time in a correlation with the temperature and
display a simple aggregate performance metric, flagging as a system alert when
performance falls below a set threshold. I've had relatives whose system saw a
dramatic, very noticeable usability improvement after a couple of quick bursts
of compressed air.

