You know your laptop is filthy¹. You can see the dirt and grime on your keyboard. You can see that circle of skin oils on the middle of the trackpad. So when’s the last time you cleaned it?

你知道你的笔记本电脑很脏。你可以看到键盘上的灰尘和污垢，以及触控板中间的皮肤油印。那你上次清洁它是什么时候呢？

Using a freshly cleaned laptop is almost as satisfying as getting a brand new one. The keys are clean, the screen is free of smudges and you fall in love with that three-year-old MacBook all over again. It’s also a useful skill if you buy or sell used laptops, since the previous owner doesn’t always leave them in pristine² condition.

使用刚清洁过的笔记本电脑几乎和买了一台崭新的电脑一样令人舒心。按键干净，屏幕上没有污迹，你会再次爱上你用了三年的MacBook。如果你购买或出售二手笔记本电脑，这也是一项有用的技能，因为前主人并不总是能把它们保持在崭新的状态。

Gather Your Supplies

备齐工具

“You don’t need much to clean a computer,” said Jolie Kerr, New York Times contributor, cleaning expert and host of the podcast “Ask a Clean Person.” “I use exactly four things to keep my laptop clean: Rubbing alcohol, microfiber cloths, cotton swabs and canned air.” Ninety percent or higher isopropyl alcohol is ideal, since it won’t damage the internal components⁴. And if you have some particularly tough grime or oil, a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (or other melamine sponge) can also work wonders, though it should be a last resort since it’s abrasive⁵.

“清洁电脑不需要太多东西，”《纽约时报》的撰稿人、清洁专家、播客“请教干净人”(Ask a Clean Person)的主持人乔莉·克尔(Jolie Kerr)说，“我用四样东西来保持我的笔记本电脑干净：擦拭酒精、超细纤维抹布、棉签和罐装空气。”90%或更高浓度的异丙醇是最理想的，因为它不会损坏内部配件。如果遇到一些特别硬的污垢或油，Mr. Clean魔法橡皮（或其他魔术擦海绵）也能产生奇妙的效果，尽管它应该作为最后的手段，因为它具有刮擦效果。

Don’t bother with specialty⁶ cleaners you see at big box electronics stores — they’ll work fine, but they’re probably overpriced compared with what you have at home. “Some people like having them, or they feel better about using an Officially Sanctioned Product,” Ms. Kerr said. “That is fine! They also make nice add-on gifts for people who are getting a new computer/tablet/phone for a special occasion.” But don’t feel like you need them.

不用去买你在仓储式电子商店里看到的专业清洁剂——它们很有效，但与你家里已有的东西相比，它们的定价可能过高了。“有些人喜欢买这些东西，或者觉得使用官方认可的产品感觉更安心，”克尔说。“那没问题！它们还可以作为附赠礼物送给那些为特殊场合购买了一台新电脑/平板/手机的人。”但我觉得你不需要它们。

Start With the Inside

从内部开始

Once you’ve gathered your tools, it’s time to start cleaning the inside of the computer. Tackling that grime on the keyboard may be tempting⁷, but Ms. Kerr said you should start with the less glamorous⁸ internals: “Canned air will blow crumbs⁹ and cat hair and what-have-you everywhere, so if you’ve already cleaned the screen and bezel, you’ll just end up having to clean them again after you’ve used canned air.” Start by blowing out the dust, then move on to the outside.

工具备齐了之后，就可以开始清理电脑的内部了。清理键盘上的污垢可能很诱人，但克尔表示，你应该从不那么诱人的内部开始：“罐装空气会把面包屑和猫毛等吹得哪儿都是，所以，如果你先清洁屏幕和边框，在你使用罐装空气后，还得再清洁一遍。”先吹掉灰尘，然后再清洁外部。

Provided you’ve maintained your laptop well, you shouldn’t have to open it up for this step. Just turn off the laptop, unplug the power cable and remove the battery (if it’s easily removable). Grab your compressed air, give it a quick burst away from the laptop to get rid of any condensation¹⁰, then start blowing air into any cracks and crevices¹¹: the keyboard, the vents¹² and even the USB ports. Blow in short bursts, since longer sprays can cause moisture to accumulate inside your computer and can damage the fans by making them spin too fast.

如果你的笔记本电脑保养得挺好的，你就不需要为了这个步骤把它拆开。你只需要关掉笔记本电脑，拔掉电源，取出电池（如果电池容易取出的话）。拿起压缩空气，避开电脑快速喷一下，清除冷凝水珠，然后开始向所有的裂缝和缝隙吹气：键盘、通风口，甚至USB接口。要快速短暂地猛吹，因为长时间喷射会让湿气积聚在你的电脑里，导致风扇过快旋转，从而损坏风扇。

If you’re lucky, you probably won’t see a big change after doing this. The goal is to prevent dust buildup over time, which can cause your laptop to overheat. If there are visible dust bunnies in the vents, you’ve let it go far too long without a cleaning. In that case, you may want to open it up (if you’re comfortable doing so) or take it to a repair shop for an in-depth cleaning. Smokers¹³ and pet owners should take special care to clean the inside often, since you’re likely to experience much quicker buildup of dust, smoke, hair and other particulates¹⁴.

幸运的话，你做了这些之后，可能不会看到很大变化。这样做的目的是为了防止灰尘长时间堆积，那会导致你的笔记本电脑过热。如果通风口有明显的积尘，就表明，你已经太长时间没有清洁了。在这种情况下，你可能需要把它拆开（如果你愿意这样做的话），或者把它带到维修店，进行深度清洁。吸烟者和养宠物者应该特别注意经常清洁内部，因为你的电脑可能会更快地积聚灰尘、烟尘、头发以及其他微粒。

Wipe Down the Outside

擦拭外部

Next comes the fun part: making that laptop shine again. “The most critical thing when cleaning a laptop or desktop¹⁵ computer is to apply the cleaning product to the tool you’re using to clean, never ever directly onto the computer,” Ms. Kerr said. So grab your microfiber cloth, pour a few drops of alcohol onto it, wring¹⁶ it out so it isn’t dripping wet, and go to town on the surface. You may want to use cotton swabs and alcohol for the keyboard keys and the small spaces between them. (If there are marks that won’t come off, you can try rubbing them with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser very lightly, but again, they’re mildly abrasive and this can alter the finish of the surface.)

接下来是有趣的部分：让笔记本电脑再次闪亮起来。“清洁笔记本电脑或台式电脑时，最重要的是把清洁产品涂到清洁工具上，永远不要直接涂到电脑上，”克尔说。所以，拿起超细纤维抹布，往上面滴几滴酒精，把它拧干，不要湿漉漉的，然后快速地擦拭表面。你可能需要用棉签和酒精擦拭键盘按键以及按键之间的小空间（如果有擦不掉的痕迹，你可以试着用Mr. Clean魔法橡皮轻轻擦一下，但还是那句话，它具有轻微的研磨作用，会影响表面的光滑度）。

It may take a few passes to get all that grime off, but once you do, you should notice a dramatic difference. If your laptop is particularly old, you may not be able to get rid of the shine on the keys; some of us may type like the Incredible Hulk and have worn down the top layer of plastic. There’s not much you can do about that.

你可能需要多擦几次才能把所有的污垢清除掉，不过一旦擦掉了，你就会看到明显的不同。如果你的笔记本电脑特别旧，你可能无法去除键盘上的油光；我们中的一些人可能会像绿巨人那样用力打字，磨掉了塑料按键的外层。这个可能没什么办法改善。

The screen is a slightly different matter. You should be able to wipe fingerprints¹⁷ off with a dry microfiber cloth, but if you need a bit more cleaning power, a little bit of water — again, poured onto the cloth and wrung¹⁸ out first — can go a long way. Some manufacturers, including Dell and Lenovo, even say you can use a 50:50 mixture of isopropyl alcohol and water, if need be. Just avoid household cleaners with harsh chemicals like ammonia or alkaline on the screen. (That means no Windex, as tempting as it might be!)

屏幕需要稍加区别对待。用一块干的超细纤维布就可以擦去指纹，但如果还需更强的清洁力，一点水就有很大帮助——同样的，首先要把水倒在布上并拧干。甚至，包括戴尔和联想在内的一些制造商表示，如有需要，你可以使用50:50的异丙醇和水的混合物。只要不使含有氨水或碱液等刺激性化学品的家用清洁剂即可（也就是说，尽管听起来十分诱人，也不能用Windex）。

Get Rid of Nasty Smells

清除异味

Let’s say you have a particularly terrible case of gross laptop, and even after the above steps, your laptop still carries the stench of … whatever you’ve subjected it to. I’ve seen more than my share of laptops that smelled like smoke (cigarettes and otherwise), and getting rid of that is a challenge. Cleaning the surface can help, but a lot of those smells may also be inside the computer. For that, you can turn to the world’s best natural deodorizer: charcoal¹⁹.

假设你的笔记本电脑非常脏，即使经过了上述步骤也仍旧带有臭味……不论你让它经历过什么。我见过太多太多闻起来带烟味（香烟或其他什么）的笔记本电脑，要消除这个味道有点挑战。清洁表面会有些效果，但这些味道很可能存在于电脑的内部。因此，你可以借助世界上最好的天然除臭剂：炭。

You don’t have to go digging through your grill²⁰ for briquettes, though. Ms. Kerr recommends kitty litter: “Because most kitty litter formulas have active charcoal in them to neutralize²¹ litter box smells, it’s a great odor eliminator. Seal the laptop up in a bag or closable bin³ with a cup or so of the litter and leave it for 24 to 48 hours.” If you don’t have a cat, I’ve also had good luck with diaper pail deodorizers, which are neat little packets of charcoal you can throw away when you’re done. The longer you leave the computer in the bin, the better.

不过，你不需要搜寻你的烤炉寻找煤球。克尔女士建议使用猫砂：“因为大多数的猫砂配方都有活性炭来吸收猫砂盒的气味，因此它是一种极佳的除臭剂。将笔记本电脑密封在一个袋内或可封闭容器内，加入一杯左右的猫砂，放置24至48小时。”如果你不养猫，我尝试使用的尿布桶除臭剂也有些效果，这是小包的木炭，用完就可以丢掉。电脑在容器内放置的时间越久越好。

If you’re comfortable taking your computer apart, you can also open it up and clean off the board with isopropyl alcohol. But in my experience, this isn’t usually necessary — it just speeds up the process a little bit.

如果可以接受把电脑拆开，你也可以拆开电脑，用异丙醇清洁面板。但按照我的经验，这往往没有必要——只是让过程更快了一点点。