PSA: The 'free air' can trick for cleaning a laptop fan is a bad idea.

Used a can of compressed air on a dusty ThinkPad T480 fan without holding the blades. Spun it way too fast and now the bearing makes a grinding noise. Anyone know a reliable source for a direct replacement fan, or is this a full heatsink assembly job now?

3 comments

3 Comments

reesemiller22d ago

Wait, you can actually break the fan doing that? I always thought the warning was just being overly careful. Tbh, I used to blast my old laptop all the time without holding the blades. This post makes me rethink that whole habit. That grinding noise sounds like a real pain. Sorry you're dealing with it now.

the_lee15d ago

Ever try cleaning it with compressed air instead?

taylor_hayes2521d ago

Yeah I thought the same thing for years, like those warnings were just lawyers being too careful. But hearing that awful grinding sound from my own laptop changed my mind fast. It's not just a noise, it means something inside is getting chewed up. Now I'm stuck with a broken fan and a hot laptop until I can fix it. Makes you realize they put those warnings there for a real reason, right?