Smoking Can Be Hazardous To Your PC's Health

Jay Lee is a Technology Blogger for the Houston Chronicle.  In a recent column, a blogger asked the following question:

Q. I smoke cigars and I've been told that this could adversely affect my computer. Is this true?

A. You may be surprised to learn that, yes, smoking can be hazardous to the health of your computer.

In order to stay cool during normal operation, your computer has one or more fans moving air across the various components. Along with this air comes any dust and dander floating around.

For the most part, general household dust is not an overwhelming concern as long as you take the time every now and then to blow it out with a can of compressed air. You should do it a bit more frequently if you have pets.

But cigarette and cigar smoke is another thing. The tar and nicotine can coat the inside of your computer with a sticky residue which combine with the dust to make a hideous layer of gook that can be very hard to remove.

The build up will keep air from circulating properly, which can lead to problems with overheating and it can also short circuit the electronics. This can ruin your PC and can create a fire hazard.

*WARNING* clicking the following links may shock and educate you!

The ravages of smoking near a computer can be seen by clicking here and here.

It's not a pretty sight.

If you have ever opened the case on your PC, I feel sure you were shocked by the amount of dust that accumulates on the motherboard and the daughter cards.  It is quite alarming.  You should keep one of the cans of compressed air handy to blow them out occasionally,  I can see where cigar and cigarette smoking could change the dust and make it a murky mess.  

Smokey the Bear says "If you compute, don't smoke".  Or something like that.