by Ray Fauteux

Created on: March 09, 2009   Last Updated: March 17, 2009

Summer is just around the corner and it's time for the annual Spring home, garden, and yard clean-up. Don't forget to include your personal computer in your cleaning plans. After all, it most likely sees more use than anything else in the home over the course of the year. Mom, dad, and the kids have all been using it and no doubt it's ready for some serious upkeep.

Spring cleaning your PC means an inside and out cleaning. Trash collects on the outside of the computer in the form of old papers, pens, pencils, dust, and food crumbs that have become wedged between the keys of the keyboard. On the inside, your files need sorting and deleting, your hard disk needs defragmenting, and almost every computer is in need of a full anti-virus and anti-spyware scan.

There are claims that the average keyboard has more germs than a toilet seat. In fact, computer work stations can possibly contain up to 400 times more nasty microbes than a bathroom. If someone has a cold or flu, the germs they pass on to a computer will survive for 72 hours. Basically our hands turn into superhighways of sorts for bacteria and surfaces they come in contact with. A small area like a computer keyboard is capable of sustaining millions of bacteria that could cause illness if not properly cleaned.

In studies done in Britain, it was determined that if the surfaces of a computer desk and keyboard were cleaned with disinfecting wipes, the bacteria levels could actually be reduced by up to 99%. That's a pretty astounding figure considering the little time it takes to clean your PC work area. Most office supply stores carry disinfecting wipes that are meant for your computer. You can use them all the surfaces you touch, including desk, keyboard, and mouse.

Also, it would be a good time to pick up one of those compressed air cartridges that are specifically for cleaning out the bits of dust and food crumbs that are lodged between the keyboard keys. If you take a close look, you will be amazed just how dirty it is between those keys. These cleaning cartridges come complete with a long plastic extension that will get right in between the keys.

As for the inside of your computer, there are several things that can be done in the course of your Spring cleaning to improve it's speed and efficiency.

If you tend to play with a lot of software you may have many applications on your computer that you no longer use. These tend to take up lots of memory and can result in a computer that is slow. By cleaning them out of your computer you will increase the boot-up speed of your PC. Also take a look at all your documents and desktop icons. Which ones do you need and which ones are simply taking up space and room in your memory? By sorting out your files and putting them into the correct folders, you will have a far more organized computer.

If you look under "system tools" you will be able to run a disk cleanup. It will give you more computer space by getting rid of unused files, and compressing some of the older ones. While you are visiting system tools, consider using the Windows Disk Defragmenter to defragment your hard disk. This will also help increase the speed of your computer.

Finally, be sure to run an anti-virus, anti-spyare scan. There are excellent free versions available. The AVG Anti-Virus and Malewarebytes Anti-Malware programs work very well and are free of charge for personal use.

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