Avoiding ESD while cleaning Laptop Interior

[hereticlohani]

Hello everyone,

I'm new here on the forums.

I've been meaning to open up my laptop (Y510p) to remove dust from the fans and from the circuit board. I did it once two years ago by sitting on my bed (while stepping on a large metallic plate placed on top of a cemented floor) as I worked. I touched the metallic parts of the laptop's chassis every now and then. I placed all removed components gently on top of cotton bed sheets, removed all the dust by gently taking them out with a soft paintbrush and put everything back carefully without touching any exposed metallic parts. I didn't have any problems then.

Both Lenovo's support guys here and the store where I bought my laptop don't use anti-static precautions. I called them to find out. I might as well do it myself.

This time around, I'm wary. I don't have (nor can I get) stuff like Anti-ESD mat and wrist straps here, or anti-static boxes to store components where I live. I also don't have a wooden surface to work on, but I do have aluminum-topped bench on my kitchen. I don't intend to ground anything through the mains. I've made a diagram of how I intend to work on my laptop. Please suggest if I'm taking this too far, have missed something, etc. By the way, the weather is perfect for disassembling my laptop right now with 70-80% humidity. I will be working indoors by grounding myself (and the aluminum-topped bench) straight to the actual ground. What if there's lightning, though?. Will I be fried? Assuming that I've grounded myself with this setup, how will I make sure the laptop doesn't have residual current on it when I start opening it up? Thanks in advance.

 

[CountMike]

You are overthinking it, I'm doing it all my life on an ordinary wood desk and never had any problem. Even an un-grounded metal desk is quite large enough to soak up any static electricity your body may hold.
Just avoid touching any exposed contacts with bare fingers, it shouldn't be done even at best circumstances.

 

[hereticlohani]

Thank you for your advice, CountMike. I understand my proposed setup - while over-thought - would work, though, right?

 

[CountMike]

Well, yeah, it should work, just don't ground any appliances with it that are also connected to house grid. In some cases, neutral and ground are connected or same thing and a short in any appliance can also power ground. I see you plan a ground/earth outside. A 6 foot copper pipe pounded in the soil can make good ground.

 

[hereticlohani]

Thanks again, CountMike.