Question Can Clean Cooling Components w/ Water?

[GTurbo]

Silly question.

If I remove my CPU Heatsink, VRM heat sinks, GPU Heatsink and fans and all my fans from my case.

Then proceeded to run them under water and brush them gently with a toothbrush. Dry them with a hair dryer and some Q-Tips and let them set for a day or two.

Would they all work good again with new thermal paste on the CPU, GPU & the motherboard chips?

Or would the fans stop working? The dust is caked on the fins and in the heat sinks.

Also there is copper on my Hyper 212 Evo + GPU Heatsink.

(Cleaned it once since 2014 w/ compressed air and it stayed dusty)

 

[R_1]

fans no!
heatsinks should be fine. if its a hunk of metal no problem. wires or circuitboards keep it dry.
clean the fans with q-tip type swabs and very slightly damp cloth.

 

[Mrgr74]

Silly question.

If I remove my CPU Heatsink, VRM heat sinks, GPU Heatsink and fans and all my fans from my case.

Then proceeded to run them under water and brush them gently with a toothbrush. Dry them with a hair dryer and some Q-Tips and let them set for a day or two.

Would they all work good again with new thermal paste on the CPU, GPU & the motherboard chips?

Or would the fans stop working? The dust is caked on the fins and in the heat sinks.

Also there is copper on my Hyper 212 Evo + GPU Heatsink.

(Cleaned it once since 2014 w/ compressed air and it stayed dusty)

Hi @GTurbo,

Not a silly question at all.

It's safe to wash the heatsinks but not the fans themselves. Use a Q-Tip dipped in rubbing alcohol to gently clean off the gunk on the back side of the fan blades. (If a regular dry Q-tip doesn't work to your satisfaction)

Gentle dish soap and hot water will work wonders on the Heatsinks themselves. As you mentioned, make sure everything is bone dry before you put everything back together in your system. Using a blow dryer is a great idea. No need to let them dry overnight. (Unless you have no other way to dry them &/or it's damp where you are.)

New thermal paste is also a great way to ensure you have the lowest temps possible as regular thermal paste will slowly dry out over time, especially as not all Thermal Paste is created equal. Make sure you use a good brand, there are several out there and everyone here will have a favorite. I prefer MX-4.

As you of course know, be VERY careful when removing the GPU from your mobo. The same goes for the HS&F from both the GPU & CPU. What are your temps? I like to record before & after to see the differences. Whats the age of the GPU? Careful you don't void the warranty by removing the HS&F. I'd suggest you not remove the VRM heatsinks, unless you know if they have thermal pads or thermal paste under them. You'd be best served leaving them in place and gently cleaning them while attached, unless you feel comfortable removing them or they are part of the GPU's HS&F. The ones on your mobo (if any) don't really need to be repasted, but you are welcome to if you wanted.

Probably should have started out by saying to make sure the PC is turned off 1st and unplugged. lol.. (Hold the P/S for 10 seconds and be sure to ground yourself)

Don't clean the items while still connected to the mobo. i.e. remove the GPU and the CPU's HS&F before cleaning them.

Let us know how it goes/after temps/or if you have any questions.