Cleaning Up Your Tech This Spring

Technology has become more and more prevalent in our daily lives. Whether your go-to device is a smartphone, tablet, computer, or a combination of several of these, it’s important to take steps to ensure your devices are running smoothly. Neglecting the upkeep, maintenance, and cleanliness of your tech can lead to slowed performance, security vulnerabilities, and an overall frustrating user experience. Let’s go over some simple, yet effective ways to clean the outside and inside of the tech you use every day.

First off, keep your operating system and other software up-to-date. Software developers release updates for a reason. These updates often fix bugs, patch security vulnerabilities, and add new features. Issues with other hardware and applications can also slow overall performance. Most operating systems and software have the ability to enable automatic updates. This ensures that a new update is pushed to your device as soon as it’s available from the developer. It’s always a good idea to check for updates periodically, too, just to make sure you’re running the most recent version.

You should also think about uninstalling unnecessary programs and apps from your device. Over time, it’s common to accumulate an abundance of unused programs and apps. This unused software takes up valuable storage space on your device and can cause a decline in performance. While in the settings of your device, you’re able to look up the last time you used the software in question. If you haven’t used the app for quite some time, it may be time to kick it to the curb and free up some of that hard drive space.

Clearing your web browser’s cache and cookies may help improve performance. Your web browser stores temporary files called cache and cookies in order to help frequently visited websites load faster and remember your preferences. While this is often convenient, those files can build up over time and begin to cause performance and storage issues, much like the software and apps above can. No matter which browser you use, consider looking through the settings for the “Clear cache and cookies” button at least once a year.

It’s also crucial to ensure your devices are sanitary. Physically clean and sanitize your device often. Physical debris and dust can accumulate on your tech and cause them to overheat and/or malfunction. It’s always a good idea to clean and sanitize your device on a regular basis to keep it running smoothly and safe to touch. Dust and debris on laptops and desktops can be wiped off with a microfiber cloth. Use compressed air to gently blow out dust from fans and other internal components. Avoid spraying harsh cleaners directly onto your device. It is much safer to wipe down devices with a sanitizing wipe, rather than spraying a liquid directly onto the device. Smartphones and tablets can be cleaned in the same way.

Technology often costs a lot of money, and we all want to keep it running smoothly for as long as we can. Using it daily can present a myriad of wear and tear on a device. Daily use doesn’t have to be a death sentence for your tech devices, though. Regular physical cleaning on the outside and diligent maintenance of the software and storage inside will result in a long-lasting, high-performing piece of technology.