Web Worker Daily

Weekend Project: Clean Every Inch of Your Workstation

Posted: 29 Mar 2009 06:00 AM PDT

Inspired by Simon Mackie spring-cleaning his laptop, I’ve decided to devote this weekend to cleaning both my desktop and my laptop. I’m not talking about wiping my desk and calling it a day - I’m referring to serious dust-busting and decluttering. In this post, I’m going to discuss the essential parts of your workstation and how to clean them.

Despite anything you read below, remember that the manual is your best friend. Refer to each item’s manual before you start cleaning.

The Monitor

Our friends over at The Apple Blog mentioned that the best way to clean your monitor is with an ultra suede microfiber lens cloth. These are available at most office supply stores at an affordable price. Don’t use cleaning cloths with sewn edges, as these could scratch your monitor – the last thing you would want to do when you’re spring cleaning.

You should also be aware of how to clean different types of screens. For cleaning a CRT monitor, anti-static cloth with some cleaning fluid will do the trick. LCD monitors have almost the same process, except you should use an alcohol solution instead of cleaning fluid to wipe down the screen.

217021269_46c0d7bb26 Cables

When I moved my workstation from my bedroom to a home office, I saw how dirty cables can be if you never clean them. What used to be a beige cable became dark brown.

To get rid of the stickiness and discoloration, I just dampened a cloth with isopropyl alcohol and rubbed the cables with it (after unplugging everything, of course). Just make sure that the cloth is just moist and not soaking, as you don’t want alcohol accidentally dripping all over your computer.

Apart from the cleanliness of the cables themselves, you also have to organize them so they won’t get in the way of anything. Some time ago, Lifehacker posted a practical tutorial on how to tuck away computer cables behind your work desk. It’s worth a look if you want to avoid the “cord confusion” look.

The Keyboard and Mouse

Apart from the people living in my house, there are also three cats that roam freely in my office. During hot summer days when my cats are shedding, my keyboard looks like a cat hair magnet. I find that those USB vacuum cleaners work with cat hair, but they don’t seem to work well, if at all, with smaller debris.

Once you’re rid of all the visible dirt, it’s time to deal with the invisible filth from your keyboard. Did you know that it could be as dirty as a toilet seat? Here’s a scary excerpt from a news item in The Guardian last year:

“The research showed that the chief culprit for contamination was people eating at their desks and dropping crumbs which lodge between keys and encourage the growth of millions of bacteria. [...] Other causes included poor personal hygiene, particularly people failing to wash their hands after using the toilet.”

I’m assuming that the mouse is also prone to such contaminants. To remedy this, unplug your computer, then spray a disinfectant such as isopropyl alcohol or chlorine-based cleaners onto a cloth. Then, wipe the keys and your mouse. Mike Gunderloy also recommended a few keyboard cleaning products in a previous post.

The CPU Tower

If you’re working on a desktop computer, you probably know how easily dust accumulates both on the outside and the inside. When I tried to add more RAM a few months ago, I saw that the motherboard and the other things inside my CPU tower were covered with a layer of grey dust.

So what, right? No one’s going to see it. But cleaning inside the tower isn’t just a matter of aesthetics. Having so much dust inside can make your computer prone to overheating and other glitches.

Cleaning inside your CPU tower requires some extra care, since there’s a danger of being electrocuted or accidentally discharging static energy onto your unit. Here are some handy tutorials you can refer to:

The Desk

While your computer desk isn’t technically a part of your computer, it’s a part of your workstation that can make or break your productivity. Make sure that the clutter doesn’t block your workflow, which easily happens when you have too many gadgets. Note that your desk doesn’t have to appear neat – it just has to be organized enough that you know where to find anything in two seconds.

It might only take an hour or two of intensive cleaning to transform your workstation from dull and dirty to completely inspirational. And, once you’re done with this, you might want to do some virtual cleaning as well.

How clean and organized is your workstation? Do you have any computer cleaning tips to share?

Image by Bassi Baba from Flickr

How to Build a Standing Desk

Posted: 28 Mar 2009 06:00 AM PDT

Written by Simon Mackie.

A standing desk (also called a stand-up desk) is just what it sounds like: a desk that allows you to stand up while working. Taller than a sitting desk, a standing desk is between waist and chest height. Google and Wikipedia will tell you that this type of desk was used by Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Woolf, Marilyn Monroe and Donald Rumsfeld. (OK, I made up one of those.) There can be health benefits to using a standing desk, particularly for certain back problems. Using a standing desk should even burn a few extra calories compared to slouching in a plush designer chair.

A few years ago, I decided to build two new desks for my office. One is a conventional height and the other is a standing desk. I wanted the option to move between desks for a little extra activity throughout the day. I have computers at both desks. I often stand while browsing the web and reading email, but usually sit to type or for long periods of concentration. Moving back and forth helps keep me fresh, as well as organized, with different tasks at each location. Here’s how I built my standing desk.

My standing desk

One benefit of building your own standing desk is that you can get the height just right. Measure from the floor to your elbow for a starting measurement. My standing desk is just above my belly button at 43 inches tall.

I wanted my two desks to share one feature: easy disassembly. I rearrange my office a couple of times a year — writers crave distraction — and I want to be able to move things easily. So, each of my desktops lifts off a base made up of two L-shaped supports. The hard part is clearing everything off the desks, after which I can easily lift the top and move the supports. I can also switch the desktops, which have different shapes.

Originally, I constructed the supports using wood that was 2 inches by 2 inches. The result was rather wobbly. I reconstructed the supports using 2×4s, which resulted in a much more solid structure. As you can see in the next photo, which shows the sit-down desk, each L-shaped support consists of four horizontal pieces and three vertical pieces. Join the support pieces with wood screws or even nuts and bolts. Nails will not hold it tightly enough.

Constructing the desk

Wedged into a corner, each desk is rock steady. If your desk will be away from the walls, you may need metal brackets in the corners to stabilize the desk further.

For the desktop, I chose a high-quality plywood sheet four feet by eight feet, cut in half at the store. When I cut off one corner to create the front of the desk, my old saw mangled the edge of the wood. (I used those cut corners for the shelves that you can see in the first photo.) The rough edge of the wood led me to buy a couple of yards of soft vinyl at a fabric store to cover the wood. The result is a very nice work surface.

If you don’t wish to build your own desk, you’ll find standing desks or stand-up desks for sale online and in some stores. You should also look at drafting tables, which have an adjustable work surface. While my desk is flat, some people prefer a sloping surface.

Mark Justice Hinton is founder of PC Training & Consulting and has written books including “PC Magazine Windows Vista Solutions” and “Digital Photography for Dummies“.