More than 40 million tons of electronic waste is produced every year worldwide, which equals discarding 800 laptops every second! India is the third largest producer of electronic waste. This waste also has environmental ill effects as it is non-biodegradable, and contains toxic chemicals and plastic. We may not be able to use our gadgets forever, but proper care can ensure that this waste can be minimized. Not to mention the money that can be saved!
According to Secure Data Recovery, the most common causes of laptop damages are: 46% by dropping, 33% by spilling a drink on them, and 30% by spilling food on them.
Here are some ways to keep them safe.
1.Clean your devices regularly and use sleeves to keep them dust free.
While cleaning your device use a soft or microfiber cloth. Make sure you move in horizontal or vertical motion to avoid smudges. In most cases, just this should do. If there are persistent stains or smudges, you may have to slightly wet the cloth and try again.
To protect your device, you might want to use a laptop/tablet sleeve.
Sustainable materials are even better and help keep the device cool! You might want some of these features:
- Has a zip or a button to avoid slipping of gadgets
- Made up of soft material to keep it protected and scratch free
- Any kind of lining to keep it safe
2. Keep devices away from liquid spills.
We have all done this– drinking a beverage while working on the computer, and also spilt the same on our devices!
If that happens, have you used a hair dryer? Or tried to turn it back on immediately? Don’t!
Instead, try these things:
- Close the laptop and place it upside down on an absorbent surface like a towel.
- Remove the batteries immediately, if possible.
- Remove the detachable components to minimize loss.
3. Do not let your laptop overheat.
Usually laptops work well between the range of 10 to 35℃.
Today we have free heat monitor apps like CrystalDiskInfo, Core Temp, and HWMonitor which give you a detailed device report.
At the same time, it is important that you know the early signs of overheating such as laptop fans at continuous use, feeling of hot air being thrown out, or reduction in performance efficiency. It may also be a sign to unplug for some time. Always shut down your computer if you will be away for a considerable period.
4. Use appropriate voltage chargers and keep them safe.
It was believed that overcharging could damage your device but today devices are lithium based which prevent it from overcharging.
The internal hardware terminates charging until the battery drops below 100%, but what damages your device is the charger voltage.
Devices are designed to work at a particular voltage range, if the input voltage from the socket is too high or low,it can damage your device. Hence it is recommended to check the voltage before using.
Once you have got an appropriate one for your device, do not let them tangle up! It is the most frustrating thing to take out a tangled cable and sort it out at the time your device is shutting down.
It only gets worse if you keep them plugged in or stuff them inappropriately in your bag! It is simple to avoid it by using a cord organizer to keep them safe and handy.
So follow these steps and see your devices work just as fine as they did the first time!
References:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/most-common-ways-to-break-laptops/
www.cleaning.lovetoknow.com
www.creativebloq.com