Renovations and Your Computer: Why Construction Dust Is Worse Than Ordinary Dust and How to Protect Your Tech

Renovating a flat or office is routine, and in Tbilisi, where something is always being built or refurbished, we often see the consequences for technology. A computer left running in the next room while walls are sanded starts roaring and overheating a week later. A laptop the site foreman used to show the client a design in a dusty room starts shutting down. The router in the hallway stops holding a connection. Construction dust is insidious, and protecting equipment from it is far easier than dealing with the aftermath.

How construction dust differs from ordinary dust

Household dust is mostly fabric fibres, skin flakes and hair — relatively large and soft. Construction dust comes from sanding filler and plaster, cutting plasterboard, tiles and concrete, and drilling walls. Its particles are very fine, hard and sharp. They get into the narrowest gaps, settle as a thin dense layer and don't blow out as easily as ordinary dust. Cement and gypsum dust are also hygroscopic: they absorb moisture from the air, become sticky and can corrode contacts.

What happens to your equipment

• Cooling clogs up — a few days of intensive work coat heatsinks and fans with a layer that would normally take years to build up.
• Fans wear out — abrasive particles get into bearings and act like sandpaper; fans start humming and stalling.
• Power supplies suffer — dust inside a PSU impairs cooling of its power components and can cause leakage currents in humid conditions.
• Optical and mechanical parts are damaged — disc drives, printer mechanisms, connectors.
• Screens get scratched — wiping construction dust off a screen with a dry cloth scratches the coating.
• Laptop keyboards — abrasive dust under the keys makes them stick.

How to prepare equipment for renovation

1. Move equipment out of the rooms being worked on — the best option. If that's impossible, move it to the furthest closed room.
2. Wrap the computer, monitor, printer and router in heavy plastic sheeting or boxes after unplugging them. Never cover equipment that's running — it will overheat.
3. Don't use the computer in a room where dusty work is under way. If a laptop is needed on site, keep it closed in its bag and open it somewhere clean.
4. Protect network equipment — the router and provider's box often stay in the hallway running throughout the work. Move or shield them while keeping them ventilated.
5. Switch off and cover air conditioners and extractors, which spread dust around the flat.
6. Back up your data — renovations bring unexpected power cuts and accidentally damaged cables.

Electricity during renovation

Renovations are a common source of power problems: electricians switch circuits, workers plug heavy tools into the same sockets as computers, cables get cut by accident. Voltage spikes from hammer drills and welders — especially in older buildings — can damage power supplies and routers. It's best to unplug equipment completely while work is going on.

After the renovation

Even if equipment was protected, it's worth checking once the dusty work is done. Dust hangs in the air for a long time and keeps settling for weeks afterwards. If a computer was running in the flat during the work, it almost certainly needs a professional clean. Don't run heavily dusty equipment for long: overheating and abrasive fan wear continue with every minute of use.

Signs your equipment needs help

• fans are louder or have started grinding;
• the computer or laptop overheats and shuts down;
• white or grey residue is visible on the vents;
• laptop keys crunch or stick;
• the router restarts or drops the connection;
• the printer leaves streaks or jams.

What a technician does

1. Fully disassembles and cleans desktops, laptops, power supplies and routers.
2. Replaces fans with abrasion-damaged bearings and renews thermal paste.
3. Checks boards and connectors for residue and corrosion.
4. Checks the power supply and the workstation's electrics.
5. After an office renovation, reconnects and configures the network and workstations.

A real example

A young couple in Vake were having their walls skimmed and left their gaming PC running in the next room, where the husband played in the evenings. Three weeks later it started shutting down during games and the fans were grinding. Inside, everything was coated in a dense white layer of gypsum dust, and two fans had worn-out bearings. We fully dismantled and cleaned the computer, replaced the fans and thermal paste and cleaned the power supply. Temperatures returned to normal, and the couple decided to wrap their equipment next time there's dusty work to be done.

Let us help before and after the work

We work across Tbilisi around the clock, helping prepare equipment for renovation, cleaning it afterwards and reconnecting networks in refurbished homes and offices. Learn more on our computer cleaning, laptop cleaning and local network installation pages.