The Hazard of Dust in the Server Room

Your server is the nerve center of your business and when it goes down, productivity suffers. You’ve done all the right things in keeping your virus software updated and installing passwords to protect privacy – but have you accounted for dust?

The dirty truth

Dust in the server room is more than an annoyance. It can damage your system. It’s not just dust you have to worry about. The fans draw in hair and other debris. As it builds up, the cooling system slows down thanks to the grime sticking to the fan. As particles get past the fan and into your server, the problems compound.

Computer Dust Solutions LLC released a report called Effects of Dust on Computer Electronics and Mitigating Approaches. In this report, they state that most PCs do not have a dust filter, just a mesh to capture some of the dust drawn in by the fan. As the mesh is not designed to capture 100 per cent of the debris, the standard office will see dust-related issues with their electronics within two short years.

“Tests show that the temperature of some of the higher power PC components, such as the CPU, can go up nearly 30^o F due to a build-up of dust. This is a significant increase in temperature and can lead to complete and abrupt part failure,” says the report. “Dust can cause irreversible harm to computer electronics and its associated electromechanical components. Without protection from dust, serious computer errors, loss of information, or complete failure can result. The standard PC is not inherently designed to be tolerant of high levels of dust so steps are required to mitigate such conditions.”

The solution is to keep the area as dust-free as possible. However, this can be a problem.

The problem with cleaning

In our experience, dusty server rooms sit inside of dusty offices. We understand, finding time to clean the office and the server room can be a problem. The fact is, you’re running a business and we all know you don’t get into the entrepreneur industry to work fewer hours! Sometimes the extra hour needed in a day to bring the office up to health and aesthetic standards just isn’t there. Similarly, larger companies that employ cleaning services may not want the cleaning crew in the server room, or cleaning the server room isn’t on their standard list of floors, garbage’s and washrooms.

That’s where we come in

Belvedere Maintenance is an innovative, Canadian, full-service cleaning company with an extensive history in the cleaning and maintenance of commercial, industrial, laboratory and server rooms. We are trustworthy and discrete. Not only can we tackle the dust in your server room, we can ensure your entire office remains clean and appealing.

A clean office is a key motivator for your employees and it allows you to focus where you need to most – on your business. A clean server room greatly reduces the chances of equipment failure. Combined, you get an office that appeals to employees and clients, and that is functional and very productive.

Want to learn more about our solutions? Contact us. We’ll help you shine in your industry.