We recently moved our offices, and I was the one responsible for disconnecting and reconnecting all the computers.

It wasn't really that difficult a job and it gave me an opportunity to inspect the condition of all the different computers, printers, monitors, and scanners in our office.

And during my inspection, I discovered dust bunnies! Just about every piece of computer equipment we have had a heavy coating of dust on the air intakes, drive covers, and other openings where cooling fans brought in outside air.

I really didn't expect to see this, as our office is a smoke and dust free environment. But the dust bunnies were there.

The problem with dust bunnies in your computer equipment is that they can cause cooling fans and air intake area to clog up, which can lead to the over heating and failure of critical components.

Fortunately, there is a simple, low cost solution. Just use your household vacuum cleaner to clean away the dust around all openings in your computer cases. Doing this takes only a few minutes, and can greatly extend the life of your computer equipment. (Turn off and unplug your computer before you start!)

If you haven't checked lately, it might be a good idea to go on your own dust bunny expedition. Doing so now could prevent problems later on.