Most laptop manufacturer’s recommend thoroughly cleaning a laptop once a year but frequent travelers may wish to clean their laptop more often. Dirt that can build up inside and on your laptop computer includes pet hair and dander, dust, cigarette ashes and residue. This dirt can mar your display, affect the performance of the fans and block or cause problems with I/O ports.
You’ll need the following to clean your laptop computer:
* Compressed Air
* Cotton swabs
* Cleaning solution
* Soft cleaning cloth

Since your laptop is such an expensive gadget (falling prices notwithstanding), be extremely careful while cleaning the screen.
The screen is the most expensive component of your laptop. Adequate care must be taken while choosing the cleaning spray. Harsh sprays could turn the screen yellow, and may even cause cracking.
Use plain water or vinegar to clean the screen.
Make sure the cloth is very soft, and has no imprints or monograms on it, as these may scratch the screen.
Also ensure that the cloth is lint-free, else it will leave fibres on the screen, and make the display unclear.
Use a can of compressed air to clean the cooling vents. Use cotton swabs to hold fans in place while you clean them.
Make sure you don’t spray any cleaner directly on the screen. Instead, spray onto the cleaning cloth, and allow the cloth to capture the dirt and contaminants.
Use cotton swabs to wipe away large pieces of dirt that have accumulated in the I/O Ports, also, ompressed air can be used as well to blow the rest of the dirt away.
Cotton swabs are useful for cleaning in and around keys.