How to deal with dust in console?

Listen to #3 in this link. It's what I do.

 

What I always do is use the hose from the vacuum to suck out the dust in the vents of the console. I do this once a month.

 

Be careful with compressed air as if not used carefully it can force dirt under components. Make sure not to hold it too close.

 

Using a vacuum sounds too risky but it depends on the vacuum's suction power even though our vacuum has adjustable suction power settings from very low to high it's an Electrolux Air Max 2000Watt vacuum. I'd stick with good quality micro-fibre thin clothes
and get a new $1-$2 toothbrush and use it only for clearing dust. My parents would throw questions at me if I used a vacuum on my Xbox 360 or Xbox 1 console rather than the floor. You run the risk of accidentally ruining the internal circuitry inside and you
could damage the cooling fan which is located under the vent holes. Using a vacuum on it's lowest suction setting may be ok though.

 

i just do the same thing as i did with my 360 and use canned air(my house was built 112 years ago, so i understand the dust issue), the most important part is making sure the fan is not building up dust, the more dust on the fan, the less airflow. using
the canned air/vacuum is definitely going to be the best thing you can do for effort vs results.

 

@ OP. I think that the compressed air in combination with vacuum idea is probably the best of the ideas.

I used to work in the electronics field, in the service side, where we cleaned and serviced PCs, VCRs, DVD players... you name it. So from my experience, here is the advice I found was given out to customers most often.

Opening the unit is something that should only be done by someone who knows their way around sensitive electronics... and is well known to void most warranties. Nothing here that isn't pretty much common knowledge.

There is only so much you can do to keep dust levels down. If you live in a very dusty area, then you're pretty much stuck with regular cleaning. Unless it's really, really bad, 'several months' in a very dusty area should only need a few cleanings. Dust,
as has been said, is a part of life and most electronic devices have had their internal cooling air flow designed to be somewhat accommodating of that fact.

It does build up over time though, and that's unavoidable.

First and most important, always unplug it before cleaning, unless you're just wiping off the outside. Using compressed air is OK, but don't insert the straw that comes with most electronics cleaning sprays into any vent or opening. On that same note, I
would avoid using a vacuum attachment with any brush/bristles. They can get caught in vents and get stuck in components... or worse, get caught in a place that could block a cooling fan from spinning... which would be worse than doing nothing.

Just use care and common sense while you're cleaning it and you should be fine.

One last comment, just as an FYI kind of thing that may or may not apply. If you, or anyone in the house is a smoker, it can be devastating to internal electronics. The 'static' fields that build up around many electronic components can attract dust. They
also attract smoke, which is laden with tar. It's almost like an airborne glue and will just cause a sticky, literally gooey, mess.

My wife and I both used to smoke. Any time I would open up our PCs to clean or upgrade/service them, they were an absolute mess. Sometimes I wondered how the CPU cooling fans even worked, as bad as they were caked. What made it worse is, that dust wouldn't
just blow off with compressed air. It was literally stuck and would have to be wiped off. Something that isn't a good idea with a lot of components. Something that (if it applies) you may want to take into consideration.

Hope this helps ease any concerns and gives you some helpful info.

 

agreed with A Blue Illusion about the smoking bit, i use to do onsite computer repair and would cringe every time i walked into a house that smelt like an ash tray, few times, the caked on mess was so bad that i'd actually have to remove the motherboard
and use a chemical spray that would even strip off any writing on the motherboard, and then still had to break out the tiny screw driver set and q-tips with rubbing alcohol to completely clean it.

just thinking about that again makes me feel like i need to go and take a shower.

 

i did on mine the top part where the grill part is it sucked up fuzz that's all i had on my xbox 360 e my xbox 360 still works just be very careful and very gentle