endust for electronics accident

my hope is it won't happen again, but I'm nervous if it does happen again because I tend to be a worry wart and second guess myself I want to make sure my motherboards pci sockets aren't clogged with dust , the compressed air is what the problem started with , so my question is what if I get another bad can and the propellant leaks out. Has damage been done already to the motherboard that could hamper its performance and health.

from what answers I've been trying to gather from here there and everywhere there seems to be a divide,

http://forums.anandtech.com/archive/index.php/t-172632.html
Just to clarify, most compressed "air" cans actually contain fluorinated hydrocarbons like 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane. At room temperature and pressure, this is a gas that is relatively inert and safe to humans (as long as you are still getting oxygen). At moderate pressures (inside the can) the gas becomes a liquid. The "foamy" stuff you see is actually a combination of boiling hydrocarbon and frost (from moisture condensed and frozen out of the air). The hydrocarbon is non-conducting, as is the pure water/frost although it (the water) may not stay that way after it condendses on a surface. The reason it gets cold is simple physical chemistry. Expanding gases get cold. For instance, you can make dry ice from compressed CO2 this way. /science lesson.

I use compressed air all the time in my computer. Yes, it only moves dust around, but thats why you can control the direction of the spray. I get most of the dust out and don't worry about the residue unless you live in a humid environment and the dust cakes up. I've also sprayed the liquid (can upside down) onto running components before with no ill effects. It probably added some thermal stress, but nothing that caused any problems. I had a GPU I thought was overheating and had no way to monitor the temperature, so I used this method to keep it cool while stress testing. Crude but effective.

When I dust, I don't even remove most of the components. I figure, in most cases, if the air can't get to it, it probably doesn't have any dust. And with that little 6 inch extension tube, you can get just about anywhere, even inside your PSU. I just unplug, move computer to patio/balcony and spray away.

and another http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2341176
the duster can is compressed CO2..
Its not reactive.. its not explosive... its not conductive even...

it should EVAP the moment it hit something... u shouldnt have to worry if you even sprayed your PC with it.... provided u were in a well ventilated area...

That is not your problem why your PC isnt starting...

and then theres this http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/988205#forum-post-10578981
That's interesting-- I work in an electronic repair shop at a university.. Being cheap we stopped buying 'cold spray' and use canned air as both canned air for dust and cold spray -- just turn the can upside down and instant really cold. We spray on operating equipment for trouble shooting overheating parts -- motherboards, control brds etc. There is nothing conductive in the can.. frost will form but unless you are working with very high voltages nothing happens.. It's good clean condensation from the surrounding air. We have always used canned air to clean dust from really expensive optical inst. By expensive I mean more than 10 Canon 1ds mkII's-- If used properly (and that's the key) we have not had any problems-- Don't shake the can, hold upright.

http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/c/compair.htm
Caution: When cleaning anything with compressed air make sure that the can is in an upright position. If you tilt the can sideways or upside down, it is likely that some condensed air (liquid) can spray onto the electronics. This liquid is freezing, due to rapid decompression when it leaves the can and in this form can damage electronics, potentially causing them to fail.

http://superuser.com/questions/485088/air-duster-sprays-are-they-safe-for-hardware
The can must be held upright during use. Inverting, tilting or even shaking the can during use may result in the unevaporated liquid being forced through the nozzle instead of the gas. The liquid will boil away almost instantly outside the can, producing extreme cold in the process. In liquid form, the contents of the can will act as a solvent, causing unwanted damage to surface coatings or labels, this is generally only a problem with optical lens coatings. Side effects of the intense cold can also cause problems due to localised condensation.

cnet had a good article too that showed a more debate.


Compressed Air!?? HELP!!! - CNET Desktops Forums
seems to be down at the moment though

http://biz.tigerdirect.com/p/cables-accessories/cleaning-kits/dusters/endust-11407-electronics-duster-10oz-with-bitterant-152-2-pk

that's it , sorry for the confusion. I purchased mine at best buy

so far so good, still want to find out the answer to this , all this worrying about whether this has hurt the motherboard or any of the components , or affected the performance. is there perhaps a better part of the forums to ask this question I picked motherboard cause that's the part that has me most concerned , Endust does not seem to have a great way to reach them or tech support and that begs the question if they would be honest. I'm hesitant to ask gigabyte but the answer might very well be with them.

I want to thank you , yes you are right I am a hand wringer . I am sorry to have wasted so much of your time Delroy and am grateful to you that brings much comfort to me. I've been running myself ragged over trying to find a answer I just got so afraid when this happened