Is it Okay to Use Dusters or “Canned Air” to Clean Connectors and Ports?

It’s OK to use an aerosol fiber optic duster, sometimes called an “air duster” or “canned air”, to clean keyboards and blow dust out of racks, but don’t use it on end-faces.

A dry aerosol blast will not remove wet liquid contamination such as fingerprint oils. It does not have static-dissipative properties so it may add static charges to the connectors.

Also, the fluid in the can may spray out in liquid form and freeze the end-face, causing humidity to condense out of the air.

Lastly, some of these products are flammable and can be quite dangerous in enclosed spaces.

Sticklers offers a duster product that offers an exceptional value and very high purity. However, even the Sticklers™ product is not recommended for use on fiber optic end faces.