Can powder from pencils do harm to PCs

Can powder made from writing with a pencil do harm to a desktop or laptop? Everytime someone in the house uses a pencil, a lot of graphite powder seems to be made. Can this get into any of my PCs since sometimes they use pencils right next to them? Will it just do the same damage as dust does, which I try to clean out when I have time? Also, sometimes, I accidentally hit my laptop with a pencil. Can graphite leave a scratch on the plastic shell of my laptop?

Wandering one said:

Not really equal to household dust. Graphite is an extremely good conductor of electricity. ART.

Presumably writing would create only a tiny amount of graphite powder (unless you are drawing/shading pictures).

That said, you should try to prevent graphite powder from entering your PC.

oscer1 said:

thats true. just an interesting thread. never really thought about pencil dust which would take a lot of accumulation to short anything out in my opinion.

It could possibly accumulate in sockets though (e.g. RAM, PCI cards, etc.).

@ Computer0304.

I suppose a sharp graphite pencil could scratch the plastic on a laptop if it hit it at the right angle.

I have actually used graphite pencils to remove scratches & discolouration from plastic. Just use spit for wetness & rub the graphite pencil on the surface to be repaired & wipe off frequently & reapply spit. Don't use the point of the pencil just use the side of the graphite centre. Just a case of spit & polish. It is not a fast job so have patience.

@Ranger4 But the force of accidentally hitting the laptop with a pencil won't hurt the inside though, right? I mean, a very tiny bit of the powder could get in through the fan vents but I didn't literally stick it in the vent.

@LMiller7, @oscer1, @lehnerus2000 I have observed the vents every so often and it seems that there is no visible amount of graphite getting in.

@Wandering one Well that is something I have not known before. It is pretty interesting.

Well, I guess I am just being my self again by worring about small things. Thanks guys for answering.