There are several things that can be bought at a computer store that will help you to keep your computer in working order. One is a disk drive cleaner. There are kits at computer stores that have everything you need to clean a disk drive. There are also kits for your CD-ROM and tape backup drives. Your mouse is another item that needs regular checking and cleaning.
Kits are available to help keep the ba ll rolling and the points of contact clean.
Tape drives are probably the most important of all the drives that need regular cleaning. If you do any amount of work that you consider important enough to store, then of all the cleaning kits, this is the one to have. Tapes are notorious for going bad over time, stretching with constant use, and for having data that doesn't get copied correctly because of dirty heads. If your data is important, you must keep the heads cleaned very regularly. CDs can get a bit grimy over time as well.