My keyboard is covered with dust between the keys, where I can’t reach it. Any solution?
Q-tip with rubbing alcohol? Canned air? Depending on how bad it is and what color your keyboard is, it may be less insanity & gag-inducing to just buy a new one.
Would canned air be okay? Years ago, I took my old computer to have the fan cleaned, and the doofus who used canned air on my computer somehow managed to fuck it up-I had to get an entirely new fan, and my uncle had to fix the computer itself.
Well, don’t bath it. C3PO liked his oil bath, but I spilled a glass of water on my keyboard and it never worked again. It wasn’t beer, or orange juice or a chocolate milkshake. It really was just water. I was certain once it dried out it would be fine but ended up having to get a new keyboard.
The Q-Tip & alcohol/Windex method is about all I use.
About once a year I do that to my various remote controls, too.
I cleaned mine (carefully) - in the shower after I flooded it with soup then ignored it for a week. Left it to dry for a couple of days and it is still working fine over a year later.
It still hasn’t learned how to spell though.
The keycaps are removable on most computer keyboards - you can just pop them off with a screwdriver (take a picture of their positions first).
I washed my keyboard a number of times with a toothbrush. After a third or fourth time, my left Ctrl key would open a new browser window. It was uncanny.
If you want to clean between keys you can just pop the keys off. Just remember where they were when putting them back.
What I do is get a screwdriver, open it up, remove the key racks (to separate them from the electronics inside), get a toothbrush wet and soapy, run it across the key racks, let them dry, then put it all back together.
I even started a thread about it.
Thank you-for the time being, I’ll just try the q-tip/windex method. It’s not dirty-dirty, just dusty.
New keyboards are cheap, if you think the ick factor is just too far gone.
Dishhwasher a keyboard at your own risk. You CAN wash some standard keyboards in a dishwasher, but you have to be careful. It may or may not work for you, and you have to be careful it doesn’t sit too long into the dry cycle (some keyboards could warp if they face excessive heat), and make sure it sits in a warm, sunny location for several days; maybe more depending on the design.
If you’re a wimp,. hold they keyboard upside-down, take itoutside, and apply canned air generously and closely. Use cotton swabs with your preferred household cleaner for key grime.
This is about what I do. Sometimes I’ll remove the keys individually if they are sticky.
As someone who has spilled a variety of liquids onto keyboards (including juice, soda and maybe a milkshake, but never beer), the only one that I have ever seen break a keyboard like that is water. Anything else just makes the keys sticky. Water destroys it.
For dust, you can just use a vacuum with a brush attachment to do mot of the work. The keys are unlikely to come off. There is a lot to be said for turning it upside down and shaking it.
I ran mine through the dishwasher and it worked like a charm. Top rack, about a quarter of the usual detergent (although lots of sources say no soap), and no drying cycle. I let it dry out for about four days before I used it.
You don’t have access to a shop air compressor do you? One of you’re neighbors maybe? Mine is only a 30 gallon but it makes quick work of even the dirt and dust you can’t see. Canned air has only so much pressure.
I was going to suggest that. I’ve only tried canned air once and realized it’s probably good for delicate computer innards but little else. It worked when I woke up to hear a faint “shh” “shh” “shh” sound one morning and found that my 2yo daughter was shaking a salt shaker directly onto my keyboard.
I spilled apple juice on a new laptop once, it was of course not my laptop. they sent it off to get fixed and the people wanted twice the value of the thing to “fix” it.
I took it home, removed the keyboard and dropped it in a sink full of hot soapy water and swished it around then let it soak for a couple hours giving it a swirl every now and then.
that was 2 years ago or so, it works perfectly fine.
Water is fine to use for cleaning keyboards. I’ve done many like this. Some I’ve completely submerged for a period of time. You just have to follow a few simple rules:
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It needs to be a standard-type keyboard. I wouldn’t risk it with a wireless type or some other special version using batteries or the like.
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You cannot apply water to it while it’s plugged into a computer. You must disconnect it or it will short and likely be destroyed.
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You must leave it out long enough for it to completely dry. For me, I’ve left them outside on a sunny day for several hours and that was good enough. You just need to give the keyboard time enough to completely dry. Take your region’s humidity in account.
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You can use a shower or even your garden hose (though I’ve lost keys to high pressure garden hoses).
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I wouldn’t suggest out loud using a dishwasher, though I’m not surprised to hear that it works fairly well, and I would have no problem trying it on a cheap keyboard.
Honestly though, I have a fairly rigid routine I follow almost religiously. I reinstall my OS every six months, minimum, and I always replace the keyboard when I do. I have a fairly expensive mouse so I try to hold onto it as long as I can, but keyboards are a dime a dozen.
Not this one.
::drooling:: I can’t wait for that one to become a bit (well, ALOT) cheaper.