How do I clean a keyboard?

Is it possible? My space bar is sticky, due to some old Coke that I spilled last week. Is there anyway to fix it? I thought I heard something sticking the keyboard in the dishwasher, but a search in the boards turned up nothing.

So, should I just go out and buy a new board?

Thanks guys.

I spilled a beer in my keyboard when I got my first computer (maybe ten years ago), and when I asked the guy at the comp store what to do, he said to take it into the shower and rinse it out real good!! It worked!

My guess is that you could do just that (make very sure it is completely dry before you plug it back into your comp, tho…) UNLESS you have one of those keyboards with "sleep: buttons and other fancy doo-dads on it… if you have one of those, then it may not be so easy…

Disclaimer: the shower worked for me, but if it ruins your keyboard, I claim NO responsibility!!!

Unplug it and use lighter fluid. Always works for me.

Pour in some rubbing alchohol and let it dry, and pry off the space bar and clean around the springs.

A couple weeks ago, I disconnected my keyboard, plucked off all the keys, and gave the whole thing a thorough cleaning. I used a slightly soapy paper towel to wipe down every key. I vacuumed out all the crumbs and dead bugs (I guess they’re attracted to my screen). Snapped the keys back in, and voilà! Good as new.

I used a paper towel because I wasn’t sure if using alcohol would make the letters on the keys come off. I guess it doesn’t.

Stick with Windex and apply it very sparingly. Water can ruin a keyboard, and solvents can melt it.

Spray the Windex onto a paper towel and wipe down the keyboard.

Another important (though disgusting) keyboard cleaning practice is to take the keyboard and shake it upside down over a garbage can. You’ll be surprised how much can fall out. If you want to do a pro job of this, get a can of compressed air for computer cleaning (cleaning cloths are also available at office supply stores).

Keyboards are cheap or free, get a new one. I got a free Logitech Internet one when I bought ME.

When I did that, based on the advice of that PBS computer news show, it was a complete failure.

The thing didn’t dry for a day, even when I blow dried it (warm setting) for a while.

In the end I disassembled it and found the plastic contact sheets had simply taken in the water between them by capillary action, and had to be removed and dried, or the water would never have run out.

Last time I do that!

There’s some really cool stuff you can get at Wal-Mart called duster. You spray off the keyboard with it and it’s like new. It can also be used for more interesting things.

Under no circumstances should you try to boil the keys. Trust me on this one. If anyone wants to buy ever so slightly warped keys (just warped enough to where half of them will no longer click into their slots) I’m willing to let them go at rock bottom costs.
My suggestion: Turn off your computer, use several Q-tips dipped in alcohol to rub between and over the keys. Finish off with that kick ass air blower in a can to clean dirt out underneath.

Finish the can off by blowing it into the ears of co-workers and family. Hours of fun.

Disassemble it and rinse all of the parts off with distilled water, and dry them with paper towels (blotting, not rubbing). Then wait a day for all the bits to be dry and re-assemble it.

OR

Spend twenty bucks and buy a cheapie keyboard at Wal-Mart.

No matter how much canned air you use, the keys will fly off long before the sticky soda does.

before anything else, just try pressing the spacebar repeatedly for a bit to see if it stops sticking. worked for me, but it depends on how serious the sticking is.
by the way, if your spacebar is sticking, how long did it take you to write that message?

Wonko the Sane wrote:

$20 for a keyboard? Doesn’t seem too sane to me, when I’ve seen keyboards in the $5-10 range at CompUSA, whose prices are usually a bit high.

The reason you should buy a new keyboard is because you could cook your keyboard Bios if you have a short cause you put water on it…

The exact same thing happened to me, I though what the hey, the keyboard is garbage now, so I took it to the backyard and sprayed the hose into it, soaked it. let it dry and it is still working to this day some 3+ years later

UPDATE :frowning:

Well, tried the shower trick, disassembled the keys, and let the water go. My wife has an annoying habit of pulling her hair at the puter, there was TONS of it in there. Anyway, finished up, and put the keys back in. Worked fine. However, after a couple minutes, the keys started doing funky things, one stopped working, and “38” would show up if I hit 3, or 8. So, this time I took it completely apart, and found a lot of water left over inside. Dried it best I could, put it back together, and nothing worked, so I’m sure I screwed something up. So, went and bought a $25 keyboard at Circuit City. (They had a $9 one too). Gonna plug it in after work, and hopefully my problem will be over. :slight_smile:

Thanks for all the good info though, am trying to find a cover for the keys, so wifey doesn’t get any more hair in there, grrrr.

Vis

Dishwasher, low heat, no soap, and take it out before the dry-cycle. Let dry 1-3 days, works like a charm. Of course…the 1-3 day drying period is alot easier if you have 10 or 15 extra keyboards lying around heh.

really people. Im surprised. Why don’t you just get a keyboard skin if yer all so messy? :slight_smile: