Cleaning your keyboard

[Doctor VonSexMachine]

Gross. I am doing a thorough cleaning today, so I decided to tackle my keyboard. I used toner (couldn't find the isoproply) and q-tips. I was kind of grossed out at what was left behind:

Spoiler: Not pictured, all the shit I tapped out from behind the keys when I removed a few for a better cleaning

So, how do you all clean your keyboard? I have a friend who took a pressure washer to his, but it didn't survive. Are q tips and alcohol really the best way?

 

[Marter]

I haven't yet, and my laptop is now about 1.5 years old. It's not all that dirty, so I haven't felt the need.

If I were to do it, it would be with cotton swabs, like you did.

 

[Hazy]

OH GOD THAT IS THE GROSSEST THING I HAVE EVE- kidding.

I've always used a Q-tip in the past, so if there's a better way, I'd love to hear it as well.

 

[Cabisco]

I turn mine upside down and bang it alot. I don't bother any baterialising it or anything. What's the point, I live so un-hygienically that I'm more likely to die from some other surface than my keyboard. My keyboard is very nasty but the odd shake sorts out most of it.

Yeah, I hit it abit once every... I did it about 2 years ago, maybe another beating the shit outta my keyboard is in order...

 

[Avaholic03]

You can clean your keyboard? That's news to me.

But seriously, I've never cleaned it. I'm the only person who uses it, so I know where my hands have been. I've never been a germophobe, and I think excessive cleaning actually makes you sick more often because your immune system gets lazy.

 

[grimsprice]

http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/

Solution. Found.

Personally i don't clean my keyboard, because its a laptop, and i can't just replace the keyboard bit. Thankfully i don't sweat dirt like some people.

 

[Doctor VonSexMachine]

You can clean your keyboard? That's news to me.

But seriously, I've never cleaned it. I'm the only person who uses it, so I know where my hands have been. I've never been a germophobe, and I think excessive cleaning actually makes you sick more often because your immune system gets lazy.

Unfortunatly, I am a misanthropic drunk who tends to spill shit on my keyboard at least twice a year. I also mostly eat at my desk, alone. The w key was sticking, so I had to fix it, lest my TF2 scores falter due to poor responsiveness.

 

[Feriluce]

just screw open your keyboard and take off all the keys. Thats the most thorough way to clean it anyway.

 

[NoNameMcgee]

It's surprising how dirty keyboards can get inside. I recently took a key off to find a lot of crumbs and hair underneath (how my hair got under there I don't know)

so I proceeded to take all the keys off and give it a proper clean. Yes I used cotton tips combined with banging the back a lot to make the hair fall out. lol

funny thing is I then forgot where all the keys went when I was trying to reassemble it. It was like playing scrabble.

 

[Chester41585]

I actually cleaned my keyboard out completely last week. I popped all the keys off, cleaned them individually, took some canned air and a dust brush to the frame, cleaned the frame with some 409 Antibacterial and put a coat of Mil-Spec OD Paint on the frame. Gotta say, I really like how the OD frame and black keys go together. My next project is to build a custom tower and put a fractal camouflage pattern on it. I was thinking of trying to do that new Navy pattern.

 

[Doctor VonSexMachine]

I normally just use a dust-buster and a set of tweezers to clean the channels of hair and threads.

Not a bad suggestion, although I would not like to end up like this:

 

[Plurralbles]

I turn mine upside down and bang it alot. I don't bother any baterialising it or anything. What's the point, I live so un-hygienically that I'm more likely to die from some other surface than my keyboard. My keyboard is very nasty but the odd shake sorts out most of it.

that's basically what tech people suggest. lol, it's really kind of primitive.

Can't do it with a laptop though. Q-tips are probably the best way to go.


Until my keyboard has noticeable amounts of dirt in it thoug hI won't bother.

 

[Wadders]

I take a vacuum cleaner/ hoover to that ************. Using the brush attachment, of course.

 

[Actual]

Compressed air, just to blow the dust out once every couple of months. Once in a blue moon I'll take all the keys off and give them a proper scrub. But they only stay clean for a couple of days so it's not really worth the effort.

I exude dirt, I may be dirt incarnate.

 

[Quaxar]

I only turn it upside down and smash the keys, works for the most dust and hair.

 

[Infinatex]

I do it it exactly like that! Pity all keyboards aren't like the old Mac ones where you could just pull each key off individually and wash them.

 

[Sassafrass]

I advise a lot of people new to cleaning keyboards to try this. [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/keyboards_are_disgusting.png]

But I just blow on it now and again to get the majority of the dirt out.

 

[Ironboot]

I remove all the keys and clean everything about... Three times a year, maybe. The big plastic main part thingy gets a hot shower while the keys just get some dabbing.

 

[Swarley]

I just turn it upside down and shake all the crap out, then get a damp cloth and go across the keyboard a few times.

 

[Blanks]

The only thing that gets in my keyboard is usually cat hair/dust and maybe crumbs
to which I run a knife(preferably of the butter variety)down the spaces to collect that stuff, crumbs I just shake it upside down - or I just pop out the keys either way my method kinda works

Then again I just bought a new keyboard today since I spilt some tea on my last one and while in the process of cleaning it up I broke a bit of the space bar making difficult to use

my keyboard be clean =)