I suspect I'm not the only one who eats and drinks while sitting at the computer. This afternoon I was finishing off a muffin while composing an email. One side of the muffin broke off and fell right on top of my keyboard, scattering crumbs all over. When I picked up the keyboard to shake off those crumbs I realized just how dirty the whole thing was, and decided it was time for a good deep cleaning.
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| Mine wasn't quite this bad (thank goodness)! Wikimedia |
Following the suggestions in the article How to Clean Your Keyboard I gathered my supplies-an old toothbrush, a can of compressed air, a glasses-cleaning microfiber cloth, some cotton swabs, and a bottle of isopropyl alcohol.
Instead of going to all of the effort of powering down my computer, I just carried my wireless keyboard halfway across the house to the master bathroom. I turned it upside down and gave it another shake, then used the toothbrush to brush up and down the rows to remove the debris.
I tried to use the compressed air but found out the can was empty. Plan B, going over everything with the toothbrush again took a little longer but worked just as well. It was a little distressing to see just how much debris was caught between the keys. When I was done tiny piles of detritius had accumulated at the end of each of the rows (mainly pieces of cat hair and dust). Without canned air to get rid of the mess I got an tweezer and carefully removed it.
When that step was done I dampened a cotton swab with water and cleaned around each key. That didn't take care of all of the crud, so I repeated the process with alcohol. I took the keyboard back to the office. When I started typing I discovered that some of the keys still felt a little sticky, so I repeated the cleaning process one more time.
Now I can still see some dust in between keys, but from my reading it sounds like the only way to take care of that issue is to pop the keys off and clean underneath them. I'm not ready for that level of commitment; instead I'll just be satisfied that things are much neater then they used to be.
Five years ago: Farcical
You did your best
ReplyDeleteI should clean mine. If I had a senior moment or my fingers forgot things, I'd not be able to use my keyboard. The letters and numbers are worn off the keys in several places. My fingers by this time in life know where everything is, but I don't, if I had to stop and think about it. Is that how you type too? Blind, really?
ReplyDeleteI learned how to touch type in high school, and although I'm a lot slower than I was back then.
DeleteAs I was reading I was thinking, pop the keys off, pop the keys off! 😜 They make a little tool that does that. Or a kit... https://www.amazon.com/Keyboard-Cleaning-Computer-Anti-Static-Electronics/dp/B08TC9PG98/ref=asc_df_B08TC9PG98/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=507790146651&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2476526883164513958&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9022883&hvtargid=pla-1231430659601&psc=1
ReplyDeleteYou want to come over to my house and do the job?
DeleteAnd then randomly put the keys back on? Sounds like fun!
DeleteNever mind :-)
DeleteI've popped the keys off of my keyboard before to give it a good cleaning. It's a lot of work but worth every minute. One hint is to take a picture of your keyboard first so you get the keys back where they belong!
ReplyDeleteI'll keep your suggestion in mind the next time I have extra time on my hands.
DeleteI ususally wear the letters off. But every now and then I have to tip the keyboard over and tap the crumbs out, too.
ReplyDeleteI do a lot of typing, but I've never had a problem with the letters wearing off the keys!
DeleteHubby and I both took touch typing. It was different on a non-electric typewriter! This is a good idea. I must think about cleaning mine.
ReplyDeleteI briefly used a manual typewriter before switching over to electric. What a difference!
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