Cleaning a keyboard?

#1

Hey there.

I wanted to know if anybody had this particular Dell keyboard. I know how to basically clean it, but as for the internal section, to clean it thoroughly how would it be best to do this?

http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/5670/keyboardbw.jpg

As you can see in the following image, there has been dust, and crumbs there for a long time.
http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/7924/keyboard2c.jpg

Would unscrewing the underside be an option, for anyone who has one of these old keyboards what do you say to that?

#2

Considering its a cheapy £5 dell keyboard, Id shove it in the dishwasher and see if it survives. If it does, for the time it would take to clean it… screw it, get a new one.

#3

^agreed.

its’ fodder… and probably full of bacteria/germs. trash it, and pick up another cheap’o.

#4

Really? And also, there are four keys that have been starting to rub off since last year. “A, S, E, O” “D, C” are slowly.

This is the PC’s original Dell keyboard, the mouse mat and the mouse I recycled in 2010, mat was shredded, wear and tear, and the mouse left button beame jammed. The speakers in 2011.

My PC is from 2003. Still works okay with the exception of the front bottom headphone/ear-phone socket.

I don’t want to throw it away, I was only thinking of trying to clean this one and use it for as long as the system works overall.:thumbsup: But I could unscrew it without any hassle, clearly not from the responses.

#5

you’ll spend more time trying to clean it out than what it is worth… but, i guess that depends on how you value your time.

have you tried a vacuum cleaner on it yet? :smiley:

#6

If !! u really wanted to keep it, we have used pressurized cans of compressed air (photo labs often have them), small cotton buds with alcohol swipes is another as they air-dry quick. good luck.

#7

I third the dishwasher idea. But the more difficult part will be placing the keys back on as they are basically held by little paper clips and those are a pain to put back on if any fall off. If the keys are sticking, the biggest problem is the slime under the keys which the dishwasher may not even get. There’s a specific solution that can be used, I forgot the name of it but its used to repair phones with water damage that is suppose to get in all areas as techs just submerge the phone in it, then allow it to dry for about 2 hours, but even then, its a hit or miss. I’d say get a new one as others have. Less headache, or just get a Bluetooth keyboard or one of those wired keyboards you can roll up like a mat.

#8

If I was going to get a new keyboard for my old system, nine and a half years old just gone, a budget of £4-6 is what I would spend on one.:wink:

I thought if I’d unscrew the underside the keys would remain in place, essentially all I would be doing was removing the crumbs and dust in that part of the keyboard. Nevermind about the actual keys and the dust saturated around the lower part of them that doesn’t matter to me.

#9

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