Cleaning Your Keyboard Safely

I will be instructing others how to properly and safely clean their keyboard. Ensuring that keyboards are cleaned properly is very important. If not cleaned correctly, the keyboard could be damaged, or it could damage other computer equipment.

Metal Spoon

Phone (to take a picture)

1 bowl

Water

Dish Soap

Isopropyl Alcohol (70% or 99%)

Towel

A Can of Air

Q-Tips

1. First unplug your keyboard from your computer.
2. Take a picture with your phone of your keyboard before removing keys. This will help to ensure that you put the keys back in the right spot when ready.

1. Get your spoon. When using the spoon, angle the spoon under the key cap and gently pop the key off, still not using too much force.
2. As you take off each key, place it into the bowl. This will ensure that you will not lose any keys as you begin to take more off.
3. After all keys are removed your keyboard and bowl should look similar to the images in this step.

1. Place a few drops (about 2-4) of dish soap in your bowl.
2. Fill the bowl with enough water to cover all of the key caps, with about half an inch extra. The water does not need to be very hot, warm water will do the trick just fine.
3. Use your hand to mix the keys in the water to make it soap and begin cleaning it.
4. If your water becomes dirty, dump the water out of the bowl, being careful to not drop any keys out of the bowl. You can repeat the first three steps in this section until the water comes out clean. I usually rinse my keys at least twice, even if the water does not become dirty during the first rinse.
5. Once water does not become dirty, make sure to rinse the keys with warm water to ensure all soap is off of the keys.

1. Once the keys are clean and all the water is out of the bowl, place a towel on your counter or any flat surface. Dump the keys from the bowl onto the towel. (picture)
2. Cover the keys with the ends of the towel (picture). Begin gently using the towel to pat-dry the keys. You can also roll the keys around in the towel to dry them, too.
3. You can leave the keys in this towel or transfer them to a different, dry towel to continue drying. You must leave them out for at least 3 hours to ensure they are completely dry. I often leave mine out overnight to dry.

1. Now return to your keyboard. Get your can of air. When using the can of air, do not turn it upside down or hold down the trigger constantly. Use it in short bursts. Please read instructions and warnings on the can of air bottle for more detailed explanations.
2. In short bursts, use the can of air to blow away any debris that might be on the keyboard.
3. After the debris is cleared, get your Q-Tips and another bowl. Fill the bowl with about half an inch of alcohol in it, just enough to cover the bottom.

1. Dip one end of the Q-Tip in the alcohol. The Q-tip should not be so saturated that alcohol is dripping out of the Q-Tip.
2. Use the Q-Tip to clean the base of the keyboard. You can dip the Q-Tip or get a new one as you go if it gets dry or too dirty.
3. Once the base is clean, you can now clean the switches. If you haven't already, get a clean Q-Tip and dip it in the alcohol, still ensuring it is not too saturated.
4. Put the cotton that has been dipped in the alcohol on the switch like the picture. Once the Q-tip is in that position, begin moving Q-tip in circular motion to clean out the inside of the switch.

1. After this is done to all of the switches, allow the switches to dry for at least an hour. DO NOT plug in your keyboard back to the computer until it has dried for at least one hour.
2. Once the key caps are dry and the switches, you can begin installing the key caps back onto the keyboard. Look at the picture you had taken before starting this process. Ensuring that the keys are going into their correct spot, take one key cap at a time and position it on the switch.
3. Once the key cap is positioned like the picture above, push the key down. You should feel and hear the key cap snap back on the switch. If the key cap is on correctly, you should be able to rapidly push the key down without it coming off.
4. After all of the key caps are back on, you are now ready to plug in your keyboard. It has now been cleaned and completely dried. Plug the keyboard back into the original port it was in before.