Dirty Keyboards

Monday, April 14, 2008 at 4:33 PM

Do you know a keyboard can have more germs than a toilet seat? After learning this I swabbed mine, at home and in the office, with disinfectant wipes.

I was reading about dirty keyboard solutions recently and read about a keyboard with a roach infestation. I am sure I would thrown it out but a cleaning method was offered instead. The biggest challenge is to remove the keyboard from your laptop. ( you have to unscrew many tiny screws underneath the laptop, then pry gently up being careful not to break the wires.) Then turn the keyboard upside down and submerge in a pan of pure isopropyl alcohol. This is the kind of alcohol used to clean heads of analog tape decks or vcrs. Swirl the keyboard in the alcohol, use a soft bristle toothbrush to clean between the keys, remove and cover again with fresh isopropyl alcohol soaking for 1/2 hour. Let dry for 24 hours, reattach keyboard...carefully.

I also heard that you can put the keyboard in the top rack of the dishwasher, run the cycle with no soap and let it heat dry. I have never tried this or the previous solution with isopropyl alcohol and do not know anyone who has. Let me know if you do!

The above seems a little extreme but maybe for extremely dirty keyboards one needs extreme cleaning. What I do is vacuum the keyboard occasionally and now, since learning about the toilet seat/keyboard comparison, I also wipe the keys with alcohol wipes.

Typing on a germy keyboard has to clog up your thinking--it is just bad feng shui!

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