Spilled beer on keyboard... sticky keys... any ideas to get 'em working properly?!

[thedogisdead]

Okay so maybe I should't drink beer at the computer, but I spilled some on my keyboard.

Now some keys are really sticking and making it unpleasant for me to use.

It's a nice wireless keyboard/ mouse combo and I really don't want to part with it, so does anyone have any ideas on how to clean a gunky keyboard without ruining it?

Do you think I'd get away with spraying a bit of WD40 in there?!

Silly me!

#-o

[whiskeylover]

Take it apart. Wash all non-electronic parts with soap water, let dry, assemble it back.

[gletob]

Distilled water. It's not electrically conductive or corrosive. Just wash the whole keyboard with it let it dry for a good long while before plugging it back in.

[Tristam Green]

Press both shift keys simultaneously.

[NightwishFan]

Do not drink and hard drive.

[Bachstelze]

This is exactly why you shouldn't buy an expensive keyboard. $20 plain Logitech ftw.

[NCLI]

Distilled water. It's not electrically conductive or corrosive. Just wash the whole keyboard with it let it dry for a good long while before plugging it back in.

This.

[eriktheblu]

Do you think I'd get away with spraying a bit of WD40 in there?!


NO!

The solvent will destroy the keyboard.

[MacUntu]

Okay so maybe I should't drink beer at the computer

Maybe you should drink more to get a steady hand. :KS

[Fenris_rising]

Dismantle and clean.

[chriswyatt]

Distilled water. It's not electrically conductive or corrosive. Just wash the whole keyboard with it let it dry for a good long while before plugging it back in.

What about if you spilled something on your laptop keyboard? It would feel wrong pooring water all over my laptop if I did get something corrosive in there.

[bwhite82]

A few more beers will solve the problem. To yew, yer tieping wul stil looke gud.



(sorry, couldn't resist)

[koenn]

Okay so maybe I should't drink beer at the computer, but I spilled some on my keyboard.


It's OK to drink; it's the spilling that is the real problem.

[chriswyatt]

Drink responsibly kids. [-X

[cariboo]

I have a couple of older Microsoft ergonomic keyboards, that get really filthy over time, what I do is completely disassemble the keyboards, remove the circuit board and put all the pieces in the dishwasher. They come out squeaky clean and are good for another 3 -4 years. :)

[koenn]

Distilled water. It's not electrically conductive or corrosive. Just wash the whole keyboard with it let it dry for a good long while before plugging it back in.

Hm, IIRC & correct me if I'm wrong, but water, H2O, will behave as a collection of H+ and OH- ions and therefore is electrically conductive, and corrosive (oxidation).

Still, your solution is good, because if you let the keyboard dry, there won't be any water left when you plug it in again.

[tgalati4]

Just remove the batteries and put the thing upside down in the top shelf of the dishwasher. Use a short cycle. Very little soap (like 1/8 teaspoon). Don't use heated dry. Remove and put in a sunny window to dry for a couple of days.

[thedogisdead]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!

Actually, I got a real bargain with this combo, £7 from eBay including delivery - one of my rare lucky finds!

I'm doubtful I'd find another combo which is as nice and as cheap!

:P

[kmsalex]

Distilled water won't conduct electricity, it won't boil/freeze either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAqqpDF4bVw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lISK1YFcZBM&NR=1
But as soon as a little dirt...or beer mixes with it it will conduct electricity (or boil/freeze).
But it won't matter as long as you don't have it powered on while you clean it
I would disassemble it and put it in the dishwasher as one of the previous posts stated and keep it around. You never know when a spear key board (and mouse/monitor) can come in handy.

[koenn]

Distilled water won't conduct electricity, it won't boil/freeze either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAqqpDF4bVw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lISK1YFcZBM&NR=1
But as soon as a little dirt...or beer mixes with it it will conduct electricity (or boil/freeze).

You should pay more attention in school, and spend less time online.

[andras artois]

Turn it over so any fluid drains out of the body of the keyboard. Pop the keys off and clean off the sticky gunk around the key and board.

It's happened too many times to me...

[kmsalex]

You should pay more attention in school, and spend less time online.
What are you my mother?

[benerivo]

The stickiness will go away with time, so if you can live with it for a month, then don't bother cleaning.

[koenn]

What are you my mother?

it's worse than I thought ....

[TBABill]

I'm going to have to place the OP under arrest...it's simply unacceptable to waste beer by using it to clean a keyboard!! :)

[standingwave]

Dismantle and clean.with isopropyl alcohol, I would add.

[kmsalex]

it's worse than I thought ....
No seriously, what right do you have to site at a computer and tell me over the ubuntu forums while discussing a topic in no way related to computer usage, or school, or age. To randomly tell me that I should not site at the computer and try to help other people while having some fun at the same time.
I'll also have you know that I average A's and B's in almost all of my classes with the occasional C.
Besides the fact i spend more time in school then anyone else in the entire school as I'm involved in 5 different clubs (4 of which are serves clubs) and good personal friends with almost half the teachers. pulse I play on the baseball team and manage the field hockey team.
So on average I never leave the school before 4:00 My latest ever Was 10:00 when the builders club had the dance-a-thone on the same day that the feildhocky team had there end of the season party (It should be noted that school lets out at 2:34).
Now, i guess i could turn this around on you, shouldn't you spend more time with the wife, or child, or at work?
Now Please, get off your high hours and come down and play nice with the rest of us.:)

[Doctor Mike]

Drink Ale.

[JDShu]

@kmsalex: What he means is that the videos you posted were about supercooling and superheating, which has nothing to do with impurities in the water.

[cariboo]

never mind.

[KiwiNZ]

Try rinsing it with water only . Then allow it to dry completely either in the sunshine or in a dry warm cupboard. DO NOT reconnect until you are sure it is absolutely dry. Allow up 3 days drying. If that does not work buy a new one .

[detroit/zero]

That is true, though (and completely off-topic):

Water that has been distilled and filtered and is 100% pure is one of the best electrical insulators known to man.

The problem with using water to clean with, as someone else pointed out, is that once it is mixed with something else, it becomes impure, and therefore begins to conduct electricity.

[kmsalex]

It wasn't that off topic, plus i thought it would bring a little entertainment to the therad besides i provided my suggestion as well.
Besides i don't think that's what he mean.

[gletob]

What about if you spilled something on your laptop keyboard? It would feel wrong pooring water all over my laptop if I did get something corrosive in there.

The Goal of the water is to get off what ever it is. If whatever corrosive thing that you spilled is there it's pretty much already done what it's gonna do. Distilled water is to get the stuff of, and then dry with no mineral deposits like spring/tap/purified water. My mom spilt coffee in her laptop, she immediatly removed all forms of power, and I gave it a bath in a big bowl of distilled water, let it dry out for a week, and bam, good as new.

[gletob]

Hm, IIRC & correct me if I'm wrong, but water, H2O, will behave as a collection of H+ and OH- ions and therefore is electrically conductive, and corrosive (oxidation).

Still, your solution is good, because if you let the keyboard dry, there won't be any water left when you plug it in again.

While technically even completely pure water does conduct electricity, it has a much higher resistance than water with minerals and impurities in it. And as you noticed, I'm not recommending the use of use or even electrification, while submerged in water or wet; but the cleaning of them.

By the way, while I'm on this make sure if you do this on a laptop or something, you don't really want the Hard Drive or Disk Drive to get wet due to their more mechanical, (and specifically the hard drive's more enclosed) nature.

[MaxIBoy]

Would this be a Model M keyboard, or some other type?

[seenthelite]

While technically even completely pure water does conduct electricity, it has a much higher resistance than water with minerals and impurities in it. And as you noticed, I'm not recommending the use of use or even electrification, while submerged in water or wet; but the cleaning of them.

By the way, while I'm on this make sure if you do this on a laptop or something, you don't really want the Hard Drive or Disk Drive to get wet due to their more mechanical, (and specifically the hard drive's more enclosed) nature.

We use pure water to clean salt off 500,000 volt insulators in High Voltage Switchyards that are close to the ocean. Mostly this is done while they are alive because of constraint's associated with interrupting power supply to certain customers like aluminum smelters. If using water on low voltage equipment it should be pure so that no residue is left to create corrosion on circuit boards or soldered joints. These problems could take some time to become obvious.

[HermanAB]

Simply stick the keyboard in a dishwasher. It works about 50% of the time in my experience - the other 50% you need to spend $10 for a new keyboard.

[KiwiNZ]

Simply stick the keyboard in a dishwasher. It works about 50% of the time in my experience - the other 50% you need to spend $10 for a new keyboard.


Do not use the water heater function and DO NOT use dishwasher chemicals these are caustic.

[Swagman]

I have a couple of older Microsoft ergonomic keyboards, that get really filthy over time, what I do is completely disassemble the keyboards, remove the circuit board and put all the pieces in the dishwasher. They come out squeaky clean and are good for another 3 -4 years. :)

This.

I have the same keyboard. It's about the best thing that Microsoft ever released !!

In fact it's looking kinda grubby atm so might have to disassemble !!