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aaron.lee2006
Feb 19, 2007, 02:52 PM
Hey everyone.... So last year I spilled coffee in one of the school's apple wired keyboards lol I know yell at me all you want. Anyway, I decided I'm gonna clean it out and see what I can do to get it working again.

EVERY KEY IS WORKING EXCEPT SPACE (I'm typing on my MBP keyboard)

Any tips? I have it taken apart and ready to go.


lancestraz
Feb 19, 2007, 02:54 PM
Umm.... Wipe all the moldy coffee off.

I think you can put wired keyboards in the dishwasher.
aaron.lee2006
Feb 19, 2007, 02:56 PM
Yah I know that but do you think there is a chance to get it working again?
dllavaneras
Feb 19, 2007, 03:02 PM
Remove the space key, and check that there's no coffee in the middle hole where the key goes. If there is, clean it with a Q-tip and replace the key. If everything is working except the space key, I guess everything will be fine if you clean it up.
jeremy.king
Feb 19, 2007, 03:03 PM
We had a mishap with soda and our wired keyboard. I actually ended up soaking it in the tub to get rid of most of the sugary residue and drying it out completely with a combination of hair dryer, a fan, and a couple days evaporation time. The down arrow was flaky but the rest of the keyboard made it through. WARNING: impurities could remain if you do not use distilled water.
Scarlet Fever
Feb 19, 2007, 03:09 PM
put it in the dishwasher!

i've heard it works, and you don't really have anything to lose. Just make sure you don't put soap in it.
aaron.lee2006
Feb 19, 2007, 03:28 PM
you mean metal, circuit board and everything?
EricNau
Feb 19, 2007, 03:32 PM
you mean metal, circuit board and everything?
Yup, just don't use any soap and make sure you have it set for air-dry (also, place it in the top rack).

...Allow it to dry for at least several days.
aaron.lee2006
Feb 19, 2007, 04:05 PM
Thank you everyone.
aaron.lee2006
Feb 19, 2007, 04:13 PM
Before I do this:

When I put it in, do I take the keys off?
Should the keyboard be in two pieces?
Should it be apart at all?
What about the USB cable? Will it be okay?
phungy
Feb 19, 2007, 04:18 PM
Pics? Please make sure it's not blurry this time.
BigPrince
Feb 19, 2007, 04:20 PM
It would be easier to put in a pillow case and then in the washing machine. /end sarcasm

Also when trying, keep your matches away so that nothing catches "fire" like your magsafe did. You seem very prone to corrupting Apple products.

:P
aaron.lee2006
Feb 20, 2007, 04:09 PM
Instead of using the diswasher could I soak it in warm water?
EricNau
Feb 20, 2007, 05:11 PM
Instead of using the diswasher could I soak it in warm water?
I wouldn't. Water could soak into certain places and never properly dry.

...Although there's no guarantee this won't happen with the dishwasher also.
phungy
Feb 20, 2007, 05:23 PM
How about not eating/drinking anything within 15 feet of your electronics?

Other solution would be to get an iSkin.
rdowns
Feb 20, 2007, 05:24 PM
Next time, try decaf.
phungy
Feb 20, 2007, 05:35 PM
Next time, try decaf.

What's the point of having decaf coffee?! :p I rarely drink coffee anyways...
aaron.lee2006
Feb 21, 2007, 04:57 PM
Okay so I ran warm water all over ir. The cicuit board was so sticky so I did it to that to. I dried it all last night and all day to day. I then blow dried it to make sure. I inspected every part of it and put it back together. The only thing that is wet is underneath but nothing touches there so it is okay.

Problems:
Keys are improperly wired ex. when I press delete it enters /0

The order in which the keys are wired change about every half hour. Is it still drying?

Is there a chance it will still work?
iMeowbot
Feb 21, 2007, 05:11 PM
I'm not so sure that washing is a great idea with these particular units.

The trouble with the late model Apple keyboards is the membrane. It's three layers of plastic, two conductive with an insulating layer in between, and the sides aren't sealed. Liquid seeps in and gets sucked in there and can't easily air dry.

You can carefully separate the layers and try to dry them off (easier said than done unless you have a nice, seriously absorbent cloth), but be careful of the points where the layers are welded together, the plastic is easily torn. Those weld points also have a tendency to want to hang onto the liquid :p

The next problem is that coffee in particular seems to be especially good at eating away those printed conductive traces. That and the wiping and bending action can easily break the traces. If you're lucky and it's not in too bad of a spot, you can manage an effective repair with plain old tin foil and cellophane tape, and lots of patience (don't even think of attempting a repair with anything hot). Don't worry too much about tightness, the keyboard when assembled will provide enough pressure.

At this point, $25-30 for a nice basic non-Apple keyboard starts to look like a bargain :p
wakerider017
Feb 21, 2007, 05:20 PM
Why put it in the dishwaher when only 1 key is not working?

Try to clean out the space bar key first.
aaron.lee2006
Feb 21, 2007, 05:51 PM
Why put it in the dishwaher when only 1 key is not working?

Try to clean out the space bar key first.

had already tried that
wakerider017
Feb 22, 2007, 12:03 AM
had already tried that

Still, not sure what a dishwasher is going to do that you can't do by hand...

A dishwasher is going to wash the whole thing... The whole thing does not need to be washed... Only 1 key...

Personally I would take a q-tip and some alcohol to see if I could clean it out...
aaron.lee2006
Feb 22, 2007, 12:18 AM
Still, not sure what a dishwasher is going to do that you can't do by hand...

A dishwasher is going to wash the whole thing... The whole thing does not need to be washed... Only 1 key...

Personally I would take a q-tip and some alcohol to see if I could clean it out...

I said I already tried that lol.