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Apple keyboard cleaning

R

rowanhall

macrumors member
Original poster
i know... a very boring post! 🙂

basically, i love these keyboards but the one flaw is that the dust really shows under the keys!

does anybody have any tips on cleaning these?

thanks!

Rowan
 
rowanhall said:
i know... a very boring post! 🙂

basically, i love these keyboards but the one flaw is that the dust really shows under the keys!

does anybody have any tips on cleaning these?

thanks!

Rowan
Click to expand...


They are a pain to clean the best bet is to remove the keys and use a can of air to get rid of any dust underneath. The only way to clean it fully tho its to take it completly apart which isnt easy.
 
I did this a few months ago... Make sure when you take off the keys that you lay them out how they are on the keyboard as you take them off... Or take a picture of the keyboard... This is about an hour long task and the keyboard gets dirty again pretty fast...
 
hehe, i know - it's disgusting when you can see crumbs and things like that right under the keyboard..eugh.

now i just change my wireless keyboard every three months. it's not cheap but it saves the time of opening and cleaning. obviously not the best solution, but great if you're lazy! 🙂
 
For normal USB keyboards you can get them professionally cleaned (for spills etc), and apparently the cleaning process is not all that different to taking all the keys off, putting the KB in a dishwasher (no soap and low temp) and washing it like that - crazy eh!
All you need do is wait for the thing to fully dry and then re-attach the keys.
I realize this sounds crazy, but they do it! For $19 you can get a new one though, and I don't think you can clean BT KBs like this. 😱
For normal dirt and grime a wet wipe and compressed air will work.
 
cheers to all the kind folks of macrumours who helped me with this one! 🙂

no major damage thankfully! just the normal stuff that collects between keys!

because they are gorgeous keyboards, so its important they are kept tip-top! 🙄

i will take all the advice onboard and do it after i get a tin of compressed air and some time to myself!

i had seen those exoskin rubber covers when i was looking for the one for the ipod. it says that they don't interfere with typing? i would have thought it would be quite noticable, anybody used one? i'm not a spiller though! 🙂
 
Ok this may sound strange, but trust me it works great. You will need a keyboard to borrow for a few days while the other keyboard dries.

Take your keyboard and put it in the dishwasher and run it through a cycle with NO detergent. Just run it throught the whole cycle, then take it out and hang it to dry for a few days. I spilled soda on a keyboard and someone told me to do this and I did, there were no stuck keys and it looked like new.

JUST BE AWARE, THE KEYBOARD MUST BE FULLY DRY BEFORE YOU PLUG IT IN OR YOU RISK FRYING YOU SYSTEM!
 
I normally wash the keys when I put them back on, just with washing liquid, then try them, then put them back on.
 
cgratti said:
Ok this may sound strange, but trust me it works great. You will need a keyboard to borrow for a few days while the other keyboard dries.

Take your keyboard and put it in the dishwasher and run it through a cycle with NO detergent. Just run it throught the whole cycle, then take it out and hang it to dry for a few days. I spilled soda on a keyboard and someone told me to do this and I did, there were no stuck keys and it looked like new.

JUST BE AWARE, THE KEYBOARD MUST BE FULLY DRY BEFORE YOU PLUG IT IN OR YOU RISK FRYING YOU SYSTEM!
Click to expand...

Hmmm.. Not so sure on this one. Would you mind sending me a keyboard? I am eager to test this!! 😀


aussie_geek
 
I popped off my keys a couple weeks ago and used damp q-tips to clean everything, along with some canned air. Worked great and didn't take too long 🙂


allison.
 
Whenever my girlfriend vacuumes our house (we have a arrangement where she vacuumes and I cook 😉) she always just swiftly goes over the keyboards of her Pismo and my iBook with the vacuum cleaner. She uses one of the smaller mouth pieces (the one used for our couch) and carefully sweeps it a couple of times. She's never loosened any keys and this has kept our keyboards very clean for years now.

Only when I've handled the keyboard with dirty fingers (food grease or melted chocolate are usually the culprits) I use some mild cleaning product on a soft, hot and damp cloth or, if I need to get between the keys, a Q-tip...
 
Mitthrawnuruodo said:
Only when I've handled the keyboard with dirty fingers (food grease or melted chocolate are usually the culprits) I use some mild cleaning product on a soft, hot and damp cloth or, if I need to get between the keys, a Q-tip...
Click to expand...

my god, i know exactly what you mean - i was eating chocolate digestives today and got melted chocolate all over my fingers and then touched the kb. stupid-ass thing to do, i know.

in terms of vacuum cleaners, i once did it but left the suction on too high - swallowed up the arrow keey from my ibook 😱 had to empty thing to get it out 😡 heh
 
aussie_geek said:
Hmmm.. Not so sure on this one. Would you mind sending me a keyboard? I am eager to test this!! 😀


aussie_geek
Click to expand...

It really does work... I have cleaned many o' keyboards this way. They come out sparkling new. Just remember to be sure your keyboard is completely dry before plugging it back in.

Heres a link to check it out yourself.
KEYBOARD CLEANING
 
asif786 said:
now i just change my wireless keyboard every three months. it's not cheap but it saves the time of opening and cleaning. obviously not the best solution, but great if you're lazy! 🙂
Click to expand...

What do you do with the keyboards once you buy a new one?
 
tech4all said:
What do you do with the keyboards once you buy a new one?
Click to expand...

Yeah, if you just throw them out, I'd take it.

...and totally not put it on ebay after I clean it. 😀

(man, I need a job/source of income)
 
asif786 said:
hehe, i know - it's disgusting when you can see crumbs and things like that right under the keyboard..eugh.

now i just change my wireless keyboard every three months. it's not cheap but it saves the time of opening and cleaning. obviously not the best solution, but great if you're lazy! 🙂
Click to expand...

Sheesh... rich boy! 😱

Do you eBay the others?
 
I just cleaned my keyboard! Stupid me never realised you could take the keys off easily until I found this thread! I was always looking for screws (which are hard to find!!!)

I'm so happy now. A nice clean keyboard. It hadn't been cleaned since I got it (Sept 2002) so needless to say, I could have easily cloned myself numerous times with all the hair, dust and crumbs in the keyboard. ERGH!!
 
😡 Its a bit unrelated but,,,,, at work,, ewww gross,, you should see some of the things that has come out of my keyboards, we hot desk,(switch desks) so I havent got my own desk,, well not more than a few months,, and ive had to stop myself from throwing up sometimes,,,, just gross,,,,,,,,
 
I'm pretty sure I can't put a bluetooth keyboard in the dishwasher...right? I mean that's just common sense....but I dunno. Anyone know for sure?
 
*bump*

hi..

was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to remove texta [permanent marker] from a AI powerbook keyboard?

it's not too bad, but it ruins the nice clean look of my GF's PB [which she hasn't seen yet btw]

will methylated spirit mark the keyboard?
 
Sorry but I think thats stuck there unless you remove the keys and soak themin some abbrasive liquid, but that might rub off the lettering!
 
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