Cleaning an aluminum 1243 keyboard?

[chrysrobyn]

I had a very minor Mountain Dew spill several weeks ago, and I thought nothing would come of it. As time progresses, several keys are losing their effectiveness. Some sugar has to be in there gumming up the works. The keys that don't work the worst are "p", "'", shift and enter, right around my liquid spill. These keys have extra physical resistance, and once pressed, they send the right electrical signal, so I'm very optimistic that a Q-tip and a little alcohol will fix me right up.

I don't see any screws on my A1243 thin aluminum keyboard that came stock with my 3GHz 24" Merom iMac. Does anyone here have experience taking them apart or cleaning them?

 

[statik13]

This happened with my wireless aluminium keyboard about 6 months back. I took the batteries out, soaked it in a sink full of warm water and left it on a vent to dry over night. Put the batteries back in and it has been working like a charm ever since.

(Typed on a now clean Apple wireless aluminum keyboard)

 

[Hmac]

I'd consider soaking it in some absolute alcohol (99% ethyl alcohol). No water (will displace water), no suspended particles to short, will dissolve the offending contaminants, evaporate without residue. If you're going to soak it in water (bad idea IMHO) at least use distilled water.

 

[GoCubsGo]

This happened with my wireless aluminium keyboard about 6 months back. I took the batteries out, soaked it in a sink full of warm water and left it on a vent to dry over night. Put the batteries back in and it has been working like a charm ever since.

(Typed on a now clean Apple wireless aluminum keyboard)

Yeah I am not trying to doubt you (but I am) but really? Even without batteries your keyboard still contains electronics. Perhaps it is due to the batteries being out and that killed any power. I am no expert but I'd probably only try this on a keyboard that was on it's way out the door.

 

[bartelby]

Yeah I am not trying to doubt you (but I am) but really? Even without batteries your keyboard still contains electronics. Perhaps it is due to the batteries being out and that killed any power. I am no expert but I'd probably only try this on a keyboard that was on it's way out the door.

I've washed a keyboard before and it worked fine after a few days drying out...

 

[chrysrobyn]

Ouch, so it looks like I'm retty stuck not taking it apart then.

Thanks for the advice. I'll see where I can find that concentration of alcohol.

 

[flopticalcube]

Ouch, so it looks like I'm retty stuck not taking it apart then.

Thanks for the advice. I'll see where I can find that concentration of alcohol.

Most hardware stores will carry it. I have also placed keyboards in dishwashers before with mixed results. The real trick is to let the keyboard dry completely before using it again, whether alcohol or water. 24-48 hours would be my recommendation and in a place with air movement.

Oh yeah, one other thing I did with an aluminum keyboard is hold it over a steaming pot of water letting the steam get into the keys and work the keys while doing it (upside down) and then letting it dry over a day or two. This freed up some sticky keys I had.

 

[oliversl]

Have you succeed? I'm having the same issue.

Thanks
Oliver

I had a very minor Mountain Dew spill several weeks ago, and I thought nothing would come of it. As time progresses, several keys are losing their effectiveness. Some sugar has to be in there gumming up the works. The keys that don't work the worst are "p", "'", shift and enter, right around my liquid spill. These keys have extra physical resistance, and once pressed, they send the right electrical signal, so I'm very optimistic that a Q-tip and a little alcohol will fix me right up.

I don't see any screws on my A1243 thin aluminum keyboard that came stock with my 3GHz 24" Merom iMac. Does anyone here have experience taking them apart or cleaning them?