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Resolved How to clean yellowing Apple Keyboard keys?

alexreich

alexreich

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 26, 2011
640
28
Hey guys, I have a rather trivial issue. As you can see in my attached image, my Apple Wireless Keyboard has some yellow/yellowing keys. Now I know that I should clean my keyboard and such often, but the problem is that I do very often, and it won't come off!

At first it was a very slight yellow, medium, darker, now the way it is. I have tried multiple cleaners for my keyboard and cannot get this crap off. It bothers me because I am a neat freak and want everything (especially on my desk) to look clean.

Any idea what to use to get this nasty looking stuff off?

Thanks!
-Alex :apple:
 

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Intell said:
Have you tried a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser? They work really well on Apple keyboards.
Click to expand...

Funny I hadn't thought of that, I used them all summer cleaning and working on the Macs at my school district. I'll be sure to grab some and see how it goes.
 
Do you usually type whilst eating cheetos? No, but seriously, how did you manage to get those stains? I have never seen anything like that.
 
No, :)

I wash my hands before using my keyboard and/or Magic Trackpad.
 
CRAP!

Is there anything I can do about it?

Btw, I don't understand how that could cause discoloration on my keyboard... my fingers are never stained yellow?
 
Found a home remedy. :)

Never got a chance to run to the store, so instead I've used household items. To eat away the nasty yellow stains, I lightly scrubbed Crest 3D White Advanced Vivid toothpaste across the keys that needed attention. That ate away a lot of the dark stains, but there were still visible yellow spots on the keyboard so I got out some Rubbing Alcohol, and put a bit on each key with a Q-tip, then wiped it off with a Kleenex.

This is what I got.

I know that there is a slight tint of yellow on the L and ; keys, but I'm pretty satisfied with these results, because they didn't cost me anything! :D

In short, lightly scrub with some whitening toothpaste, then dab a bit of rubbing alcohol to get rid of the rest of the yellowness.
 

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alexreich said:
CRAP!

Is there anything I can do about it?

Btw, I don't understand how that could cause discoloration on my keyboard... my fingers are never stained yellow?
Click to expand...

Tobacco oils. They yellow over time.

BTW Magic Eraser may have been able to lift it entirely. Now that you have scrubbed it I doubt you can get out what remains. Buy some new key tops.
 
Actually there is something that removes those stains quiet easy and that can be found in every supermarket ..toothpaste the one for teeth whitening , brand does not matter the cheapest will do the trick , there is hydrogen peroxide in them , makes not only teeth white again ;)
 
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I found out a really good way! I used my electric toothbrush. Exactly the right level of pressure. The keyboard is white as snow now!
 
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