How Can I Clean My Keyboard?

Nowadays a lot of people work on a computer every day. Here you also use your keyboard extremely frequently – for comparison: Exactly 173 keystrokes were required up to the dash. With this enormously high frequency of use, it only seems appropriate to clean the utensil regularly. But how does it actually work? The following text should explain in all brevity and simplicity how a commercial keyboard can be cleaned.

Why is it necessary to clean a keyboard at all?

First of all it should be mentioned that there is no need to clean the device. However, regular cleaning brings advantages on two levels. The first level is purely technical. If dirt, food scraps and other unappetizing things accumulate in the keyboard, this will have a noticeable effect on the functionality of the device from a certain point in time. Keys can jam, the reaction can be delayed and even fail to appear sporadically. After a thorough cleaning of the keyboard, many users are amazed at how well they are able to function when nothing blocks the keys. In addition, such environmental factors have a significant impact on the life of a technical device.

The second advantage is hygienic health. Dust, germs on the finger and other contaminants as well as food leftovers that have rotted for months are anything but conducive to human health. If you don’t clean your keyboard, bacteria and fungi will find an ideal habitat in it. The germs multiply and feel really well in the uncleaned keyboard, in which they are constantly supplied with all kinds of delicacies. The sufferer of this circumstance is the user of the keyboard, who comes into contact with these germs every time he uses it. By the way, it should be mentioned that some scientific studies have shown that some keyboards are colonized by much more germs than toilet seats. Hardly anybody likes to do the latter voluntarily, while jingling around on keyboards without hesitation.

So there are reasons for cleaning the keyboard. But how do you clean now?

Cleaning the PC keyboard: A quick guide

The keyboard should be disconnected from the PC before action can be taken. The current flowing through them is anything but advantageous in the course of cleaning.

At first a rough cleaning is to be done, which can be done without any problems in a rather brute and highly unprofessional way: Put out the desk with paper, lift the keyboard, turn it around and shake it vigorously. You will most likely be amazed at how many crisps, peanuts, dust particles and other comparatively massive things will appear.

In the next step the keys should be wiped off. Ideally, you should use a slightly damp microfibre cloth – never a wet one, otherwise there is a risk of irreparable damage. Be thorough and clean all keys from dirt.

The basic cleaning is thus completed. This should be done quietly once a month.

After a few months the keyboard should also receive a deep cleaning. To do this you have to remove all the keys, which requires patience. Once this is done, you can clean the keys. Alternatively in a detergent bath in your washbasin or directly in the dishwasher at 40 degrees. Meanwhile, you devote yourself to the inner workings of your keyboard. To do this, use a standard vacuum cleaner and vacuum the dirt inside the keyboard at the lowest level. Then clean the inside of the keyboard with a slightly moistened microfiber cloth. Also cotton swabs can be helpful. Both the keys and the keyboard should be completely dry before reinstalling the keys.

The Cleaning of the Laptop Keyboard: A Quick Start Guide

Cleaning a laptop keyboard is much more difficult, as the keys cannot usually be removed here. A thorough cleaning is therefore not possible. However, this does not mean that there is no possibility to remove dirt.

In the first step, the laptop should be disconnected from the power supply. The battery must then be removed to prevent any current flow. Then lay out your desk with paper, lift the laptop, turn it upside down and shake it gently. Chips, nuts, giant filaments and other things will now leave the keyboard.

Then you remove the device again and dedicate yourself to the keys. To do this, take a slightly moistened microfibre cloth and wipe it off thoroughly. Then dry the keys thoroughly with another towel – a kitchen towel is a good idea.

Then grab a interdental brush. Such brushes are available at all drugstores and pharmacies. With these tiny brushes not only the tooth spaces but also the key gaps can be cleaned easily.