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Help requested with a sticky keyboard... --- Resolved / Cleaned
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Shameless Avenger
Can Preachers of Kador
#1 - 2012-06-27 23:03:33 UTC  |  Edited by: Shameless Avenger
I watched a funny video and spilled soda on the keyboard. I don't want to change it because I'm very used to it and I liked it much. I could start taking it apart key by key to clean it. But that is a PIA and sometimes plastic pieces break. I've been told to spray it with Lysol but I'm not sure.

Any ideas?

UPDATE: This has been resolved and the yucky stuff has been cleaned/removed. Keyboard now operating as intended.

"This is the Ninja. He will scan you down; he will salvage your wrecks and there shall be no aggro"
Domer Pyle
Republic University
Minmatar Republic
#2 - 2012-06-27 23:16:07 UTC  |  Edited by: Domer Pyle
just take the keys off. i did that after i dropped a piece of cake on my keyboard, subsequently covering a quarter of it in frosting. nothing broke. hell, when i had my old keyboard, i pried the windows keys off and had no problems.

or you could unscrew some screws and do it that way.

"Imagine if the bars to your prison were all you had ever known. Then one day, someone appears and unlocks the door. If they have the power to do this, then are they really the liberator? You never remembered who it was that closed you in." - Ior Labron
Surfin's PlunderBunny
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#3 - 2012-06-27 23:16:22 UTC
Submerge the keyboard in warm detergent water

"Little ginger moron" ~David Hasselhoff 

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Liam Mirren
#4 - 2012-06-28 10:00:51 UTC
The problem isn't so much the sticky keys, it's circuit boards which will start to corrode and other than taking it apart asap and meticulously cleaning it with a swab there's not much you can do.

Excellence is not a skill, it's an attitude.
Alpheias
Tactical Farmers.
Tactical Farmers
#5 - 2012-06-28 10:36:05 UTC
So that is what its called now? The "watched a funny video and spilled my soda" seems a little too apologetic.

Agent of Chaos, Sower of Discord.

Don't talk to me unless you are IQ verified and certified with three references from non-family members. Please have your certificate of authenticity on hand.
defiler
Mad Hermit
Wayward Alliance
#6 - 2012-06-28 11:15:57 UTC
What you should do depends on what type of keyboard you have, some are essentially waterproofed and can be rinsed with little to no risk. Others, like the one I'm using is extremely sensitive. I've spilled various beverages in it countless times, and every time I do I know I have to take it apart (something like 30 screws) in a matter of minutes. If I don't, the circuits printed on the plastic films within can corrode to the point of uselessness. I know this because it has happened to me before.

As I too am rather fond of my old friend I've toyed with the idea of potting/otherwise sealing it so that liquids won't get to anything sensitive. Haven't quite gotten around to it though, so instead I'm getting increasingly skilled at disassembling it very very quickly. Lol

Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.
Fernando MRuiz
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#7 - 2012-06-28 12:10:51 UTC
Honestly, I'd just pop the keys and try to use a Q-tip soaked in just water to clean the sticky areas. Just be very careful when you're cleaning it off, though; defiler just stated the reason why. I don't blame you for not wanting to change the keyboard, though. (Sayeth the guy who's using the keyboard that came with his POS computer for the past two years...)

"One must, in one's life, make a choice between boredom and suffering." - Mme. Germaine de Staël
defiler
Mad Hermit
Wayward Alliance
#8 - 2012-06-28 12:37:45 UTC
To add to what I said before, on most keyboards I've seen you don't have to pry off a single key in order to clean it thoroughly and safely. The keys are normally attached to one or more plastic blocks/banks/whatchacallit, which in turn press against the circuits beneath. Obviously you still need to take the whole thing apart (those 30+ screws I mentioned) in order to get to them, but once that's done you can simply let the blocks with keys still attached soak in warm water (but not HOT or you'll warp the plastic) with some dish soap. A few hours and a good rinse later it should be good as new. Don't forget to let it dry overnight before putting it back together - moisture is your worst enemy here.

Works on the classic tall keys with rubber domes beneath at least, not sure about flat laptop-style keys (which IME tends to jam if you look at them wrong)

Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.
Shameless Avenger
Can Preachers of Kador
#9 - 2012-06-28 14:55:52 UTC
Fernando MRuiz wrote:
Honestly, I'd just pop the keys and try to use a Q-tip soaked in just water to clean the sticky areas. Just be very careful when you're cleaning it off, though; defiler just stated the reason why. I don't blame you for not wanting to change the keyboard, though. (Sayeth the guy who's using the keyboard that came with his POS computer for the past two years...)


Did this...it took some time, patience and extra light. And lots of q-tips. Now I don't need to press the space-bar with a 5ton press anymore... working like new with just a gentle press :)

PS... it was really nasty down there under the keys...


"This is the Ninja. He will scan you down; he will salvage your wrecks and there shall be no aggro"
Sin Pew
Ministry of War
Amarr Empire
#10 - 2012-06-28 15:20:41 UTC
Reminds me of Dell's computer warranty some years ago, covering the spilling of coffee over the unit if it didn't contain sugar or milk.

[i]"haiku are easy, But sometimes they don't make sense, Refrigerator."[/i]
Telegram Sam
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#11 - 2012-06-29 17:51:54 UTC
Fernando MRuiz wrote:
Honestly, I'd just pop the keys and try to use a Q-tip soaked in just water to clean the sticky areas. Just be very careful when you're cleaning it off, though; defiler just stated the reason why. I don't blame you for not wanting to change the keyboard, though. (Sayeth the guy who's using the keyboard that came with his POS computer for the past two years...)

A guy I know from the Philippines used to have to do this for his job. All day, everyday, refurbishing keyboards by prying off keys. [I might use a water and alcohol mix instead of just straight water. The alcohol will evaporate and carry the water moisture with it. The water mixed in will make the alcohol milder and less likely to dissolve anything that shouldn't be dissolved].