What is the best way to go about cleaning out the keyboard and mouse on a computer, as the one we have at work, is in quite a dusty atmosphere and the keyboard is full of dust, cigarette ash and crumbs from sandwiches, it's also a bit sticky, from where a guy dropped a cream-filled doughnut on it.
If you regularly clean out your computer peripherals, how do you do it?.
Would it also be a good idea to clean out the inside of the power supply, next to the fan?.
Any help someone could give on this would be most gratefully recieved!.

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 06-20-2003).]

If you feel like being nice to your IT people then cleaning out the inside of a computer is appreciated, even if you just blow out the dust from the power supply fan. If the power supply fan or the CPU fan goes they will bake themselves. As for the keyboard, throw it out and start with a new one, or look into the sealed keyboard, they make the whole thing out of a silicone membrane, they are flexable and waterproof, so if it gets dirty you can throw it in the sink and use regular soap and water. http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.asp?ProductID=356037

Jim

Jim,
You're a legend, mate, thanks for the advice!.
Anyone else have anything to add?.

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 06-21-2003).]

I use my Kirby vac best USA product I can think of owning

If you have a keyboard that’s worth keeping, [IBM “Selectric Touch” or AR8250] it’s not that hard to pull keys (remember where they go or you’re really in trouble) and soak them in warm soapy water for an hour. Then, rinse the heck out 'em. http://hometown.aol.com/capsoff
or www.jensentools.com/product/group.asp?parent_id=3275
You can find anything under those keys… hopefully no body parts. :-)




[This message has been edited by Bjarney (edited 06-21-2003).]

I used to work in a place that was open 24/7/365. The keyboards were quite gross.

One lady used to bring rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs to clean the keys before she would touch them.

I sometimes would take a piece of paper, fold it so it was like a thin, pointed scoop, hold the keyboard on end, and run it down the rows between the keys.

Some of the stuff that would drop out was just...unidentifiable...fortunately. ? !

You might look into a can of compressed air to blow dust out from the keyboard...though a good vacuum is probably better.

It's amazing how much dust and debris can accumulate around the vents. Remember to not just clean the fan but also all the vent slots. In a desktop PC, there are usually slots on the lower front edge, normally hidden from view by the case, which are relied upon to draw cool air in over the motherboard. You want to make sure you get those clean for best airflow.

You can buy cans of compressed air which is handy for blowing out dust from awkward corners, especially considering that brushes with man-made fibers are not the best tools around static-sensitive components.

I've rescued a couple of keyboards from the trash heap by running them through the dishwasher. Put the dishwasher on light cycle do not use any soap and set it not to dry... then let it air dry for a few days.

(I had to witness the results before I believed it myself.)

I’ve only used it as a last option but it really cleans the coffee out of a keyboard!

But be aware that the keyboard may need to dry for a week or more.

[This message has been edited by C-H (edited 06-23-2003).]

Yes the keyboard must be completely dry before you use it again. As we know water and electricity just does not mix well.

Thanks for ALL of your comments, guys! .
I think that it may be easier just to throw out the current keyboard and get a new (sealed) one.

I cleaned out my own computer at home, the other day and took the k/board to pieces and cleaned the keys with IPA(Iso-propyl Alcohol), it went OK, but now my space bar is not working too well and it's harder to press and it's really annoying, to have a key like this one, not work properly.
But, hey, I've got the cleanest darn keyboard in the land!.
I was also thinking at the time, of what would happen if you got all the keys mucked up and round the wrong way, or even put them in alphabetically as opposed to the qwerty format, imagine getting an e-mail from a person, with a keyboard like that!, food for thought, eh!.



[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 07-04-2003).]

Did you get the mechanism back properly? The larger-than-usual keys (spacebar, return, backspace, shift, etc.) often have a small wire "spring" which has to be fitted just right so that the key operates smoothly no matter which end you press it.

People have enough fun trying to get keyboards to work properly here as it is. If they forget to configure the system for a British keyboard, £ gives #, " gives @, and so on.

What I do to clean up the keyboard and mouse is to first shut down the machine (so keystrokes or mouse activity doesn't cause anything to launch or worse, be deleted!).

For the keyboard, I use some of "Big Blue's" Rigid Cleaning Tools ["RCT"] (IBM's Part / FRU # 2200574), along with a mild solution of dishwashing detergent in warm water.

Lightly soak one end of the RCT, run it between a section of keys, then dry with opposite side of the RCT. do the same on key faces and other dirty places.
Blow out keyboard with whatever is convenient (I use either compressed air or the exhaust end of a shop vac). Wait about 10 minutes so everything is dry, then power up the machine.

Works great for cleaning sticky keys that have something foreign (sp??) on them... such as spilled food or drinks.
If keys need to be removed, only pop out 1 or 2, but haven't ran into a keyboard which couldn't be cleaned without removing more than one key (that's when the recycle can looks like a nice place to store it!).

For a mouse, remove the tracking ball by rotating the base keyhole deal-ee / thing-ee.
Clean the ball with mild detergent and cool water (not warm or hot! that makes the ball porous and gooey!). Dry it off and set it aside.
Clean the roller base (which the ball rest against / the part you removed to get the ball out), by lightly soaking in same solution, then rub out the build up with a fine low lint cleaning towel.

Next, take a cotton swab and lightly soak one end in the cool water + detergent solution. Be sure the swab is not oversoaked, or drips.
Run the swab on the build up of lint which accumulates on the "X/Y" rollers inside the mouse device (where the ball contacts the rotating assembly(s)), along with the tensioning roller.
With either a tooth pick or tweezers, lift off the lint buildup from each of the three contacting points. Additional presoaking may be required for stubborn lint buildup.
After all lint is removed, run a clean swab, lightly soaked in solution, across all contacting points - until no dirt or lint is remaining.

Prior to reassembly, turn mouse over (as in normal operating direction - with the ball facing downwards), then lightly tap and shake the mouse, in order to dislodge any loose chunks of debris. Now clean the left and right mouse buttons, along with any other function buttons (like scroll wheel). Use a clean towel and the same water/detergent solution, making sure not to oversoak the towel.
Run the towel around the entire grip surface too. Wipe dry then blow out buttons, etc.
Lastly, clean the contacting surfaces on the bottom of the mouse, using the same solution. Towel dry, but do not blow dry!
Replace track ball, reset the base, then clean up your mess before powering up the PC!

Be sure to clean your mouse pad too!

Scott35

p.s. let me know if this helps!