Cleaning a notebook keyboard

On all the notebooks I've had you can pop the key tops off and clean underneath. You have to pry hard, and it feels like you're breaking them, but they come off.

I live in fear that one day I'll get a notebook where instead of prying you push sideways and cross your eyes or something -- 'cause then I'll break the damn keys!

Try googling on "laptop keyboard cleaning", or google on your specific laptop brand and model. If worst comes to worst a decent technician ought to be able to take the thing apart, clean the keyboard, and put it all together. That's a pretty big job, though.

Or you could do it by the 10-seconds-of-high-adventure method, i.e. CO2 snow from a fire extinguisher. ;)

CO2 snow is about the best organic cleaner there is.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

I have an HP Pavilion and I couldn't pry the keys off. I have a funky F7 for trying after spilling beer.

Just so people know, the Lenovo (IBM) laptop keyboards (at least, for the T-series Thinkpads I have experience with) can take spills pretty well. My wife just spilled coffee and cream into hers (cat jumped up to be petted) and had to tip it over to drain. Yesterday. I wasn't around to help, but came back home by car about 30 minutes after the event and there was almost nothing to do. It's almost as though they use a hydrophobic plastic. Just a few tiny, bunched-up droplets under a few of the keys, when I got a chance to pull off keys and look around. Everything worked before and after I messed around with it.

Under the keyboard perimeter is a beveled lip that helps direct any fluids out and away from sensitive areas underneath.

I've often had to clean out cat/dog hair, dandruff, and other dry accumulations, as well, in cases where a vacuum or duster can didn't seem to deal with it well enough. And although the mechanisms "look" to the eye to be tiny and breakable, I've been lucky over this last decade or so using them (first unit was a T20 and an A21, most recently two T510's) to never break any of them. So I'm a believer in these laptops.

Also, just as an aside, Lenovo sells insurance on them. I just purchased a T510 in late June and received it about 3 weeks later. Because I have a profoundly autistic adult living with me and because she 'loves' laptops too much, I also bought the extra coverage (no-fault.) Turned out, I left my laptop on the (usually) unused side of the living room couch while seeing my oldest son off, after he visited us. Gone only 5 minutes, or so. But she'd been so happy that she almost immediately went into the living room while I was gone and started bouncing on the couch as she clapped her hands. My NEW laptop was a causality, since it flipped over flatwise and she must of sat on it while bouncing. Broken screen. Bad news. I had a shipment box on my doorstep the very next morning and a repaired unit back in my hands in about 3 working days. I'm using it now. No questions, no cost. Just fixed and back in service. The insurance cost is about $50 per year and I picked up 3 years to start. I'm told I can buy another two, later on. I'll probably pick that up, as well, considering my situation. I know whose getting the better deal!

I don't know where I can buy that kind of service, elsewhere. If someone does know, I'm listening.

Jon

all the electronics stores here seems to spend more time trying to sell you insurance than electronics, because they make so much money on it.

recently one of the "real" insurance companies started offering a similar insurance for _all_ your electronics for about the same as the stores want for one gadget

-Lasse

Yes, I'm always on edge about that. It's rarely worth it.

In this unique case, however, and simply because I happen to have a very risky situation at home... well, it was well worth the cost. Paid for itself, almost immediately.

The nice thing about Lenovo's offering is that their support is extremely fast (as I mentioned) and they don't give me trouble if my daughter destroys it. That fact allows me to remain 'calm and collected' when my daughter comes over and tries to grab it from me. Which is very good for my sanity and her sense of love and acceptance.

Hmm. Haven't seen that one.

Jon

If you can disassemble the laptop and remove the keyboard, do it (that grape juice has acids and sugar, it's NOT nice to let it get into connectors and such). Then, with the keyboard held upside down, mist the key surface with a plant mister (distilled water, or deionized water, is best).

Keep misting until the water starts to drip off. Hopefully, that will dissolve the goo, and by gently working the keys and applying more water, you can rinse away the solvent.

Blot the edges of the keyboard, wipe the surfaces with a damp cloth, but DON'T spray water above the sandwich of mylar sheets (if the keyboard has those). After removing any loose water, set the keyboard on edge on a blotter or towel, it'll have to air-dry a few days to a week.

The usual laptop/netbook keyboards are well sealed from above, EXCEPT around the edges.