soaking keyboard in distilled/demineralized water to clean

ultra

HMMM,
I have read in several books such as the A+ all-in-one, and a Sybex A+ guide, that if a keyboard get dirty, you can soak it in distilled/demineralized water and then let it dry for 48 hrs and it will clean out any issues caused by spilt beverages.
I was very skeptical about this procedure. I have even heard of others putting the keyboards in the dishwasher to clean them.

I shared this information with a friend whos MAC keyboard suffered a coffee spill. (I was waiting for a test subject as i didnt want to try this with my keyboard)

Results:
this keyboard is offically a paper weight!
it has no function to it whatsoever.
I am guessing the USB ports on the keybard probably had an impact on the damage. I am guessing that maybe this trick only works for IBM keyboards.
just something to think about

Webmaster

Never heard of that one to be honest, at the price of a keyboard why waste time cleaning one... but if you have an expensive multimedia-ergonomic keyboard I would go for WD-40, works for me...

I don't think the difference between MAC or IBM has anything to do with it. Are you still friends?

ghaouf

well you should disassemble the key board first and take its chip out and then put the frame of it in the washing machine or wash them by hand
the book asumes that you know that if your PDA or other electronic device gets dirty you just do not put it in the washing machine

ultra

well, he was going to buy a new keyboard anyway

neither book says anything about taking it apart.

here is a quote from sybex guide
"If you spill anythin on your keyboard, you can clean it by soaking it in distilled, demineralized water. In this type of water, extra minerals and impurities have been removed ans so it will not leave any traces of residue that might interfere with the propper operation of the keybaord after cleaning" it then says that the connector should never touch the water. in the case of the MAC it connect w/ the USB on the keyboard

Accorinng to the A+ Passport, "If the keys on your keyboard start to stick, or you have spilled a cup of coffee on the keyboard, or,for that matter you just know there is a lot of grunge under the keys, you can clean the keyboard with distille water". he then says to let it dry 48 hours before using.

Just thought it was an interesting way to do it, There is another quote in the Meyers A+ all in one book, but i am having a hard time locating it out of the 1200 pages.

brakk

1, are you SURE it was distilled water and not just bottled water?

2, if it doesn't have a sealed membrane it will get water in between the plastic layers and it will never evaporate. you would have to take it completely apart to let it dry.

3. getting distilled water in the connector won't hurt it as long as you let it dry.

the main reason they say to use distilled/mineral free water is because a: water by its self isn't conductive, it's the minerals in it and b: because it won't leave any mineral residue. Sometimes even though the bottle says distilled, it can still have some minerals in it from the pipes/barrels it has gone through before it was bottled.

I would bet that if you took it completely apart and rinsed it with tap water and dried it with a lint free cloth, it would work. Unless it fried some of the internal electronics when he first spilt his drink on it before he unplugged it.

jpmcginty

heres a general guide to anything IT: don't immerse in water. This applies to hyper-threaded servers to text books. If are asked how to clean a keyboard in your exam I'll by amazed. Just in case your wondering how to clean a keyboard: get the user who got it dirty to hand clean it with a damp cloth and tell not to eat their lunch over it.

ucanbbreached

Amen jpmcginty

ucan