 | Keyboard and Mouse Cleaning
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Some good, old-fashioned housekeeping is occasionally required if you want to keep your modern workstation running smoothly.
Keyboard and Mouse Cleaning Guide
Keyboards and mice can get very dirty with frequent use. Without cleaning, a standard keyboard will slowly become more difficult to use because of sticking keys. Eventually some of the keys can become very difficult to press. Newer optical mice are much easier to maintain than older ball mice but even they require some cleaning to stay accurate and precise. Additionally, common mouse wheels will eventually become burdened by debris and slow down or skip notches that should be there.
Cleaning Keyboards
How do you know if your keyboard needs cleaning?
If the keys are not sticking and you can type without any noticeable problems, chances are your keyboard is OK and doesn’t need deep cleaning. However, if you want to be sure, you can quickly gauge just how much debris is lurking underneath the keys by using the following shake test:
Elevate the keyboard off the desk and shake it left and right while listening carefully — extra points if you can do this and look cool at the same time! If you think you heard little things bouncing around it’s likely that you have a lot of unwanted stuff in there.
Now for the actual cleaning:
First, shut down the computer and unplug the keyboard if possible. Then decide on a section of keys to remove (limit yourself to 5 or 6 at a time) and make a map of where they are in relation to each other by key name (A, Shift, S, Tab, etc…) Next, simply pop the keys off as gently as possible, using a flathead screw driver. If you are doing this on a notebook computer, be careful not to lose the small rubber sub-components. When you have removed all of the keys from the chosen section, simply use common sense to carefully remove any built-up foreign matter. Useful tools are cotton swabs and non-fragmenting paper towels. Rubbing alcohol is the best solvent to use here.When you have finished cleaning the first section, pop the keys back in. Use your map to make sure that the keys go back in the right places.Additional Tips:
- Try not to use too much water or other solvent, and be careful when wetting the underside of the keys. You want to avoid any liquid getting into the unexposed area of the keyboard that contains the printed circuit board.
- Depending on the type of keyboard, be careful with any solvents you use. Remember, the keys and rubber parts (if applicable) may react to certain cleaning materials. Test a small section first for any adverse reaction.
- If you have the time and want to do an expert job, tear up little bits of foam rubber and use tweezers to get rid of petroleum based contaminants and other artifacts the cotton swap is having trouble with.
Cleaning Mice
The standard optical mouse that is common today has two critical components that need to be kept clean:
A) The place where the “laser” or red diode emits light from the bottom of the mouse, and
B) The receiving optical sensor located not far from the light source.
Use a cotton swab or paper towel to remove any buildup of dirt or dust.
If you have an older “ball” mouse, cleaning is a bit more involved and can take some time. First, you need to remove the donut shaped cap from the base — arrows usually indicate the direction to turn. Once the cap and ball are removed, you will notice several rollers inside the mouse that regularly acquire a buildup of material. Carefully remove the dirt from each roller and also clean any loose dust from the ball. Regular cleaning of the mouse pad will help reduce buildup from occurring.