Fed up with your sticky keyboard? Read on for tips on how to get a clean office keyboard…
Why bother?
For most of us, our keyboard is our most important computer peripheral. Whether we’re writing articles, responding to e-mails, or searching for stuff online, the keyboard is our go-to peripheral. Every once in a while you need to thoroughly scrub your keyboard. You can do it in your spare time or during the office cleaning time. If you’ve just decided to give your keyboard a clean look, we’ve got some tips for you.
Most of the time your office cleaning company will regularly clean your keyboards- this is for those times when you just fancy giving it a clean yourself.
Before you start
First thing’s first – you need to unplug your keyboard from the computer. While most of the cleaning techniques are harmful, some may damage your keyboard if it’s still plugged in. Moreover, unplugging it offers you better handling for cleaning.
Cleaning steps
Remove dust
Secondly, you need to identify the culprit. Regardless of your work or office setting, there are a few common causes of dirty keyboards: dust, spills, grease, and germs.
Although less common than germs, dust becomes a lot more visible after a few days of work. If your keys are dusty, rest assured that so are the small gaps between the keys. Pick up a piece of cloth or a duster and scrub the surface of your keyboard. Then, take a can of compressed air and point the muzzle between the keys. Don’t hesitate to spray as many gaps as you can. This will ensure that there’s little to no remaining dust or debris left beneath your keys.
Dealing with a keyboard spillage
Spilling your coffee or juice on your keyboard can be very annoying. Especially because it might affect the electrical wiring, but most often because the keys become sticky. To clean your office keyboard tackle the spill immediately after you’ve spilled the liquid, unplug your keyboard or power it down and remove the batteries. Turn it upside down and release the remaining liquid as much as possible. The majority of modern keyboards have detachable keys. In order to detach the keys, place a thin instrument beneath the edge of the key and gently prise upwards. Remember to make a note or a photograph of your keys for when you have to reattach them. You can scrub the keys with a piece of cloth or you could submerge them in warm water. Let the keys dry out and then carefully place them back on in their places.
Dealing with food stuck in your keyboard
Everybody loves eating while on the computer. Grease and food particles are something every keyboard has seen. However, if you don’t pay enough attention, your keyboard will get sticky and the food particles might even prevent certain keys from working. You’ll need to remove the keys again, and use a combination of methods to thoroughly clean it. A can of compressed air and some alcohol wipes should do the trick.
Why not try these keyboard cleaning wipes from Amazon UK?
Germ-free and clean keyboard
Last but not least, you have to keep your clean office keyboard germ free. Our hands spend a lot of time on the keyboard, but we also use them for eating, rubbing our eyes, and so on. Keyboards are a great spot for germs. Although there are hundreds of types of disinfectant sprays, I would definitely suggest the use of simple isopropyl alcohol solution. Most of these have a concentration of over 60%. That’s more than enough to kill the majority of germs that would be on your keyboard. Don’t directly pour alcohol on your keyboard. Instead, use a piece of cloth or fabric, moistened in the alcohol solution.
You can easily thoroughly clean your keyboard if you follow these few tips. It shouldn’t take you more than 30 minutes from start to finish. You can’t have a clean office and desk without a clean office keyboard.