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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: 0xChase on Sat, 24 March 2012, 16:17:57

Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: 0xChase on Sat, 24 March 2012, 16:17:57
I spilled some orange juice on my mechanical keyboard (I have a BlackWidow Ultimate by Razer if that helps at all).  Flipped it upside down and shook it, sprayed it with compressed air, then tried it and it stopped working( lights were on but pressing keys didnt do anything). I turned off my comp and unplugged my keyboard, and  I've now removed all the keycaps but I'm not sure what to do now in order to clean it.  Please help!
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: MyNameIsFinn on Sat, 24 March 2012, 17:07:37
Quote from: 0xChase;555737
I spilled some orange juice on my mechanical keyboard (I have a BlackWidow Ultimate by Razer if that helps at all).  Flipped it upside down and shook it, sprayed it with compressed air, then tried it and it stopped working( lights were on but pressing keys didnt do anything). I turned off my comp and unplugged my keyboard, and  I've now removed all the keycaps but I'm not sure what to do now in order to clean it.  Please help!

Take it apart and let it dry.. I can't say itll work but it is probably your best bet
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: captain on Sat, 24 March 2012, 17:11:49
Rinse it with 95% isopropyl alcohol
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: captain on Sat, 24 March 2012, 17:12:27
And order a Filco while you wait!  ;-P
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: Deverica Wolf on Sat, 24 March 2012, 17:19:19
http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Cherry+Corporation+Switch+Wiki#AAACKK+I+spilled+coke+beer+wine+Johnnie+Walker+Or+Worse+On+My+Keyboard+and+its+DEAD

You shouldn't have plugged it in until 24 to 48 hours of time for it to dry. Why do people always do this?
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: Tempy on Sat, 24 March 2012, 17:19:50
main stream mechanical keyboards get spilled on
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: MyNameIsFinn on Sat, 24 March 2012, 17:25:47
Quote from: harrison;555764
actually, i completely disagree.  it'd be far easier to clean while the water in the OJ hasn't evaporated and left a sticky mess inside the switches.  much better to clean it while it's still liquid.

I said I don't know if it would work, I mean if you spill liquid on a mechanical you are pretty much screwed, just suggesting something to try to help.
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: biszarerabbit on Sat, 24 March 2012, 17:38:41
Quote from: Tempy;555776
main stream mechanical keyboards get spilled on

is it messed up if i was amused
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: 0xChase on Sat, 24 March 2012, 18:55:46
Ok. I have the keyboard submerged in a tub of isopropyl alcohol. How long should I leave it in for, and what will my next steps be? Thanks for all the help so far.
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: kriminal on Sat, 24 March 2012, 18:58:11
wasnt there a dude that ****ted on his kb?
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: mrmatt on Sat, 24 March 2012, 18:58:41
Quote from: 0xChase;555837
Ok. I have the keyboard submerged in a tub of isopropyl alcohol. How long should I leave it in for, and what will my next steps be? Thanks for all the help so far.

Now you have time to go look it up in the wiki.
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: demik on Sat, 24 March 2012, 22:17:59
Quote from: harrison;555769
it's funny, i never even noticed that he had a BWU... funny how 90% of the spills you hear about are with a BW board of some kind.


hardcore gamers dont give a damn about liquids in the heat of the moments.


or they are clumsy as hell. (i say this one)
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: captain on Sat, 24 March 2012, 22:18:32
HIGH TEST alcohol. Regular alcohol is half water. It will never be the same again, you realize....  I was serious about the new Filco.
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: laffindude on Sat, 24 March 2012, 23:32:25
Quote from: demik;555986
hardcore gamers dont give a damn about liquids in the heat of the moments.


or they are clumsy as hell. (i say this one)


Or simply there are more of them? Don't underestimate Razer's [strike]brainwashing[/strike] marketing toward "gamers."
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: biszarerabbit on Sun, 25 March 2012, 01:18:18
Quote from: laffindude;556029
Or simply there are more of them? Don't underestimate Razer's [strike]brainwashing[/strike] marketing toward "gamers."

Its true. I remember when I used to swear by Razer products. My first hint that Razer wasn't the end all was when I realized their quality control is pretty much nonexistent, me and a friend both got Razer mice at about the same time a while back and they both died or stopped functioning properly in less than a month. My friend ended up RMAing his since his died in like a week, and the next one he got also died in a week. Lol Razer.
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: irjoe on Sun, 25 March 2012, 02:35:11
Sure it wasn't Mountain dew?
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: Bry on Sun, 25 March 2012, 03:18:10
Quote from: captain;555767
And order a Filco while you wait!  ;-P


I was drunk and spilled water into my xarmor a while back but I didn't realize it till the next day. Obviously, it got fried because it was plugged in the whole time. i took it apart and desperately tried to revive it. I ordered a Filco during the whole process, and was never able to fix that board.

This man is on to something.
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: dirge on Sun, 25 March 2012, 07:21:25
Get a Filco or Model M and drink out of cycling bottles.
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: captain on Sun, 25 March 2012, 07:50:31
LOL. That is one way of preventing most liquid in your keyboard. A Camelback would probably be more secure.  I just have a little table, off to the side and below keyboard level, where I put my coffee.
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: Deverica Wolf on Tue, 27 March 2012, 00:04:03
Quote from: harrison;555788
for water, yes.  anything with sugar content though... totally different situation.

i agree with the recommendation to have it sit in as high a percentage alcohol as you have on hand, and while it's in there, go buy more.  if you can't submerge the switches, flip it around a few times, at least, and add more once you've got it.  cleaning the PCB is irrelevant right now, that can be done afterwards.  you need to be worried about what's left inside the switches once everything dries.

Well it's just not good to plug it back in right away. Hear about that happening too many times.

Wow...all that work. What are the chances of it coming out of this undamaged with the alcohol soaking? Isn't that harsh for a item so sensitive like a keyboard after the spill? How common is it for them to survive from all that wetness?
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: Tranquilite on Tue, 27 March 2012, 00:14:17
Also be sure to list your Black Widow in the classifieds after if you find that you cant resuscitate it. There are plenty of people who would be willing to salvage it for parts if the price is right.
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: Deverica Wolf on Wed, 28 March 2012, 01:34:20
Thanks.
Title: Spilled OJ on my mechanical keyboard
Post by: Forsaken on Tue, 03 April 2012, 23:36:34
Late response here, but I have cleaned cherry browns by submerging in pure water (distilled is best), with no ill effects, other than somehow causing a few bad solder joints to become obvious, but that was easily fixed with a soldering iron. Just dropped the PCB under the water, brushed all around the switches and worked them all well, took it back out, shook it a bit, then blew as much water out of the switches as I could with compressed air, finished up rushing the drying process with a hairdrier, then put it all back together. Typing on it now =p

This keyboard wasn't subjected to a beverage spill however, I simply risked the water cleaning because there was so much board-chow around and on the switches, and probably also getting into them, that I couldn't bear the thought of it corroding the insides of them.