Author Topic: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization  (Read 5426 times)

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Offline bmilcs

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Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« on: Sun, 11 February 2018, 19:51:27 »

Dust, Crumbs, and Cat Hair --- Oh My

I'm an animal and I can't be the only one.

How do YOU keep your office space neat and tidy?
  
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Offline bmilcs

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 11 February 2018, 19:59:17 »
Personally, I'm partial to using:





I tried out one of those mini mouse shaped vacuums for $8 on Amazon. It didn't last. I need something more industrial I think... or one of those electronic air dusters.
  
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Offline ideus

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #2 on: Sun, 11 February 2018, 20:59:49 »
I don't clean mine, wife does it, occasionally.  :))

Offline SBJ

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #3 on: Mon, 12 February 2018, 00:47:23 »
Just a damp cloth. :D

Offline Lansky

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #4 on: Mon, 12 February 2018, 04:26:03 »
My desk is in my bedroom, right next to my bed so it usually gets dusty relatively quick.

My personal favorite is a vacuum cleaner with a soft brush head. It's the perfect tool for cleaning keyboards because it'll get in between the keys and get ouf most of the dirt and dust there. I also use it on my monitors and my mousepad.  I do occasionally use microfiber towels (damp if need be).

If I'm doing a "deep cleanse" of my keyboard or mouse, I use isopropyl alcohol and a q-tip.
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Offline ander

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #5 on: Mon, 12 February 2018, 06:40:45 »
IMHO, the more time you spend on being neat and tidy, the less time you have for doing, you know, real stuff. Indeed:

A Messy Desk Is a Sign of Genius, According to Science (Inc. magazine) – "Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and Steve Jobs had messy desks, just like most other geniuses"





But go ahead and discuss it, if you really wanna.
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Offline echen1024

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #6 on: Mon, 12 February 2018, 23:47:29 »
Like the poster above, I use a little alcohol and some kimwipes to clean off my desk. Some stuff isn't alcohol soluble though- a warm, damp towel with a little soap and another towel with fresh water is great for cleaning my desk off more deeply.

Also, be careful with alcohol. It can damage surface coatings.
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Offline Puddsy

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #7 on: Tue, 13 February 2018, 01:06:28 »
i take everything off and dust annually

sometimes i dust my shelf and my monitors if i notice it getting particularly dusty
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Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #8 on: Sat, 10 March 2018, 10:20:22 »
All purpose gentle surface cleaner + good paper towels on most surfaces, including my mouse and a light brush over keycap surface.  It's usually dust accumulating, so using a damp surface to collect it helps.  I soak keycaps in unscented detergent every month or two, depending on when it seems like they get dirty enough.  Mostly if there are particles of stuff on the desk they get brushed to the floor during cleaning, and I vacuum regularly.

That said, how dirty a desk (or any surface) gets is a function of 2 things, in my experience (as I clean 2 desks: mine and my significant other's):
1. do you eat at your desk?  If you do, you probably will have a lot of food residue everywhere, unless you are very careful to not touch anything while you eat, and then take your plate away as soon as you're done.  If this is the case, practice not eating at your desk or else don't touch anything on the desk while you eat and not until you wash your hands.
2. dust at home. In my previous 2 places, there was SO much dust to deal with, it was always a losing battle.  One was from living next to a busy road with cars driving by all the time, and the other was from having a lot of old exposed brick walls with old mortar crumbling in fine powder over time (sealing the walls in clear protection coating helped somewhat for a while).  Regular vacuuming helps somewhat.
« Last Edit: Sat, 10 March 2018, 10:21:56 by Photoelectric »
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Offline tp4tissue

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #9 on: Sat, 10 March 2018, 10:32:02 »
All purpose gentle surface cleaner + good paper towels on most surfaces, including my mouse and a light brush over keycap surface.  It's usually dust accumulating, so using a damp surface to collect it helps.  I soak keycaps in unscented detergent every month or two, depending on when it seems like they get dirty enough.  Mostly if there are particles of stuff on the desk they get brushed to the floor during cleaning, and I vacuum regularly.

That said, how dirty a desk (or any surface) gets is a function of 2 things, in my experience (as I clean 2 desks: mine and my significant other's):
1. do you eat at your desk?  If you do, you probably will have a lot of food residue everywhere, unless you are very careful to not touch anything while you eat, and then take your plate away as soon as you're done.  If this is the case, practice not eating at your desk or else don't touch anything on the desk while you eat and not until you wash your hands.
2. dust at home. In my previous 2 places, there was SO much dust to deal with, it was always a losing battle.  One was from living next to a busy road with cars driving by all the time, and the other was from having a lot of old exposed brick walls with old mortar crumbling in fine powder over time (sealing the walls in clear protection coating helped somewhat for a while).  Regular vacuuming helps somewhat.

Gentle is still mildly harmful to the surface finish though..

So do we treat keyboards as a consumable ?

Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #10 on: Sat, 10 March 2018, 10:47:04 »
Doesn't seem harmful in all the years I've been using such cleaners (I get a basic 7th Generation surface cleaner that can be found in any supermarket or pharmacy around here for <$5), which is a lot of years.  It contains no ammonia, etc.
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Offline dblack

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #11 on: Sat, 10 March 2018, 10:50:30 »
Clorox wipes...

Offline Rayoui

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #12 on: Sat, 10 March 2018, 23:26:44 »
I can't stand even the smallest amount of dust on my desk/keyboards. I always keep one of these on my desk for spot cleaning.



For deeper cleaning I'll use a dry microfiber cloth or one of those 500 watt Datavac blowers.
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Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #13 on: Sat, 10 March 2018, 23:36:05 »
Those things just redistribute dust around your desk though.  Can’t keep the dust out unless your desk is in a Clean Room.  (But I do use the Rocket Blower on my camera lenses).
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Offline Rayoui

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #14 on: Sat, 10 March 2018, 23:55:32 »
I blow the dust off the desk. It's worked for me so far.
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Offline captsis

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #15 on: Sun, 11 March 2018, 01:19:14 »
Clean my desk and boards with a datavac. I need a reliable and quick way to clean keycaps. any recommendations? Ive been using a few drops of dish soap in a ziplock with water, then lay them out and use data vac to dry. but the thing is, for really grimy caps it doesn't do the job. Cleaning a set of og model m caps and stems that have thirty years of food, bodily fluids, and dust with a toothbrush isn't my idea of fun.  :confused:

Offline Photoelectric

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #16 on: Sun, 11 March 2018, 12:07:50 »
Clean my desk and boards with a datavac. I need a reliable and quick way to clean keycaps. any recommendations? Ive been using a few drops of dish soap in a ziplock with water, then lay them out and use data vac to dry. but the thing is, for really grimy caps it doesn't do the job. Cleaning a set of og model m caps and stems that have thirty years of food, bodily fluids, and dust with a toothbrush isn't my idea of fun.  :confused:

Soak the caps in an unscented detergent + water solution for a few hours in a big bowl.  A lot of grime comes off like that.  If you need to deal with staining and discoloration afterwards, there is a "retrobright" process you can look up.
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Offline Rayoui

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #17 on: Sun, 11 March 2018, 12:28:58 »
You could try one of those inexpensive ultrasonic cleaners you can pick up on Amazon.
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Offline Rob27shred

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #18 on: Sun, 11 March 2018, 12:51:42 »
Clean my desk and boards with a datavac. I need a reliable and quick way to clean keycaps. any recommendations? Ive been using a few drops of dish soap in a ziplock with water, then lay them out and use data vac to dry. but the thing is, for really grimy caps it doesn't do the job. Cleaning a set of og model m caps and stems that have thirty years of food, bodily fluids, and dust with a toothbrush isn't my idea of fun.  :confused:
Datavac family represent! :p I love my Datavac, saved me so much money from buying cans of compressed air. :-* Anyways, denture tabs is a good way to clean caps, but not sure how well they would work on old model M caps that have been crusted on for years & years. Photoelectric's & Rayoui's suggestion sound like good ones for them. Although I suspect if they are that bad you're probably gonna have to get your hands dirty & scrub them with a soft toothbrush regardless of the cleaning method used. Also retobrighting is a great way to get them back to their original coloring, but you'd have to do the case as well so the caps don't look super out of place if you do that.

Offline pr0ximity

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #19 on: Sun, 11 March 2018, 18:28:56 »
Denture tabs and a thorough rinse have always done the trick with grimy vintage caps for me. Maybe some spot treatment if one is really funky.

Other than that, vacuum with a soft brush attatchment when I change caps, and some spot wiping of the case occasionally.
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Offline crystalhand

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #20 on: Mon, 12 March 2018, 11:47:21 »
I have basically given up on my desk at home.  Its to difficult to keep tidy. 

At the office it is all about the upside down shaking of the keyboard paired with compressed air and rubbing alcohol.  This seems to work well. 

Offline blackriver

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #21 on: Mon, 19 March 2018, 22:37:49 »
I've pulled some grimy Model-Ms out from yard sales and what not. I find that in those scenarios it is best to pull everything apart and use rubbing alcohol and q-tips on the plate and as for the caps, dish soap in a bucket of water with a sponge works wonders. But takes a long time and is quite tedious. 
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Offline bmilcs

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #22 on: Tue, 20 March 2018, 08:08:36 »
You could try one of those inexpensive ultrasonic cleaners you can pick up on Amazon.

GREAT idea. I'm gonna use this next time.
  
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Offline tenfour

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #23 on: Tue, 20 March 2018, 10:30:51 »
Keyboard dirty? Finally an excuse to buy a new one!

Offline ThoughtArtist

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #24 on: Tue, 20 March 2018, 17:28:11 »


...Thank me later

Offline captsis

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #25 on: Wed, 21 March 2018, 15:27:22 »
(Attachment Link)

...Thank me later
But then horsehair would get all up in the keys! What you need is a paintbrush OR even better, hear me out; a silicon brush. Has to be thin though.

Offline bmilcs

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Re: Desk/Keyboard Maintenance, Cleaning & Organization
« Reply #26 on: Mon, 02 April 2018, 19:14:36 »
I'm still stuck on the idea of a quality hand vacuum, but I really can't choose.

Does anyone use a small vac of some type to suck up junk on your desk?
  
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