Sticky Keys :x

[Guillairmo]

Hey so I own a CM Storm TKL w/ greens and I recently spilled some soda on it by accident . Fortunately, not much really got into the keyboard, mostly on my desk. All of the keys still function, however I have about 3-4 sticky keys, including the spacebar which obviously have some sort of soda residue in them. Any tips or guides on how to fix this problem? I'm guessing I will have to disassemble the keyboard in some fashion.

[Linkbane]

Hey so I own a CM Storm TKL w/ greens and I recently spilled some soda on it by accident . Fortunately, not much really got into the keyboard, mostly on my desk. All of the keys still function, however I have about 3-4 sticky keys, including the spacebar which obviously have some sort of soda residue in them. Any tips or guides on how to fix this problem? I'm guessing I will have to disassemble the keyboard in some fashion.

I thought you were going to talk about StickyKeys, sadly.
But as far as the most obvious fix, just take off the keycaps and let it dry for a day or so, should help.

[tuxsavvy]

I would suggest using rubbing alcohol for instance to clean the stick residue on the stabilisers as well as any traces of the sticky stuff on the PCB. Make sure that after cleaning any traces you need to let the whole keyboard dry completely (use rice or better yet silica gel).

It sounds like you have not done any proper cleanup when the keyboard was affected by traces of the sticky liquid and instead let the keys get sticky after time when the board is dried. Either that or you have not mentioned clearly what did you do to rectify the issue in detailed steps. I would say that over time, expect to replace the PCB as opened can of soda in general contains things better generalised as impurities which will start affecting the PCB long after the keyboard has been dried.

As for the keys, pull them off and put them through for a wash, as well as the keyboard case if you want. Do not let any of the actual electrical component touch the water. plastic components are fine but none of the PCB stuff. Make sure the keys and all after washing a dried thoroughly (at least for a day or two) before reattaching them back to the keyboard.

[rowdy]

If you're lucky you can rinse them out with some sort of alcohol and let them dry thoroughly.

Although with MX greens you might find that the click softens or disappears completely.

The only real way to be sure is to replace the switches.

[Candyflip]

I've spilled soda on my board before and cleaned each switch with isopropyl alcohol. The keys are not sticky anymore but they lost the click entirely, I use blue switches in which the stem is similar to the greens so I think that is unavoidable in this case. Replacing the sticky ones with completely new switches might be your best bet to get your keyboard back to were it was. Good luck.

[tp4tissue]

if they still "click" then you just need to wipe down the moving parts with some alcohol..

if the click is gone.. you pretty much have to replace the switch..

[Coreda]

Accidentally spilt a little bit of coffee on my Poker today . I had a rule to always place drinks far away from the board, and kept to that, until I needed to put it somewhere else while I did something - and one false hand move later...

Took all the keys off, wiped and cleaned the board and keys, but using it still currently for a short time as I have no other board to use. I notice some keys are a bit stiff, hopefully by tomorrow it's fine.

[Coreda]

Phew. So I think it's back to normal now. Used swabs and alcohol to clean the switches as much as I could, while pressing them to get it in more. Let dry for almost a full day.

Bit difficult with the Poker 2 as it's plate mounted, so no way to get to the PCB directly. A few keys aren't as smooth, but they're not sticky like they were.

[rowdy]

This happened with my original Ducky Shine, not that long after I got it.

I managed to wipe off the few drops that landed on the keyboard.

A few keys were a bit sticky the next day, so I totally spammed them - pressed them as much as I could.

After a few days of spamming the keys on and off, it returned to normal.

I was lucky - my Ducky has been fine since.