Author Topic: How to Clean?  (Read 3657 times)

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Offline lROOl

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  • Posts: 56
  • Location: Ontario, Canada
How to Clean?
« on: Tue, 03 April 2012, 17:50:24 »
I have a white spacebar from WASD that has some marks on it what is the best way to clean this?

Offline jblack801

  • Posts: 70
How to Clean?
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 03 April 2012, 18:12:00 »
Check the wiki good sir.

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=All+About+Keys

There's a section down the way about cleaning your keycaps.

Offline fohat.digs

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How to Clean?
« Reply #2 on: Tue, 03 April 2012, 18:28:46 »
If you are OK with removing it, I use a variety of laundry products including powdered detergent and "Biz" or "Oxi-Clean" which have cleaned many hundreds of keys and only failed to clean 2 or 3 after an hour soak in a strong solution.

If not removing the key, I use denatured alcohol on a Q-tip, and if that doesn't get it, try a white vinyl eraser (eg "Magic Rub") but gently.

Lastly, carefully, if it is some sort of adhesive-related product, using a citrus oil organic solvent or naptha (old-fashioned "lighter fluid") might work, but these last 2 are harsh, and I can't guarantee that they won't hurt the plastic.

Try each one gently, slowly, and remove all the residue after each attempt.
“These economic royalists complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of America. What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their power."
He paused for a moment, then thundered, “Our allegiance to American institutions requires the overthrow of this kind of power!”
“In vain,” Roosevelt said, “they seek to hide behind the Flag and the Constitution. In their blindness they forget what the Flag and the Constitution stand for. Now, as always, they stand for democracy, not tyranny; for freedom, not subjection; and against a dictatorship by mob rule and the over-privileged alike.”
- Franklin Roosevelt 1933

Offline lROOl

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 56
  • Location: Ontario, Canada
How to Clean?
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 03 April 2012, 18:53:04 »
Quote from: fohat.digs;566020
If you are OK with removing it, I use a variety of laundry products including powdered detergent and "Biz" or "Oxi-Clean" which have cleaned many hundreds of keys and only failed to clean 2 or 3 after an hour soak in a strong solution.

If not removing the key, I use denatured alcohol on a Q-tip, and if that doesn't get it, try a white vinyl eraser (eg "Magic Rub") but gently.

Lastly, carefully, if it is some sort of adhesive-related product, using a citrus oil organic solvent or naptha (old-fashioned "lighter fluid") might work, but these last 2 are harsh, and I can't guarantee that they won't hurt the plastic.

Try each one gently, slowly, and remove all the residue after each attempt.

thank you sir, ill try the oxi clean tomorrow and let you know how it works. Should prob remove all the caps while i am at it and clean the board out.

Offline fohat.digs

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  • Location: 35°55'N, 83°53'W
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How to Clean?
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 03 April 2012, 20:20:42 »
Pull all the keys and dump them in a bowl of a liter of hot water and a teaspoon each of laundry detergent powder and oxi-clean. An hour is almost sure to make them squeaky clean. Scrubbing with a sponge is second and the eraser is last. If you go the solvent route, wash again in soapy water and rinse well.

Vacuum out the interior and wipe up the dust with a q-tip. Try to keep the blowing to a minimum and do it upside-down and last, getting any dust into the switches is what you want to avoid.
“These economic royalists complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of America. What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their power."
He paused for a moment, then thundered, “Our allegiance to American institutions requires the overthrow of this kind of power!”
“In vain,” Roosevelt said, “they seek to hide behind the Flag and the Constitution. In their blindness they forget what the Flag and the Constitution stand for. Now, as always, they stand for democracy, not tyranny; for freedom, not subjection; and against a dictatorship by mob rule and the over-privileged alike.”
- Franklin Roosevelt 1933