QKT 7: Cleaning, maintenance and storage

[chyros]

It's been a while, but here's the next instalment in the Quick Keyboard Tips series; this time we look at how to clean, maintain and store mechanical keyboards .

[fohat.digs]

Excellent video, as always. I do have a few comments/questions.

Why so stingy with soap? I like powdered laundry soap (I use a "green" unscented product like "Charlie's Laundry Powder") along with an "oxi-" product and/or some washing soda, about half a spoonful of each in a liter of hot water. With a 10-20 minute soak and thorough rinse (back and forth from the bowl of fresh water to the colander at least twice) I almost never find any remaining dirt, and I have cleaned keys much dirtier than yours without resorting to additional hand action except on rare occasions. And I have never bothered with denture tablets.

Similarly, the laundry soap seems to work better than dish soap on cases, too, and I swear by the "Dobie" scrubber for cleaning (including for actual cooking utensils). They are stronger and rougher than sponges, but not as harsh as Scotch-brite scouring pads - just right.



For adhesive residue I use naptha (old-fashioned cigarette lighter fluid) or citrus oil  * BUT *  - test first, work very quickly, and remove all residue ASAP.

For really stubborn marks: pencil eraser or white eraser/scrubber pads  * BUT *  they quickly remove surface texture if you are too aggressive.

Shielding stickers directly with masking tape is risky, but cutting a plastic shield and taping it down with masking tape just slightly larger is a good way to protect it for at least enough time for a quick bath and dunk.

edit - a dead credit card works great for that "shield" but masking tape only lasts a couple of minutes under water

[chyros]

Excellent video, as always. I do have a few comments/questions.

Why so stingy with soap? I like powdered laundry soap (I use a "green" unscented product like "Charlie's Laundry Powder") along with an "oxi-" product and/or some washing soda, about half a spoonful of each in a liter of hot water. With a 10-20 minute soak and thorough rinse (back and forth from the bowl of fresh water to the colander at least twice) I almost never find any remaining dirt, and I have cleaned keys much dirtier than yours without resorting to additional hand action except on rare occasions. And I have never bothered with denture tablets.

Similarly, the laundry soap seems to work better than dish soap on cases, too, and I swear by the "Dobie" scrubber for cleaning (including for actual cooking utensils). They are stronger and rougher than sponges, but not as harsh as Scotch-brite scouring pads - just right.

(Attachment Link)

For adhesive residue I use naptha (old-fashioned cigarette lighter fluid) or citrus oil  * BUT *  - test first, work very quickly, and remove all residue ASAP.

For really stubborn marks: pencil eraser or white eraser/scrubber pads  * BUT *  they quickly remove surface texture if you are too aggressive.

Shielding stickers directly with masking tape is risky, but cutting a plastic shield and taping it down with masking tape just slightly larger is a good way to protect it for at least enough time for a quick bath and dunk.

edit - a dead credit card works great for that "shield" but masking tape only lasts a couple of minutes under water

Good points! I hadn't thought of using laundry detergents, but then again some of them are quite aggressive. I use so little soap because if you use lots of dish soap the bubbles don't get out even if you soak them ten times, it's horrible. Doesn't really help anyway, the surface tension is already super low even with that little.

Naphtha is basically the same as the solvent I use. Basically any highly apolar solvents will work, though.

[fohat.digs]

some of them are quite aggressive. I use so little soap because if you use lots of dish soap the bubbles don't get out even if you soak them ten times

Why worry about "aggressive"? This is hard plastic - compared to a dyed cotton dress shirt.

And I think that laundry soap is made to not bubble up, and to rinse out easily.

I also always "sling" the water out of caps and toss them onto a towel or T-shirt where they usually finish drying in minutes.

For the metal parts, I do use dish soap because I figure that it is more appropriate and less harsh.

[chyros]

some of them are quite aggressive. I use so little soap because if you use lots of dish soap the bubbles don't get out even if you soak them ten times

Why worry about "aggressive"? This is hard plastic - compared to a dyed cotton dress shirt.

The plastic is, but the printing might not be. In fact, even under these conditions I've seen caps sustain damage, for example the LED windows on some Fujitsu caps. Basically, I'd rather be careful than lazy .

[y11971alex]

My solution to drying out keycaps for immediate replacement is putting them in a paper bag padded with fragments of tissue.  Then I shake the bag, leaving inertia to do the work for me

The purpose of lining the bag with tissue is to cushion the caps in the bag and to soak up the water that fly out.

[chyros]

My solution to drying out keycaps for immediate replacement is putting them in a paper bag padded with fragments of tissue.  Then I shake the bag, leaving inertia to do the work for me

The purpose of lining the bag with tissue is to cushion the caps in the bag and to soak up the water that fly out.

If you're very impatient you could even use rice instead of tissues. Or, if you're extremely impatient, freshly activated molsieves, or silica gel. Or, if you want it dried in seconds, choline chlorides .

[fohat.digs]

The plastic is, but the printing might not be.

80%-90% of my cleaning is vintage IBM PBT, and most of the rest is doubleshot, so that printing is pretty durable.

[y11971alex]

Good to see the series revived

[tp4tissue]

Gotta use Some sort of alcohol dilute to kill the germs.

[Ail]

Bubbles be damned, you need not a lot of dish soap in any case as many of them are concentrates and using more than a few drops is just wasting product anyway. I guess if you have extra greasy and dirt stained caps, a little extra could not hurt.

I love magic eraser sponges for cleaning stubborn stains and residue.

[fohat.digs]

Bubbles be damned, you need not a lot of dish soap in any case as many of them are concentrates and using more than a few drops is just wasting product anyway. I guess if you have extra greasy and dirt stained caps, a little extra could not hurt.

I love magic eraser sponges for cleaning stubborn stains and residue.

They are much more aggressive than they seem. They can put a shine on a textured surface pretty fast. I have heard that they are less harsh wet than dry.

[Ail]

Bubbles be damned, you need not a lot of dish soap in any case as many of them are concentrates and using more than a few drops is just wasting product anyway. I guess if you have extra greasy and dirt stained caps, a little extra could not hurt.

I love magic eraser sponges for cleaning stubborn stains and residue.

They are much more aggressive than they seem. They can put a shine on a textured surface pretty fast. I have heard that they are less harsh wet than dry.

Yeah I try to only use them in small pieces and always wet, as little as necessary. They're definitely not something you want to scrub with heavily.