I no longer panic when I or a family member spill on a keyboard. Best action to take is to immediately unplug the keyboard and flush with water, preferably pure water or distilled water and blow the water out with compressed air.
Unless the keyboard is brand new, there will be dirt inside from use. This dirt could retain water long enough to cause the water to conduct electricity and possibly short out the keyboard, so . . . Here's my regimen for rescuing a favorite keyboard: 0. Immediately disconnect from computer and 1 Pour a modest amount of liquid dish soap over the keyboard. 2. Flush with (preferably) pure water until it drains clear and free of soap bubbles. 3. Use cold, oil-free compressed air (less than 25 PSI) to blow out the water that is inside. 4. Slowly disassemble the keyboard as completely as possible without breaking anything: beware of tiny flying springs that may launch. Lay the parts out on paper towels in an organized fashion that will enable reassembly. 5. Make sure that the parts are all dry and clean. If there were any lubricants, replace with the same or similar type. Be conservative in reapplying any lubrication. 6. Leave parts in a warm, dry place for at least a day. 7. Reassemble and test. When you can buy used keyboards for a few dollars this strategy may not be a good use of your time and effort. I've bought keyboards at thrift stores for cheap and I am still using the nice ones; others are stored for backup. To repeat in shorthand: 0. Immediately disconnect. 1. Add liquid soap. 2. Flush spill and soap away. 3. Blow out with compressed air. 4. Carefully disassemble and lay parts out. 5. Clean and air dry all parts; reapply lubricants if necessary. 6. Reassemble and test. Don't use detergents or cleaners on the parts. Take photos during disassembly if you are not sure you can remember where things go. Most keyboards have flexible plastic membranes to protect the electronics and conductors, but some have one for every key. Keep track of every part. Most keyboards do not use lubricants because lubricants collect dirt. Similar techniques can be used to clean spills from inside desktops and laptops, but laptops are best left to professionals since construction varies widely, even within the same laptop. Just remember to disconnect power as soon as possible after a spill. On 01/20/2013 05:40 AM, Mac User #330250 wrote:
Thank you all for your great suggestions and ideas! I’ve reactivated my black Apple Pro Keyboard (M7803), which is the best alternative at the moment. I liked it very much before I bought the Aluminium version. I also have a couple of white Apple Keyboards (A1048) but I hate them because keys have to be pressed very direct at an 90 degrees angle, otherwise the keys have a high resistance and more force is required to actually press them down. This is something I hate very much, as it influences the flow of typing. And yes, I confess: sometimes I hit a key on the edge, so this happens regularly! I bought the Alu keyboard because I needed the black Pro keyboard for my other Macs very often. Now this is no longer the case as I don’t have that much time for that anymore. Still, I will be buying a new one… when the time is right. I was in an electronics store the other day and looked at the various models. Even though Microsoft keyboards look quite okay, I have to avoid them due to a decision I made a long long time ago: never ever will I buy a hardware product made by that software company! So, I’m left with any of those no-name vendors or Logitech or Cherry. I’ll propably go for a Cherry keyboard. It will be my first. I’ve always had Logitech or OEMs… or Apple (which came with the Macs, so they’re sort of OEM…) It’s so very hard to satisfy me: I really liked my keyboard before I spilled juice on it… Everytime I’ve found one that I like, I’d soon miss the eject key… of find, that I’d really miss the built-in USB hub… Or the other way around: keyboards that have a USB hub and an eject key are nowhere near the kind of keyboard I look for… As for the Aluminium: I’ll wash it and wash it and give it a real good time off… And if it still doesn’t work in a couple of months I’ll put it in the trash. It really is a question of how much time and efforts I’m willing to invest, just to propably find that the keyboard is broken anyway (or that a vital key still won’t work)… And I’m not really happy spending my time and money on it that much! So, I’m very thankfull for your help on that matter! You don’t need to read the whole message, just so much that you understand I merely wanted to express my gratitude for all your helpful thoughts! THANKS. Cheers, Andreas aka Mac User #330250
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