How To Give Your PC Keyboard A Bath

After a fews years of use, my trusty HP Vectra keyboard has accumulated quite a bit of grime. So I decided to give it a bath just before 2007 kick in.

For those who like the idea. Here is the process:

It is a breeze removing the screws at the bottom and separating the two halfs of the keyboard. Not so with removing the 101 keytops. You need a small flat blade screw drive to prise the plastic catch loose so the the key can dropped off.

Next come off the plastic keypad( this gives the keys the bounce), the circuit board and the flexi-circuit sheet( there are actually 3 sheets, bonded together at locations spread around the sheets, the one in the middle is the separator sheet that prevents the keypads from shorting, really a precision engineered piece of work ) the two outer sheets are the printed circuit and keys( the keys are just patches of printed circuit conductor ). These are rinse with cold water, shake dry and than left to hang dry. Important,do not soak these parts in water.

The keyboard covers get a good scrub with detergent and water, rinse and hang dry.

The keys themselves get a good overnight soak in warm water and detergent. This effectively removes all the grime. Next rinse in fresh water and shake off excess water and left to dry overnight, with the keys insides facing out.

Reassembly was a easy process, just pop the keys back into the top cover of the keyboard using another keyboard as guide to where the keys are supposed to be. Reassembled the plastic keypad, the flexi-circuit, the circuit board etc. Put back the bottom cover.

Test the assembly using Notepad to make sure all the keys are working.

You now have a clean smelling and clean looking keyboard.

WANTED: Let me know of your success with bathing your keyboard here. Include pictures or video if available