Keyboards are
filthy places to put your fingers. Especially keyboards that are shared by a lot of people. When it comes to the flu, the Centers For Disease Control has stated, "the virus can live on hard objects up to 8 hours. Flu viruses may be spread when a person touches a hard surface (such as a desk or doorknob) or an object (such as a keyboard or pen) where the virus has landed and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth. Routine cleaning of surfaces will help stop the virus from spreading in this way." That's why you should wipe down your keyboard with a disinfectant, from time to time, to keep bacteria minimized. Experts suggest your personal keyboard could stand to be wiped down weekly, while a shared keyboard should get a daily dose of disinfectant. First, I'll warn you that all experts recommend that you first shut down your computer, then unplug the keyboard, before you launch your mission. I think they're just covering their butts and, if you use only dampened cloths, all your cleaning solution will stay on the keys. I'll give my own disclaimer...use any of these methods at your own risk! If your keyboard needs more than disinfecting, if there's a lot of particulate between the keys because you're always eating your morning croissant over your keyboard, you may want to clean between the keys.
Small vacuums are made for keyboards and can remove debris, but you may want to just use a can of compressed air to blow away the grunge instead of sucking it up. A new product has been developed just for cleaning the debris out of your keyboard and disinfecting it at the same time. We found
Cyber Clean at Radio Shack for 5 bucks. It's like a cross between Silly Putty and Slime. It smooshes between the keys and encapsulates the gunk it pulls out. It also contains a disinfectant. Cyber Clean was invented for electronics, like TV remote controls, phones, and similar devices with little buttons. Just push it on and pull it off. I don't know how effective it is but it's kind of fun to use! The $5 package can be used more than once and the substance changes color when it's at the end of its usefulness. For really dirty jobs you can pull all the keys off your keyboard, starting with the biggest ones, and wash them in water with dish detergent. You may want to take a photo of the keyboard first to make it easier to replace all the keys. When the keys are off you have great access to the base of the keyboard for more efficient cleaning. Now, lets try to get rid of some of the nasty bacteria or viruses lurking across your QWERTY keyboard! For years, I've sprayed my shared keyboard with Lysol spray. Just a light spray on the board and mouse, and it's never damaged anything over all that time. But, a direct spray is NOT RECOMMENDED! If you want to clean the keyboard with a spray like Lysol you should first spray a cloth with the Lysol and then wipe down the keyboard.
Tests have been done on pre-moistened disinfectant wipes and the results were very good. They're probably the easiest way to quickly wipe down your keyboard and, if not sopping wet, can also be used on your laptop keyboard. The rule here is to NEVER use wipes that contain bleach!
Wipes I've used are made by Clorox but specifically state that they contain NO BLEACH. It's right on the front of the container.
Apple likes using Lysol or Clorox wipes. The other effective way to clean some keyboards is by using
70% isopropyl alcohol, the bottle you're so familiar with at the drug store. In fact, it's how
Microsoft recommends you clean their keyboard and mouse devices. Finally, people ask me quite frequently if you can put your keyboard in the dishwasher to clean it. The answer is, probably, but you have to air dry it several days before using it. It's a practice that's not necessary for the average keyboard but, if you really want to do it
you can find directions here...(and you're on your own!) After you use one of the above methods to disinfect, remember to plug your clean keyboard into your computer before turning it back on. Finally, if you mess up doing anything with your keyboard the good news is that a basic one is pretty inexpensive to replace. Stay clean, and use your computer in good health. If you're really paranoid about bacteria, you may want to buy the
world's first self-sanitizing keyboard. The Vioguard sells for $899 and, in some environments, makes all the sense in the world.
