Clean the keyboard - how it works

Cleaning the keyboard not only removes dust and germs from your computer, but also increases the longevity of your keyboard. We explain the major cleanup for PC and laptop keyboards.

Cleaning the keyboard with Post-its: Fast, inexpensive and effective

Almost everyone has classic post-its at their desks. This allows you to clean your keyboard effectively.

• Pull the adhesive side of the Post-its slowly and with movement through the individual rows of buttons.
• Dirt and dust stick to the adhesive strip.
• The exact instructions can be found in the video above.

Thoroughly clean the computer keyboard

To thoroughly clean your desktop PC keyboard it is necessary to remove all keys. Before that, however, you should memorize the structure of your keyboard exactly or take a photo of it, so that subsequent incorrect positions are excluded.

• The buttons can be removed from the housing using a pen or screwdriver. This requires a lot of patience and above all fine motor skills.
• The buttons are usually dishwasher safe, but be sure to follow the instructions in this article. Nothing should happen in the 40-degree program. With cheap keyboards you have to be careful, however, because the letters are only printed on them and come off with a detergent that is too strong.
• You can now remove coarse dirt from the gaps in the keyboard by vacuuming the dust crumbs from above with a conventional vacuum cleaner at the lowest power setting.
• Then stubborn stains can be removed with a damp cloth. For the corners you can use a cotton swab soaked in soapy water or detergent.
• Finally, place the buttons back in their original position.

Cleaning the laptop keyboard

You should only remove the keys of a laptop keyboard in extreme emergencies, as the brackets break off much more easily than with the classic computer keyboard. Here you can use a gentler cleaning method:

• Make sure that the laptop is switched off so that you don't trigger unintentional commands, for example by pressing the shortcut keys. Also remove the battery to prevent possible electric shock.
• Now you can turn the laptop upside down and shake it gently so that coarse grains and crumbs can already come out.
• Stubborn stains can be removed with a slightly damp microfiber cloth before wiping dry with a paper or kitchen towel.
• In addition, a conventional vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment can also be used. You should be particularly careful here and make sure that you have set the lowest power level so that the buttons are not sucked out.
• The key gaps can be cleaned well with small tooth interdental brushes with which you can not only get into every corner but also under the keys.

This procedure can also be used for computer keyboards that are only to be subjected to a superficial cleaning.