Think your keyboard is clean? Take a closer look.
If you still think it’s clean, take it to another room — or better yet, a coffee shop — and look at it in a different light. Unless you’re a cleaning freak, it’s probably dirty.
Here is a picture of mine as it has only been a few weeks since I cleaned it.
Image: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
There are many ways to clean your keyboard, but my favorite method is to use a cleaning gel (also called “slime”).
Why gel?
The brand of gel I use here is ColorCoral, but in my experience these gels are all pretty much the same and I haven’t really found one better or worse than another.
Why a cleansing gel? For a number of reasons.
First, while the brushes can do a good job on the surface, they often push dirt under the keys and into the keyboard. The cleaning gel is less aggressive on the keyboard, whereas I have already seen a cloth cling to a key.
Finally, the product is effective and inexpensive. Boxed Air is, by comparison, expensive and unless you have a lot of keyboards to clean, the prices are far from affordable.
How to use the gel?
The gel is easy to use. Turn off your computer (so you don’t press lots of keys) and then take the gel out of the jar and mix it quickly.
Image: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
Start cleaning the keyboard by squeezing the gel on and around the keys. I find that a slow back and forth motion works well. Remember, you’re trying to use the gel to pick up dirt and debris, not push it into the keyboard.
Image: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
Continue until you are satisfied. This is what my keyboard looks like after a few minutes of cleaning:
Image: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
What about safety?
This solution is not perfect, but with minimal effort good results are obtained. The gel is reusable – just put it back in the jar – and lasts between six months and a year after opening.
Is it sure? There are always people who doubt the advisability of using gel on their keyboards. I’ve been using this product for over ten years and never had a single problem. If you’re worried, you’ll have to find another solution, but this is still my favorite method for cleaning keyboards.
Bonus, the cleaning gel is not limited to keyboards. It is effective for cleaning things like the dashboard of your car or objects you want to photograph (especially for macro photography).
Source: “ZDNet.com”