Washing Your PC Keyboard 05May21

Washing your keyboard seems dubious. I've been having sticky keys and pretzel part crunch-down sounds on my keyboard for a few weeks (who doesn't sometimes eat at the PC? - especially pizza Tuesdays?) - now I am missing keystrokes and you know how I do not like to go back or edit. I use primarily DAS Keyboards with Cherry MX Brown keys, mechanical marvels to which I switched long ago with Matt's influence (he uses other mechanical brands though).  I tried blow-out, bang-out and suck-out as well as other methods but couldn't get some keys back. So, I took it apart and sprayed it and drown it in Simple Green diluted in water, banged on all the keys plenty, then let it sit; I then sprayed it off with fresh water and let it sit again to dry. Warning - I didn't drown the electronics - just the keys and keyboard PCB. Washing worked! This at least on my sweet DAS keyboard. I am back fully online with a sweet feel again and all parts working. This was accomplished with the power of Cinco de Mayo margaritas shared with Kala!

I knew I'd have it fixed, or I'd have the cleanest dead keyboard on the block.

 

UPDATE 01Apr22... Repairing Double-Striking Mechanical Keys... whether washed or not, a mechanical key, even on $200 keyboards, can begin to throw double or triple strikes when only tapped once. This happened to me on the washed DAS keyboard above and here I present the scheme to repair it. First off identify the multi-strike keys. For me it was the comma key. Easiest to assure you have the right key if you hit it once per every return/enter as on the 1st pic below.  If it shows up more than once, that's a culprit. Be prepared with denatured alcohol (or isopropyl) and a key puller. Unplug the keyboard. Next use a key puller tool to get under the keytop and pull it off. Then, pour plenty of alcohol directly down onto the exposed mechanical key works and depress it repeatedly quickly for a minute or so. Wait a couple of minutes for the key to mostly dry. Plug the KB back in and test the key's function. It should no longer multi-strike. Replace the key and be happy.