How to Clean Your Laptop Computer keyboard

Laptop computers are bombarded with plenty of dust and dirt if you take them out with you often. Dirt and grime love to accumulate around and in between your laptop keyboard keys. If you want your laptop to be free from dust and germs, you need to clean the keyboard.

Before you attempt to clean your keyboard, make sure that your laptop is turned off and unplugged to avoid electrical shocks which can easily fry your laptop’s internal components. In addition, remove all your laptop accessories and peripherals, including any removable media devices.

On some laptops, it is easy to remove the keys and replace them. On others, this may not be so simple. If you are not sure whether you should remove your laptop keyboard keys, it is better to leave them alone. You can check your laptop manual for keyboard cleaning instructions.

If you decide to leave your laptop keyboard intact, you can still effectively clean it. You can begin by tilting your laptop and directing a can of compressed air against the keys. You can already dislodge a lot of foreign particles in this manner. For tough dirt and grime, you can use cotton swabs slightly moistened with isopropyl alcohol.

If you remove the keyboard keys, you can do a more thorough cleaning. Take note of the key orientation before you take out each key so you know how to reassemble the keyboard. Using a screwdriver or small knife, you can gently pop off the keyboard keys. The space bar and other large keys like the ‘enter’ and ’shift’ buttons are usually difficult to remove so it is better to leave them in place.

Set aside the removed keys and hand wash them. You can wipe the exposed keyboard clean by using a soft cloth. You can also use a mild cleaning solution — Just make sure that you apply it sparingly on your cleaning cloth and not directly on the keyboard.

Once everything is squeaky clean, allow the keyboard and keys to dry completely before reuniting them. Do not close the lid while your keyboard is drying.

You now have a clean laptop keyboard!