Guten tag. Today, we’re discussing the proper way to clean a laptop keyboard. Now, there are two ways to do this: the easy way and the thorough way. The easy way is pretty simple and requires no disassembly. Here it is:

Power off your laptop. Remove the battery and anything plugged into the USB ports. Unplug it. Take out any CDs or DVDs.

First, use canned air. Spray out any dust in all the nooks and crannies, including the ports and plugs. Note: do not hold the canned air upside down or it’ll shoot out this toxic gunk stuff.

Mix up a solution of 50% water and 50% one of the following:

• Mild dish detergent (just a few drops)
• Isopropyl alcohol
• White distilled vinegar

Dip a lint-free, microfiber cloth into the water and gently wipe down all surfaces on the computer. Use just a little bit of solution – don’t get the computer soaking wet, for obvious reasons. Leave your laptop open until it dries. Do not turn it on or plug it in until it is completely dry.

Also, when wiping down the touchpad, obviously, don’t push too hard yor you may bust it.

Okay! So that’s for easy cleans, but if you really want to get it shiny, you’re gonna have to take apart the keyboard.

Before we begin, I want to caution you against disassembling any keyboards you can’t reassemble. To begin, pop off one of the letter keys and see if it goes back on easily. If it doesn’t don’t proceed.

Also, I don’t recommend trying to disassemble any keyboards that are the “chiclet” style (such as Macbooks). These are keyboards where there are little spaces between the keys. When in doubt read the flippin’ manual. Don’t come complaining if all the kings horses and all the kings men can’t get your laptop keyboard together again.

Also, you’ll want to take a picture of your keyboard or draw out a map so you remember where everything goes. Lastly, I don’t recommend removing the spacebar, the return key or any other big keys that are hard to get back on.

So, basically, just pop off each key using a knife or something sharp and hard. Next, dunk them in a bowl of warm water and mild dish detergent and let them chill while you give the rest of the laptop the canned air and wipe down treatment.

Next, rinse the keys and let them dry on a towel before reattaching them. Then you’re done.