Today, I can report that not only will the keyboard come out clean, but it will probably work once it dries completely. Every key on the keyboard works and feels just right – the Caps Lock light even works! This ‘hack’ is not for the weakhearted, and I would probably avoid putting a $100+ keyboard in the dishwasher. But if you don’t have any other options, it’s a pretty good bet.
Exactly what I did:
- disconnected my USB keyboard from my computer
- dumped out the spilled beverage
- placed keyboard in dishwasher (normal cycle)
- added soap to the reservoir (I used Electrasol)
- closed the dishwasher and turned it on
- I was advised to AVOID USING the heated dry cycle – 20 minutes too late
- removed keyboard from dishwasher once the cycle was complete
- popped ALL the keys off to allow the keyboard to completely dry (either draw, write down where the keys go, or take a picture so you can put ‘em all back in the right place)
- leaned my keyboard vertically against a wall and allowed it to dry for 5 days
- replaced all the keys, plugged the keyboard back in and tested every key to make sure it worked
I had to live without a keyboard for FIVE days and it wasn’t easy. Typing consisted of double-clicking the Roman character set in OS X’s Character Palette – letter by letter. Not easy, especially since there is no Enter Key or Space. So, I got creative with right-click menus and Copy/Paste.
Right now, I can hear geek-owned dishwashers across the land powering up.
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howcan i contact you b phone? keyboard won’t tye now! my nmber is:
503 779 1041
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doe this apy to wireless keyboards tooz?
what about laptops? I put my MacBook with a dirty keyboard in my washing machine, then in the tumble dryer, and it got out cleaner than a new one! Thanks a lot, Scott!
Simply great!
I bought myself a black keyboard.
I used to work for a company that had their pc´s cleaned proffesionally every 6 months. Th cleaning crew that came over took a weekend to do all the pc´s with compressed air etc. except for the keyboards. They used to take tehse to tehir own company where they had industrial dishwashers and place all the keyboards in there without soap. Perfectly clean keyboards was the result and they always worked.
Im wondering what the sudden hype is all about, this company cleaned keyboards this way back in 1998…
one note though, there are keyboard that are mounted on a board where underneath the buttons a small piece of foam plastic holds the keys up (old tech, but theyre still around) THOSE you cannot put in the dishwasher, for the litle foam cubes will shrink and harden from the heat.
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Ill try mine, hope it will work as it did to many people.
thannks for the tips.
I have a Wacom tablet along with my Mac desktop. I spilled coffee on my keyboard. I unplugged keyboard and washed it with dishwashing liquid.
I then “tested” the keyboard while it was still wet.
So, first question: did I damage my computer or CPU by doing this?
I realize I may have shorted the keyboard, but that’s a cheap replacement. I’m much more concerned about my computer!
Second, my Wacom tablet now won’t work. I guess something happened to it when the keyboard got coffee on it. Both were plugged into the back of my display. I know the problem is with my tablet because I’m testing it on my laptop and it’s the tablet. Also, I’ve replaced the tablet with a standard mouse and the mouse works. Has this happened to anyone else with a tablet? I love my Wacom tablet and I don’t want to buy a new one!
Thanks!!
Look forward to your response.
????|
I want to know if you carry Used Computers Key Boards Yes
I just tried this with my Apple Pro Keyboard. I used only one drop of liquid Cascade Complete (citrus scent!). I didn’t pop the keys off at all. I let it air dry for a week, and it works fine now. Thank you for your experiment, and thanks to all the other comments for confirming that this *might* not be the bad idea that it initially sounds like.
Cheers.
I too had remembered Leo Laporte’s advice, and when I spilled a diet soda on my keyboard, did not hesitate to try it. I wanted to avoid the tedious popping-off-of-every-key-and-swabbing technique which I had tried in the past. The dishwasher worked like a charm, and I wrote about it on my spanking new blog and wanted to find others who may have had success with this technique too. Seems there are plenty.
I don’t know about keyboards, but the dishwasher works wonders on my dentures… … …
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did u remove ANY of the electrical components when u did this, especially the lead?
Oh man I was doing a shoot on day and I all of a sudden felt the urge to do a bukkake (semen squirting shot) on a computer keyboard. The jizz made the computer both smelly and sticky. I popped in the dishwasher and VOILA!! the problem was gone! Not only that the porn footage started editing itself! We won several awards for the film and and to this day we still don’t need a video editor!
Heya, i had a bottle of concentrated liquid soap explode in my suitcase and soak all into my Wacom tablet.
reading over the posts, i figure ill give this washing a try and maybe finish it off with rubbing alcohol, let it dry for a week and see what happens. anybody know if this is a bad idea? if not, i guess ill spring the $300-500 for a new one…. argh.
I’ve had my ergonomic keyboard awhile and did not want to buy a new one that didn’t feel quite right. So, I followed your instructions with some of my modifications. Instead of waiting 5 days for the keyboard to dry, I opened it up and removed the gunk, excess water, and hair in the housing. This is pretty tedious work, but I did not want to wait for several days and find out it didn’t work.
Conclusion, my keyboard is clean and it works! The only thing amiss is my white keyboard is now a bit off color, but looks and feels new.
Hahaha…keyboard in the dishwasher…classic! I might try it with my old PS2 Dell keyboard just for kicks.
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
Thanks, I also found I can clean plastic toys, hats, balls and many other things with dishwasher.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
My lifetime boycott is buying ACER Computers!
LOL, this is amazing this worked, I can’t believe it. Very interesting, might work with cell phones too…
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Just remove the electronics by dismantling it. Same goes for mouse.
There’s a risk of destroying them this way.
I wash my mouse and keyboard every second month like this, and have done so for four years. Looks as good as new, with zero discolouring.
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