Your keyboard (might be) dishwasher safe

If you're in the habit of gaming with pigs, then you (and your hospital) will be happy to know that your keyboard is dishwasher safe. At least that's what Scott Moschella says (yes, that's a disclaimer). Just drop that Cheeto and corn syrup encrusted nasty into the dishwasher, add soap (no heated dry cycle please), and let air-dry for five (!) days before use. Ok, it worked for his keyboard but with a sample population of one, we're not gonna be dropping our fave Bluetooth models into the 'ol Whirlpool just yet. Hmmm, wonder how these would fare in our waterless dishwasher?

[Via BoingBoing]

[Legion @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

work on tv remote controls too...

[Legion @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

work on tv remote controls too...

[dreampc @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I recently found that Nintendo DS game cartridges are washing machine safe... when I found one in the dryer...

My son now double-checks to make sure he doesn't leave cartridges in his pockets. Neither he nor I want to "Test" those again.

[Gary Gehiere @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I have been hand washing keyboards for years and only once had a keyboard that didn't work after washing - it was a Compaq keyboard. I have never found a major brand that couldn't handle the ordeal, and as a result the company I work for has probably saved $2-3K on the costs of replacing keyboards.

I usually used Windex with vinegar and a toothbrush, and lots of direct water from a hose to work out the gunge between the keys. Drying time can be decreased by placing the keyboard on a warm surface, like a radiator.

I don't have a dishwasher at work.

[lunxer @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Eerr, i'v done that lots of times, but i just take the keys and put them i a plastic bag and shake and whatnot.

[edd:e @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I once spilt coke on my MS keyboard. Since it was plugged in, the circuits shorted out within seconds. When I took it apart, the innards were burnt brown.

The best and most thorough way of washing a keyboard is to pop off all the keys, unscrew everything, and throw all the plastic components in the wash (either handwash or dishwasher). Once everything is dry, put everything back together.

And, seriously, people should wash their keyboards. It's NASTY. So much hair..

[Frank @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

When you know something about gravity, its easy to know how to hold your keyboard when you clean it. That way I cleaned all the keyboards of my vintage computers. They look as new. However, there is still alot of dirt inside the keyboard. Even a dishwsher cannot clean that. Just unscrew the keyboard and blow with high pressure air through the keys. That way you get all ingredients for a whole meal.

[Misomina @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I washed my 2 weeks old 17" PowerBook in a sink - completely submerged in water and detergent - after spilling a full glass of red wine into the keyboard, air-dried it for 2 days, turned it on, worked without a hitch.
That was about year and a half ago, still works without a hitch.

[DaiLa @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I remember arguing this very idea to my high school Computer teacher well over 10 years ago. Of course her idea was, oh no, elctronics and water is bad! But what I told her and have done several times myself, is to wash a keyboard in the shower and let it hang dry upsidedown. It works, but I've never used anything but the cheapest $10-20 keyboards. I wouldn't bother with anything worthy or with wireless stuff.

[DaiLa @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I remember arguing this very idea to my high school Computer teacher well over 10 years ago. Of course her idea was, oh no, elctronics and water is bad! But what I told her and have done several times myself, is to wash a keyboard in the shower and let it hang dry upsidedown. It works, but I've never used anything but the cheapest $10-20 keyboards. I wouldn't bother with anything worthy or with wireless stuff.

[Jazzay @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I im not sure about wireless, but would there will be any harm, my SONY CLIE PDA went through the wash...wokred without a hitch after just having it sit on a table for a couple days worried as much as a mother would be about her lost baby wondering what would become of it, my SONY CYBERSHOT was not so lucky....

[geekmorgan @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

The new apple keybaords are great for trapping food and spills, but that makes it easy to soak them with wate too. I spilt soy sauce all over the shift, option and control keys, then just poured a cup full of water. over the weekend it dried and it works fine.

[Casual Observer @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Save those keyboard crumbs.

What do you think "Mrs. Dash" is made from?

[popeye @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

An old friend used to rebuild tube radios and such, he would remove the xformers and caps (since those needed replacing anyway) and drop the chassis into the swimming pool. After a day or so he would stick it in the oven @ 200 degrees for 10 or 12 hours.

As far as a laptop is concerned I'd remove the HD first then give 'er a sudsing up...

To reduce dying time I'd use a fan, works in water remediation.

[Dylan @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I thought that was how everybody cleaned their keyboards.. Actually I got really bummed with my computer a few years ago and ended up throwing the keyboard into the swimming pool outside. (Something to do with windows crashing during coding and losing a couple of hours of really productive work) I eventually calmed down and fished it out the pool. I opened it up to see how bad the damage looked (i'd been beating it on the desk and wall a bit as well) and just about the whole keyboard looked like it was a latex surface with button touch points. The chip itself controlling the keyboard was tiny and looked sealed in under a blob of black stuff, so i just plugged it back in after draining the water out (and leaving it open in the sun for about 20 minutes) and it worked fine.

I reckon keyboards are one of the hardest things to break on a computer. I've seen people hit them hard enough to pop all the keys off a keyboard (it was funny then watching them try find the 'A' key in a bad mood...) and when they eventually got it all back it worked fine.

[ax0n @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I accidentally spilled an entire 2-liter bottle of Mt. Dew on my G3 Powerbook *while it was running*

The screen went totally blank and the "sleep" light came on pulsing. It stayed pulsing even with no batteries or power cord (my guess is the massive Parameter RAM battery was keeping it blinking).

I took it apart. The keyboard and motherboard were drenched. The lower tray of the PowerBook was filled with effervescent neon green caffeinated elixer of death. The keyboard, motherboard, battery charge board, and lower tray were all taken completely apart and washed in the dishwasher, and let to dry over a long weekend. That was 2 years ago. I'm browsing engadget on it right now. It's even the featured photo for the hackerstickers.com WiFi fish:

http://www.hackerstickers.com/products/sticker-wifi-fish.shtml

[John @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I discovered USB keys are also dishwasher safe. Thank god.

[fdisk @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

In my A+ cert class, they told us that keyboards were dishwasher safe. I'd been cleaning them in the dishwasher for years before I was told it was OK to do so.

[Kyle @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Those of us with circa 1984 IBM "Clickey" Keyboards have been doing this for years :)

[Jeremy @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Uh...yeah you guys try this. My mom heard this from a friend a year-ish ago and tried it and guess what? Had to buy a new keyboard.

Do this at your own risk.

[Brian kwong @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I've been washing keyboards in the dishwasher for a few years now. I don't recommend the use of soap, but simply putting it keys down into the washer and turning it with "air dry" (ie no heat) worked wonders. Clean keyboard. I do leave them open to the air to dry for 2 days (keys facing down) to allow all the water to evaporate. IF you're more impatient, unscrew the back and use a hair dryer on low.

[Carl @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Alright... question: I've been using a logitech wireless kb and mouse elite pro duo or something.. anyway.. can someone tell me if its safe before I make it a 110$ very large plastic paperweight?
I use those compressed air dusters when I can.. but it doesnt get all that much... anyway To wash or not to wash?

[Maynard @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

This is great. I've been wanting to clean my Powerbook keyboard for awhile. Thanks to everyone's recomendation here it is currently in the dishwasher and should be going through its last cycle any minute. I will then air dry it for a couple days. I'm so excited that I'll have a nice clean laptop!

Thanks everyone!