How To Clean Your Keyboard

  If you are like me you probably buy a new computer more often than you clean your keyboard.  

If you think that cleaning the keyboard is a lot like this:

	Take the dirty keyboard
	Remove the Keys from the keyboard and clean the keys and the gunk from underneath the keys.
	Re-Attach the Keys and your keyboard is as good as new.

You'd be correct. ;)

	The dirtier your keyboard gets the more the keys start to stick.  This keyboard definitely needs a cleaning.  It's probably a good idea to unplug the keyboard before you remove all the keys and clean it. ;)
	Start off by removing every key on the keyboard.  Use a tool that can easily be inserted beneath the keys so that you can pop them off. Be careful when you do this because they can fly pretty far some times.  You should remove ALL keys to really clean the keyboard only removing a portion of the keys prohibits proper cleaning.
	Once you start to remove the keys it's a good idea to keep track of where they were located on the keyboard especially since every keyboard places certain keys in different places.
	I arranged all of my keys on the floor in the order that I took them off so that it would be easy to re-assemble them.
	There is plenty of gunk underneath the keys.  From this picture you can see that the biggest amount of dirt collected beneath the spacebar. :/
	Once the keys have been removed you can wipe them clean with any cleaning solution that doesn't eat plastic.  Water works just fine.  I used paper towels but this can cause the towel to leave lint on the keys if you use a generic brand.
	Now it's time to clean the keyboard.  I started to use paper towels but was having a hard time getting between the crevices.  I found that Q-Tips work better than anything else.  Just slightly dampen the end of the Q-Tip and scrub the surface until the gunk is completely gone.  (Note: expect to use 20+ Q-Tips)
	Here's the culprit.  Who knows where this stuff comes from, how it gets there, or how that much of it can fit beneath those tiny keys.  Some of you may recognize this stuff since some of the kids at school seem to be growing it on their clothes.  You should definitely stay away from them, unless of course you are that kid then you should shower.
	Re-attach the cleaned keys making sure to correctly insert the metal clip springs into the proper fittings.  Note: the spacebar always ends up sticking after I clean the keyboard and this is insanely annoying.  So try to align it absolutely perfectly to avoid this.
	Now that your keyboard is clean you no longer have to go to eBay to buy yourself a new one or throw it across the room every time the key sticks in your favorite First Person Shooter.