I spilled a perfectly fine Murphy's Stout beer into my old PS2 keyboard; what a waste of a great beer!!

Needless to say after shaking out most of the beer and drying, the keyboard was dead, dead, dead and ready for the recycle bin. The price of a new KB is cheap.

Then an old story came to mind about washing the KB with hot soapy water and I thought what the heck, I going to throw it out anyway. Well I filled the sink with hot soapy water and with a sponge scrubbed it to factory clean, rinsed with very hot water and placed it in the direct sunlight on my porch for two hot days to completely dry. (note the KB has no batteries).

After I was convinced it was perfectly dry I plugged it into an old backup laptop and turned the power on. I was shocked to find that every key worked perfectly and it was really clean too.

So if you have an old (non battery) keyboard that don't work and is destined for the recycle bin it's worth a try to maybe get a free backup keyboard; you have nothing to loose.

Just Sayin'

Not an urban legend at all - done this before as well. Swished dish soap around in it using a scrub brush. Rinsed outside using the garden hose. Dried in the sun for 4 hours upside down. Good as new.

I've even heard of people wrapping keyboards in a towel, using pins or string to secure the towel and putting it in the clothes washer or dishwasher.

I've taken them apart, removed the little circuit board and run the plastic parts through the dishwasher. After the parts are dry, I reinstalled the circuit board and reassembled the keyboard. it worked like a charm.

Jim

The only problem I see is, there could be minute mineral deposits left behind that may cause issues down the road. The big issue with most spills if you don't blow the circuitry right away is the sugar and acids. It causes a reaction to the exposed electronics and causes corrosion if left alone. So cleaning it as quickly as possible is best.

Yep I totally agree; next time spill,sink, drying area.

Of course, keyboards (cheap ones) now cost under $10.

Yes but since I've been working on computers since 1963 (old ones for sure) I need a little fun once in a while.

I wish I had known that for the last one.

Quote (mscallisto)

I've been working on computers since 1963 (old ones for sure)

omg, I wasn't even thought off at that time period... ;)

but about the keyboard cleaning, yep been there seen that... and about the residue, I've used WD-40 on lots of occasions to get rid of unwanted water on and about electronic parts...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

I've always thought that there should have been a Noble Prize for the inventor of WD-40.

Sam

Reminds me of an old phrase.

If it moves and it shouldn't - Gaffer tape
If it doesn't move and it should - WD40

Robert Wilensky:
We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.

http://alvechurchlounge.org.uk

Thanks for the mention of the tape, Sympology. I either totally forgot about it, or else never heard of it. Though I do think I've seen it.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

I remember the rhyme as follows:

If it moves and it shouldn't - then use a shotgun...

jokes aside, the rhyme I heard used "100 mph tape" aka "EB Green" or "Duct tape" (the American type, not the Aussie or Kiwi types) instead...
basically the same deal, just different continents... ;)

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

BBB,

From what I could find online, they are not the same - similar, but not the same. For instance, at least one person at this link or another mentioned the that gaffer tape doesn't leave a residue like duct tape.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-gaffers-tape.htm

I don't personally know, b/c I don't know that I've ever used it... maybe seen or used it, but don't know for certain. I KNOW I've used duct tape.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

I know fer sure that they are different, I have a small strip gaffer tape at home and duct tape at work, and used "EB Green" in the 80's (step-father was in the Army and brought some home once in awhile) great stuff...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"