yesterday i poured soda on this keyboard and left it out to dry overnight to get it nice and sticky and today i'm going to show you how to clean a sticky keyboard ordinarily if you had a spill like this on your keyboard you'd want to clean up the mess right away before you do anything unplug the keyboard from your computer or turn the power off next turn it over and shake out as much of the liquid as you can to keep it from seeping any further inside then take a cloth and wipe up any remaining liquid you can get to you might want to repeat the shake and wipe cycle a couple of times or until nothing else is coming out if you have a mechanical keyboard like this one where the switches are all exposed you could consider using an air blower to speed up the drying process now turn the keyboard upside down and let it dry overnight in the morning before plugging the keyboard back in check all the keys to see if find any of them sticking if not feel free to plug it in and see how it works but if have keys that are sticking either from a recent spill or from a splash in the past here's how to clean a sticky keyboard

let's get all the big pieces out of your keyboard hold the keyboard at an angle and give it a good shake over a trash can or just over the floor if that's how you choose to live next you can turn to a can of compressed air or an air blower like this one to try and dislodge any more big particles that might be hiding under your keys cnet's katie teague has an article that outlines a thorough zigzag technique for blowing out the gunk you can try a vacuum if that's more your style but you do run the risk of losing small pieces how are those sticky keys treating you now

if one or more keys is still sticking may be better off removing those keycaps to clean underneath but careful not all keyboards were made to be taken apart a mechanical keyboard like this one is made to be customized so removing the keycaps is easy a little tool like pops the keys right off this is a cheaper version so doesn't have removable switches but if yours does might need to pull them out to clean them as well

this is a pretty standard pc keyboard and most of these keys come off the same way with the keycap removal tool except for these media control buttons across the top wireless keyboard has flatter keys like an apple magic keyboard use a thin screwdriver or a tool like gently pry the keycap up from the side but don't damage the parts underneath and don't pry too hard when taking any of these keys off if have to apply too much pressure odds are the keycap isn't meant to be removed with

the problematic keycaps removed hopefully can see whatever substance is causing the keys to stick so let's turn to what some people believe to be the solution to many life's problems alcohol in this case i'm referring to ethyl or isopropyl alcohol you can use a damp alcohol wipe or a cloth or cotton swab dampened with rubbing alcohol don't let any more liquid drip down into the keyboard if can help it as that can damage the hardware that lives underneath the keys wipe down all the parts of the sticky key the cap the switch and any other exposed parts especially if can see signs of the spill that caused the problem try to work the alcohol around by pressing down on the key or wiggling any parts around to loosen everything up as best can some keyboards will have a rubber membrane underneath the keycaps in case try to avoid allowing the alcohol to come into contact with the rubber as material could become brittle and crack over time but if keyboard isn't working might be better to try and fix it now than worry about the future

could try a cloth just slightly dampened with water on that part if concerned let all parts dry before reassemble the keys taken apart these keycaps just pop right off while these have little clips so gentle when putting back on make sure is aligned before applying too much pressure when everything is dry and reassembled it's time for the moment of truth go ahead plug keyboard back in or turn on with any luck sticky keys will be working smoothly again and can get back to sending uplifting messages strangers on internet if got more cleaning projects want us help know in comments thanks watching and see next

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enyesterday i poured soda on this keyboard and left it out to dry overnight to get it nice and sticky and today i'm going to show you how to clean a sticky keyboard ordinarily if you had a spill like this on your keyboard you'd want to clean up the mess right away before you do anything unplug the keyboard from your computer or turn the power off next turn it over and shake out as much of the liquid as you can to keep it from seeping any further inside then take a cloth and wipe up any remaining liquid you can get to you might want to repeat the shake and wipe cycle a couple of times or until nothing else is coming out if you have a mechanical keyboard like this one where the switches are all exposed you could consider using an air blower to speed up the drying process now turn the keyboard upside down and let it dry overnight in the morning before plugging the keyboard back in check all the keys to see if you find any of them sticking if not feel free to plug it in and see how it works but if you have keys that are sticking either from a recent spill or from a splash in the past here's how to clean a sticky keyboard before we start worrying about sticky keys let's get all the big pieces of whatever out of your keyboard hold the keyboard at an angle and give it a good shake over a trash can or just over the floor if that's how you choose to live next you can turn to a can of compressed air or an air blower like this one to try and dislodge any more big particles that might be hiding under your keys cnet's katie teague has an article that outlines a thorough zigzag technique for blowing out the gunk you can try a vacuum if that's more your style but you do run the risk of losing small pieces if everything isn't firmly attached how are those sticky keys treating you now if one or more keys is still sticking you may be better off removing those keycaps to clean underneath but be careful not all keyboards were made to be taken apart a mechanical keyboard like this one is made to be customized so removing the keycaps is easy a little tool like this pops the keys right off this is a cheaper version so it doesn't have removable switches but if yours does you might need to pull them out to clean them as well this is a pretty standard pc keyboard and most of these keys come off the same way with the keycap removal tool except for these media control buttons across the top this wireless keyboard has flatter keys like an apple magic keyboard use a thin screwdriver or a tool like this to gently pry the keycap up from the side but don't damage the parts underneath and don't pry too hard when taking any of these keys off if you have to apply too much pressure odds are the keycap isn't meant to be removed with the problematic keycaps removed hopefully you can see whatever substance is causing the keys to stick so let's turn to what some people believe to be the solution to many of life's problems alcohol in this case i'm referring to ethyl or isopropyl alcohol you can use a damp alcohol wipe or a cloth or cotton swab dampened with rubbing alcohol don't let any more liquid drip down into the keyboard if you can help it as that can damage the hardware that lives underneath the keys wipe down all the parts of the sticky key the cap the switch and any other exposed parts especially if you can see signs of the spill that caused the problem try to work the alcohol around by pressing down on the key or wiggling any parts around to loosen everything up as best you can some keyboards will have a rubber membrane underneath the keycaps in that case try to avoid allowing the alcohol to come in contact with the rubber as the material could become brittle and crack over time but if your keyboard isn't working it might be better to try and fix it now than worry about the future you could try a cloth just slightly dampened with water on that part if you're concerned let all the parts dry before you reassemble the keys you've taken apart these keycaps just pop right on while these have little clips so be gentle when putting them back on make sure it's aligned before applying too much pressure when everything is dry and reassembled it's time for the moment of truth go ahead and plug your keyboard back in or turn it on with any luck your sticky keys will be working smoothly again and you can get back to sending uplifting messages to strangers on the internet if you've got any more cleaning projects you want us to help you tackle let me know in the comments thanks for watching and we'll see you next timeyesterday i poured soda on this keyboard and left it out to dry overnight to get it nice and sticky and today i'm going to show you how to clean a sticky keyboard ordinarily if you had a spill like this on your keyboard you'd want to clean up the mess right away before you do anything unplug the keyboard from your computer or turn the power off next turn it over and shake out as much of the liquid as you can to keep it from seeping any further inside then take a cloth and wipe up any remaining liquid you can get to you might want to repeat the shake and wipe cycle a couple of times or until nothing else is coming out if you have a mechanical keyboard like this one where the switches are all exposed you could consider using an air blower to speed up the drying process now turn the keyboard upside down and let it dry overnight in the morning before plugging the keyboard back in check all the keys to see if you find any of them sticking if not feel free to plug it in and see how it works but if you have keys that are sticking either from a recent spill or from a splash in the past here's how to clean a sticky keyboard before we start worrying about sticky keys let's get all the big pieces of whatever out of your keyboard hold the keyboard at an angle and give it a good shake over a trash can or just over the floor if that's how you choose to live next you can turn to a can of compressed air or an air blower like this one to try and dislodge any more big particles that might be hiding under your keys cnet's katie teague has an article that outlines a thorough zigzag technique for blowing out the gunk you can try a vacuum if that's more your style but you do run the risk of losing small pieces if everything isn't firmly attached how are those sticky keys treating you now if one or more keys is still sticking you may be better off removing those keycaps to clean underneath but be careful not all keyboards were made to be taken apart a mechanical keyboard like this one is made to be customized so removing the keycaps is easy a little tool like this pops the keys right off this is a cheaper version so it doesn't have removable switches but if yours does you might need to pull them out to clean them as well this is a pretty standard pc keyboard and most of these keys come off the same way with the keycap removal tool except for these media control buttons across the top this wireless keyboard has flatter keys like an apple magic keyboard use a thin screwdriver or a tool like this to gently pry the keycap up from the side but don't damage the parts underneath and don't pry too hard when taking any of these keys off if you have to apply too much pressure odds are the keycap isn't meant to be removed with the problematic keycaps removed hopefully you can see whatever substance is causing the keys to stick so let's turn to what some people believe to be the solution to many of life's problems alcohol in this case i'm referring to ethyl or isopropyl alcohol you can use a damp alcohol wipe or a cloth or cotton swab dampened with rubbing alcohol don't let any more liquid drip down into the keyboard if you can help it as that can damage the hardware that lives underneath the keys wipe down all the parts of the sticky key the cap the switch and any other exposed parts especially if you can see signs of the spill that caused the problem try to work the alcohol around by pressing down on the key or wiggling any parts around to loosen everything up as best you can some keyboards will have a rubber membrane underneath the keycaps in that case try to avoid allowing the alcohol to come in contact with the rubber as the material could become brittle and crack over time but if your keyboard isn't working it might be better to try and fix it now than worry about the future you could try a cloth just slightly dampened with water on that part if you're concerned let all the parts dry before you reassemble the keys you've taken apart these keycaps just pop right on while these have little clips so be gentle when putting them back on make sure it's aligned before applying too much pressure when everything is dry and reassembled it's time for the moment of truth go ahead and plug your keyboard back in or turn it on with any luck your sticky keys will be working smoothly again and you can get back to sending uplifting messages to strangers on the internet if you've got any more cleaning projects you want us to help you tackle let me know in the comments thanks for watching and we'll see you next time\n"