That’s not my keyboard, but it might as well have been
If you spend some time reading tech websites, you most likely stumbled upon at least one article touting the advantages of a mechanical keyboard. And, if you did, there’s a good chance that you scoffed the very idea of “going back” to the era of bulky, clunky keyboard with high and loud keys. Most people use notebooks these days, and they come with perfectly functionning keyboards, so why bother, right?
While this quick topic is not meant to defend mechanical keyboards, I will say there are at least two reasons to get one:
1. Ergonomy: You’ll be able to better place your notebook so you don’t have to strain your neck to look at the screen.
2. Durability: A good mechanical keyboard will last you longer than most of your computers, specially if you do the right maintenante.
And that’s what this article is about, taking care of your mechanical keyboard.
I have been using a Das Keyboard 4 for Mac since 2015. At the time, it was one of the rare options of mechanical keyboards for Macs with USB 3. They are not cheap - most good mechanical keyboards aren’t - but it’s a very good value for money.
After almost five years of use, the grease from one’s hands - however clean - start to pile up over the keys. When my niece visited me a couple of months ago, she looked at my keyboard and said it was possible to see which keys I used most just by looking at the grease on the keyboard. Well, she was right. Just look at the greane/no-grease band going on the “TYU” keys, and the “P” key, where I scratched a little of the grease for the Before pic.
Yeah, it was kind of gross. But wait, there’s more!
The first step is, of course, unplugging the keyboard. There will be a lot of key pressing during this whole operation. Then it’s time to remove the keys. In those types of keyboards, the keycaps aren’t glued to the actual button. They are simply snapped on, and are easily removed. You can do it with your hands, depending on your dexterity, but it’s hard. Luckily, there’s a little piece of equipment you can use for that, a keycap remover:
They are cheap and very effective. You might get a little fright the first time you remove a keycap - there’s a real sense of breaking an expendive piece of tech - but there’s really nothing to it. Those caps were made to be removed, after all. You just have to mind the bigger ones - the space, Shift, Return and such - where you are bound to find an extra piece of support called a stabilizer. Still, it’s easy enough.
But the real fright will be when the underbelly of the beast is finally revealed. You won’t believe how dirty it can get down there:
Yep. And you thought the keycaps were disgusting.
You clean the base of the keyboard like you would the inside of a car: vacuum the larger lint, wipe the smaller ones - with a cotton swab covered in a microfiber cloth lightly wet, for instance. Turn the keyboard upside down and shake it a few times to release unseen lint and dust. Do that a couple of times, and the base is good to go.
Now, for the keycaps. You can try scrubbing one by one with something like a toothbrush and dish soap. Bare in mind there are 104 individual keys in this particular keyboard, and that I have a life to live. Some manufacturers offer particular choices to easily clean keycaps, and for me the trick was something I wouldn’t have thought at first: denture cleaning tabs. Get a bowl large enough for all the keycaps, cover them all in warm water, throw two denture tabs in the bowl, let it sit overnight:
There it is, the magic happenning. The tabs will sizzle when you first throw them in, which is normal - that’s when I took the pic. Make sure all keycaps are submerged and let this very litteral letter soup rest for a night. Then, simply rinse them - I used a pasta colander to do all of the at once - and let them dry with the letters facing down. You’ll have to shake each key a little to remove some water. Once they are dry, just put them in the keyboard again. Start with the larger keys - because you have to connect the stabilizers first - then the smaller ones. It’s as simple as pressing it down. Et voilà, a keyboard good as new:
Mint you I do keep my hands clean, and that I don’t live in a place particularly prone to dust, and that it still got to that situation. Your mileage may vary, and you might have to clean more frequently than I did, but it’s an endeavor worth taking. On top of the cleaning you might, as I did, get a little itch for changing your keycaps - something you can only do for yourselg in mechanical keyboars. I’ve been looking at customized and coloured keycaps, I might just make the jump soon.
If you have a mechanical keyboard, show it some love! And, better yet, if you have a mechanical keyboard, show it here! I would love to see customized keyboards, DIY keyboards, or even those old IBM keyboard people are still rocking!
And sorry for the low-quality pics. When I thought of registering the process for a topic here, I had already began and didn’t had time to prepare the setting to take better pictures…
Supergluing the caps?! But how are you going to clean it up next time? Just pressing on the loose key should be enough to get them into place again - the K70 has CherryMX switches after all, the same as my keyboard.
