Cherry Mx Blue switches are stiff and hard to type

[KaytotheJay]

So I originally planned to clean my keyboard so I took out all my keycaps but I forgot about it afterwards. So I left my CM Quickfire TK cherry mx blue switches directly exposed to all the dust in my room. When i finally got to cleaning my keyboard and keycaps, I felt that it was a little bit harder to press down on the keyboard when the keycaps was back on. I tried to clean the switches by dripping a bit of water and hand sanitizer in it and also tried to blow some compressed air into the switches. Any suggestions and explanation as to why some of my switches are harder to press? Could it be foreign particles and dust entering the switches?

 

[Neur0nauT]

Dust would not have the affect you speak of, the switches are not that sensitive to particulates.

It might be residue has got into the switches if you did not dry the keycaps correctly after cleaning. Causing the microswitches to become a little bit "sticky"

To be honest..... you should not have been using water/sanitiser directly on the switches. Only the keycaps. If you wanted to clean the switches correctly you could have used Isopropyl Alcohol which would have cleaned them and evaporated afterwards.

Keep using the keyboard for a few days, and the switches might free up as normal. Could be that they just didn't like the keycaps being pulled off.

 

[KaytotheJay]

Dust would not have the affect you speak of, the switches are not that sensitive to particulates.

It might be residue has got into the switches if you did not dry the keycaps correctly after cleaning. Causing the microswitches to become a little bit "sticky"

To be honest..... you should not have been using water/sanitiser directly on the switches. Only the keycaps. If you wanted to clean the switches correctly you could have used Isopropyl Alcohol which would have cleaned them and evaporated afterwards.

Keep using the keyboard for a few days, and the switches might free up as normal. Could be that they just didn't like the keycaps being pulled off.

Hey, thanks for you reply.

Your explanation might be correct as I did try to put my keycaps back on the keyboard a press a few types before they were fully dry.

I looked up and saw Paul Hardware's video on cleaning mechanical keyboards and he said that you should try the water straw method before resorting to Isopropyl alcohol, so that's why I tried dripping water.

At the moment I have to dry my switches right? Do you suggest that i leave my keycaps on or off?

 

[Neur0nauT]

Dust would not have the affect you speak of, the switches are not that sensitive to particulates.

It might be residue has got into the switches if you did not dry the keycaps correctly after cleaning. Causing the microswitches to become a little bit "sticky"

To be honest..... you should not have been using water/sanitiser directly on the switches. Only the keycaps. If you wanted to clean the switches correctly you could have used Isopropyl Alcohol which would have cleaned them and evaporated afterwards.

Keep using the keyboard for a few days, and the switches might free up as normal. Could be that they just didn't like the keycaps being pulled off.

Hey, thanks for you reply.

Your explanation might be correct as I did try to put my keycaps back on the keyboard a press a few types before they were fully dry.

I looked up and saw Paul Hardware's video on cleaning mechanical keyboards and he said that you should try the water straw method before resorting to Isopropyl alcohol, so that's why I tried dripping water.

At the moment I have to dry my switches right? Do you suggest that i leave my keycaps on or off?

Anytime I have cleaned my mech kb, I've soaked the keycaps in soapy warm water and then let them dry off completely in an airing cupboard or warm area. Then with the main board and switches, I use a cotton buds and Isopropyl to clean them as best I can, usually it is good enough to do the job.

 

[ssddx]

hopefully you did not kill the keyboard. if water entered the switches at all it is not a good situation while its certainly possible to use a damp cloth or similar to clean the inside of the keyboard tray you do not want any liquid getting into the switches.

mx switches are sealed for the most part. while its possible to have some dust issues if you left the keyswitches off the best you can do is blow it out with air.

 

[KaytotheJay]

hopefully you did not kill the keyboard. if water entered the switches at all it is not a good situation while its certainly possible to use a damp cloth or similar to clean the inside of the keyboard tray you do not want any liquid getting into the switches.

mx switches are sealed for the most part. while its possible to have some dust issues if you left the keyswitches off the best you can do is blow it out with air.

Are you sure about that? I watched a extremely detailed tutorial on youtube and he used the "water-straw" method where he uses the straw to drip a bit of the water into the switch to lubricate and clean the interior of it. He said this method is perfectly fine as long as you leave the keyboard to dry out for a couple of days.

Here is the link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw_tpElJbxY

 

[ssddx]

i've also seen videos of people putting keyboards through dishwashers and calling it safe but i wouldnt trust those either even if its entirely possible to do it without damage.

if you want to get technical then yes, it certainly is possible to wash keyboards with water and not have trouble. the big problem is drying as residual water can stay in there for quite a long period of time as it is not expose to airflow.

if water gets on the internal circuit board while powered up, you're going to fry it. if its only in the switches, it should not be a problem as long as it dries though could remove some lubricant. if contained in the switches the only possibilities would be to rust the spring used (which could affect how everything moves) or bridge the contact temporarily until it dries (making the key seem like pressed). otherwise, no effect.

water is not a lubricant. if anything water will wash away any internal grease the factory used as lubricant. any person who suggests water is a lubricant for these switches is not someone i would trust. generally the switches are sealed so under normal use you should not have to relubricate but if they were i certainly would not use water.

can water clean the inside of the switch? perhaps, although cleaning could also remove existing lubricant as i said above. dust stuck on grease however is not going to come loose from a simple drip

tldr: possible without damage, yes. good idea, no.

 

[KaytotheJay]

i've also seen videos of people putting keyboards through dishwashers and calling it safe but i wouldnt trust those either even if its entirely possible to do it without damage.

if you want to get technical then yes, it certainly is possible to wash keyboards with water and not have trouble. the big problem is drying as residual water can stay in there for quite a long period of time as it is not expose to airflow.

if water gets on the internal circuit board while powered up, you're going to fry it. if its only in the switches, it should not be a problem as long as it dries though could remove some lubricant. if contained in the switches the only possibilities would be to rust the spring used (which could affect how everything moves) or bridge the contact temporarily until it dries (making the key seem like pressed). otherwise, no effect.

water is not a lubricant. if anything water will wash away any internal grease the factory used as lubricant. any person who suggests water is a lubricant for these switches is not someone i would trust. generally the switches are sealed so under normal use you should not have to relubricate but if they were i certainly would not use water.

can water clean the inside of the switch? perhaps, although cleaning could also remove existing lubricant as i said above. dust stuck on grease however is not going to come loose from a simple drip

tldr: possible without damage, yes. good idea, no.

Oh I see... yeah I think the residual water did wash up some of the factory lubrication as my switches got very stiff when I put my keycaps back on without letting it dry completely.. I'm currently still leaving my keyboard out to dry for a few days before plugging it back in.

What should I do to ensure that the water in the switches dries completely and do you reccommand that I re-lubricate my switches? If so, is sewing oil safe?

 

[ssddx]

they probably used grease when assembling though using that is impossible now.

any lubricant with non-conductive properties might work.