So, maybe you spilled something, (like I did about 2 weeks ago, might I add) or keep dropping crumbs into your precious, precious keyboard. Or maybe it's just full of dust and you're tired of it.
So, I'm here to show you how to easily clean your mechanical keyboard.
Stuff you'll want:
• Compressed air, or lung capacity if you're cheap
• Lubricant if switches are sticky, I prefer DeOxit as it is fast drying and cleans up nicely
• Key puller, or a paper clip
• Q-Tips if you want to scrub in between your keys
First, remember what I said about the paper clip? Just bend it like this to make a temporary key puller.
First off, we'll be getting dust out of our keyboard and switches.
To start, I've found my can of compressed air. Usually yours will come with a small red straw, but I lost mine, so I'm just using a little drinking straw. It works as a good substitute.
When you have your canned air with straw ready, go ahead and pull some keys.
Here I am showing you to not grab keys from the sides, but from the top and bottom, to ensure that you don't hit the switches.
As you can probably see, my keyboard is in needing of a cleaning. It isn't easy having 2 cats.
Now that you've got a hold of the key, pull gently and voila, it should snap off.
Careful they don't fly out of the key puller though, I have lost many keys in such a way.
Now, I've cleared a space where my keys got some residue in between them. What you want to do here is either take a finger, or if you have a large air straw, press down on the open switch and activate the airflow. This will flush all of the dust/debris inside the switch cavity.
This should look something like this:
Now repeat that with the rest of your keys and you are done.
Now, as far as lubricating goes, you'll want to find an electronic connection lubricant such as DeOxit or QD electronics cleaner.
Absolutely never, NEVER use WD-40 or other axle lubricants. These lubricants are too viscous for the switches and make them gooey.
I chose to pick up some QD electronics cleaner and found it worked perfectly for my CM Storm Quickfire TK.
As far as applying lubricant, it is just the same as de-dusting your switches. Activate the switch, and while maintaining pressure on the switch, apply the lubricant generously to the inside cavity.
It should look a little something like this:
Sadly, I didn't have my little straw for this one and I had to spray it in without it. A bit difficult, but acceptable to do if a straw is not available.
After applying the lubricant, be sure to let the keyboard dry/air out for at least 10 minutes before use to ensure that no mis-connections will be made on the PCB behind the switches.
Well done, you've lubricated your keyboard.
As far as cleaning in between the switches goes, just grab a few Q-Tips and some water or isopropyl alcohol and coat the Q-tips in it and scrub away! Just be sure to not catch any sharp edges on the switches. I find that the electronic lubricant works well for this too as it is quick to dry and is grime resistant.
I hope this helped someone and have fun with your newly-cleaned keyboards!
So, I'm here to show you how to easily clean your mechanical keyboard.
Stuff you'll want:
• Compressed air, or lung capacity if you're cheap
• Lubricant if switches are sticky, I prefer DeOxit as it is fast drying and cleans up nicely
• Key puller, or a paper clip
• Q-Tips if you want to scrub in between your keys
First, remember what I said about the paper clip? Just bend it like this to make a temporary key puller.
First off, we'll be getting dust out of our keyboard and switches.
To start, I've found my can of compressed air. Usually yours will come with a small red straw, but I lost mine, so I'm just using a little drinking straw. It works as a good substitute.
When you have your canned air with straw ready, go ahead and pull some keys.
Here I am showing you to not grab keys from the sides, but from the top and bottom, to ensure that you don't hit the switches.
As you can probably see, my keyboard is in needing of a cleaning. It isn't easy having 2 cats.
Now that you've got a hold of the key, pull gently and voila, it should snap off.
Careful they don't fly out of the key puller though, I have lost many keys in such a way.
Now, I've cleared a space where my keys got some residue in between them. What you want to do here is either take a finger, or if you have a large air straw, press down on the open switch and activate the airflow. This will flush all of the dust/debris inside the switch cavity.
This should look something like this:
Now repeat that with the rest of your keys and you are done.
Now, as far as lubricating goes, you'll want to find an electronic connection lubricant such as DeOxit or QD electronics cleaner.
Absolutely never, NEVER use WD-40 or other axle lubricants. These lubricants are too viscous for the switches and make them gooey.
I chose to pick up some QD electronics cleaner and found it worked perfectly for my CM Storm Quickfire TK.
As far as applying lubricant, it is just the same as de-dusting your switches. Activate the switch, and while maintaining pressure on the switch, apply the lubricant generously to the inside cavity.
It should look a little something like this:
Sadly, I didn't have my little straw for this one and I had to spray it in without it. A bit difficult, but acceptable to do if a straw is not available.
After applying the lubricant, be sure to let the keyboard dry/air out for at least 10 minutes before use to ensure that no mis-connections will be made on the PCB behind the switches.
Well done, you've lubricated your keyboard.
As far as cleaning in between the switches goes, just grab a few Q-Tips and some water or isopropyl alcohol and coat the Q-tips in it and scrub away! Just be sure to not catch any sharp edges on the switches. I find that the electronic lubricant works well for this too as it is quick to dry and is grime resistant.
I hope this helped someone and have fun with your newly-cleaned keyboards!
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