How to clean up a white keyboard?

On 9/15/20 3:38 PM, this is what Frank Slootweg wrote:
Ken Blake wrote:
[...]

I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.

I would like to do that too. The problem is that the rest of the
laptop is attached to it! :-)

(Yes, I know I could attach an external keyboard, but that makes it
quite akward. But if push comes to shove, I might have to do that. One
key (escape) already broken (and remapped), another (which can - for all
intents and purposes - not be remapped) getting flaky. Knocking on wood
with fingers crossed.)


--
Ken

Keyboards on some laptops are not that hard to replace. I've had 4 over the past 15 years and I've had them all apart and other than no
keyboard issues, I could have slipped on in easy as pie. Getting one might be the issue.

On 2020-09-15 10:17, Ken Blake wrote:
If my keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out

This one has switches. It has a very nice feel to it

On 2020-09-15 06:41, Jonathan N. Little wrote:
T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop.Â* The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.


Black keyboards ;-)



Chuckle. Back when the were all off white, they looked
pretty gross at times

KenW wrote:
On Mon, 14 Sep 2020 19:10:22 -0700, T wrote:

Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop. The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

-T

PAINT IT BLACK !



https://youtu.be/O4irXQhgMqg


--
Take care,

Jonathan
-------------------
LITTLE WORKS STUDIO
http://www.LittleWorksStudio.com

On Mon, 14 Sep 2020 19:10:22 -0700, T wrote:

Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop. The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

-T

On a related matter, if the keyboard or any other electric device like
a toaster or heater has had greasy stuff, or coffee, or strawberry jam
spilt into it, then wash it with a soft brush and flush with
methylated spirit, shake it dry and then leave it in the sun (or lab
oven @ 30degC) until thoroughly dry. You may need 70% methylated
spirit.
Works for pocket calculators too.

On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 12:23:52 -0500, Char Jackson
wrote:

On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 10:17:33 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

On 9/15/2020 8:14 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 07:09:31 -0400, Paul wrote:

T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop. The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

-T

Word of warning.

"Too much cleaning equals broken keyboard"

On my previous keyboard, I frequently took it apart
at the membrane level, and washed things off. And cleaned
the cover of stuff. Those kinds of operations seemed
pretty innocuous (I wasn't "grinding on stuff").

Then one day, I decided to remove the key caps. And
that caused enough damage that I had to bin it.

The keycaps on my IBM Model M keyboards look like they're meant to pop off
for cleaning. Mine have been off and on many times over the years.

Don't get so carried away cleaning it that you ruin it.

Remember the old advice to toss the keyboard into the automatic dishwasher?
I've never done that, but I know quite a few people who did. That was back
in the 80s/90s, so probably not good advice now.


I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.

I have an $11 keyboard around here somewhere and I'd do as you do regarding
that one. However, I bought a dozen IBM Model M's for $1 each from a office
supply recycler about 20 years ago and those things are too good to throw
away. Not to mention that I see they're going for about $200 on Ebay now.
Maybe I shouldn't have dropped 6 of them off at Goodwill last year.

Do they plug into USB3 sockets?

On 9/15/2020 12:38 PM, Frank Slootweg wrote:
Ken Blake wrote:
[...]

I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.

I would like to do that too. The problem is that the rest of the
laptop is attached to it! :-)


One of the many disadvantages of using a laptop instead of a desktop.

--
Ken

In article , Ken Blake
wrote:


I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.

I would like to do that too. The problem is that the rest of the
laptop is attached to it! :-)


One of the many disadvantages of using a laptop instead of a desktop.

a very minor one, outweighed by the numerous advantages.

On Wed, 16 Sep 2020 07:26:43 +1000, Peter Jason wrote:

On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 12:23:52 -0500, Char Jackson
wrote:

On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 10:17:33 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

On 9/15/2020 8:14 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 07:09:31 -0400, Paul wrote:

T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop. The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

-T

Word of warning.

"Too much cleaning equals broken keyboard"

On my previous keyboard, I frequently took it apart
at the membrane level, and washed things off. And cleaned
the cover of stuff. Those kinds of operations seemed
pretty innocuous (I wasn't "grinding on stuff").

Then one day, I decided to remove the key caps. And
that caused enough damage that I had to bin it.

The keycaps on my IBM Model M keyboards look like they're meant to pop off
for cleaning. Mine have been off and on many times over the years.

Don't get so carried away cleaning it that you ruin it.

Remember the old advice to toss the keyboard into the automatic dishwasher?
I've never done that, but I know quite a few people who did. That was back
in the 80s/90s, so probably not good advice now.


I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.

I have an $11 keyboard around here somewhere and I'd do as you do regarding
that one. However, I bought a dozen IBM Model M's for $1 each from a office
supply recycler about 20 years ago and those things are too good to throw
away. Not to mention that I see they're going for about $200 on Ebay now.
Maybe I shouldn't have dropped 6 of them off at Goodwill last year.

Do they plug into USB3 sockets?

Mine are all PS/2 so you'd need an adapter. They're cheap, just a buck or
two.

On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 14:43:26 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

On 9/15/2020 12:38 PM, Frank Slootweg wrote:
Ken Blake wrote:
[...]

I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.

I would like to do that too. The problem is that the rest of the
laptop is attached to it! :-)


One of the many disadvantages of using a laptop instead of a desktop.

Why not both? The machine in front of me is primarily a laptop. When I need
to use a desktop, I RDP to it.

On 15 Sep 2020 19:38:22 GMT, Frank Slootweg wrote:

Ken Blake wrote:
[...]

I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.

I would like to do that too. The problem is that the rest of the
laptop is attached to it! :-)

(Yes, I know I could attach an external keyboard, but that makes it
quite akward. But if push comes to shove, I might have to do that. One
key (escape) already broken (and remapped), another (which can - for all
intents and purposes - not be remapped) getting flaky. Knocking on wood
with fingers crossed.)

I agree with Big Al. If your laptop is a name brand, there will almost
surely be replacement keyboards available, and IME they don't tend to be
expensive. If your current KB isn't lighted but it was an option, this
could your chance to upgrade to a lighted KB.

Installation is usually easy. On my Dell, it simply snaps out. I could be
typing on a new KB in about a minute. On my HP, some trim pieces need to
come off first, so give me about 3-5 minutes on that one.

On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 12:07:25 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

I just googled ibm m keyboard and found pictures of them. They basically
look the same as modern Windows keyboards, except that they don't have a
Windows key.

A Windows key isn't absolutely necessary, but it's a convenience, and I
wouldn't want a keyboard without one. So lower the price of the IBM to
$11, and I still wouldn't want it. I don't care if it's clickier.

My laptop KB has a Windows key but I don't remember ever using it.

[]

Char Jackson wrote:
On 15 Sep 2020 19:38:22 GMT, Frank Slootweg wrote:

Ken Blake wrote:
[...]

I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.

I would like to do that too. The problem is that the rest of the
laptop is attached to it! :-)

(Yes, I know I could attach an external keyboard, but that makes it
quite akward. But if push comes to shove, I might have to do that. One
key (escape) already broken (and remapped), another (which can - for all
intents and purposes - not be remapped) getting flaky. Knocking on wood
with fingers crossed.)

I agree with Big Al. If your laptop is a name brand, there will almost
surely be replacement keyboards available, and IME they don't tend to be
expensive. If your current KB isn't lighted but it was an option, this
could your chance to upgrade to a lighted KB.

Installation is usually easy. On my Dell, it simply snaps out. I could be
typing on a new KB in about a minute. On my HP, some trim pieces need to
come off first, so give me about 3-5 minutes on that one.

Thanks (to both you and Big Al).

Yes, when the time comes I'll probably try to do that. I'm not so
handy anymore with delicate stuff (used to make/fix electronic stuff in
the very old days, but now do only simple things), but I'll try before
replacing it.

My laptop is also an HP one, HP Pavilion 15-p142nd ('d' is probably
for Dutch (powerplug)). Little over 5 years old, running Windows 8.1.
Other than a bad battery - due to constant charging - and this keyboard
problem, it's perfectly fine! :-)

On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 17:43:20 -0500, Char Jackson wrote:

On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 12:07:25 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

I just googled ibm m keyboard and found pictures of them. They basically
look the same as modern Windows keyboards, except that they don't have a
Windows key.

A Windows key isn't absolutely necessary, but it's a convenience, and I
wouldn't want a keyboard without one. So lower the price of the IBM to
$11, and I still wouldn't want it. I don't care if it's clickier.

My laptop KB has a Windows key but I don't remember ever using it.

[]

The Win Key is important to me, as past of the sequences eg in
various games, no doubt the bindings could be redefined but a useful
Win Key avoids that hassle. Unfortunately this particular Logitec
keyboard doesn't have a win key so I re-mapped the caps lock key to
Win.

What connection for these fabled IBM dinosaur keyboards, PS/2 ?
Probably not bluetooth. Another cable to add to the clutter.

On 15/09/2020 09:49, T wrote:
On 2020-09-14 20:51, GlowingBlueMist wrote:
On 9/14/2020 9:10 PM, T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop.Â* The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.


Did you try doing the same with a *fine* scouring pad, rather than a
piece of cloth? I have seen furniture restorers use it to get surface
dirt off wood and metal surfaces. (Make sure you try it on one key,
before doing the rest. If ivory, it should not leave any scratch marks.
If plastic, hope it is hard plastic.)



-T
Try a soft cotton cloth soaked in a water/dish soap solution.Â* Wring
it out until almost dry and try that.Â* When clean do it all over again
with a clean damp rag to remove any leftover soap.Â* Popsicle sticks
help to get the rag down between the keys.

Some plastic used in keyboards and other plastic PC components do
discolor (usually get darker) when exposed long term to UV Light, as
from the sun OR florescent lights.

Spound liek a good start.


The keys are not yellow.Â* They are brown from year of dirt
from my fingers