Anyone else THIS stupid?

I had at least half a mug of coffee with sugar and creamer and knocked it over into my keyboard and thumb roller ball "mouse".

I think I MAY have saved the keyboard (right now using the one from the other 'puter in the house). Found several REALLY stuck keys!

May go ahead and take the mouse apart as well.

I feel like such a doofus!

I've heard people putting keyboard in dishwasher to clean, and it works fine afterwards.

But if it's not too dirty just pry those key out and clean them.

Liberal doses of ElectroClean and Silicone Spray! The very worst were popped out and wiped extra good.

When I'm tired of being on CPF later, I'm going to try the keyboard and the recently cleaned Trackball again.

Just be grateful it was coffee! :sweat:Otherwise you would have experienced The Pepsi Syndrome!!!!

Don't feel bad. My wife spilled some coffee in my new VAIO laptop. Luckily it was just in the lower half of the keyboard. I immediately shut it off, took it apart and cleaned it with alcohol. I was able to pop a few keys off, clean them and replace them. Still working fine though. PHEW

As far as regular keyboards, there are usually two flexible circuit boards that lie on top of each other that send the keystroke signals. If the liquid got in there that it would probably be shorting out. I have taken several apart and cleaned them. They are actually pretty easy to disassemble. When taken apart you can actually rinse the parts off (except the small circuit board) , let them dry and put it back together.

Or just get a new keyboard since they are cheap. Not sure about the dishwasher tho.

Oh yes, I dumped soda on my cordless keyboard and killed it.

geepondy said:

Oh yes, I dumped soda on my cordless keyboard and killed it.

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+1 That sucks.

The keyboard really seemed pretty simple inside. I tried it after getting off CPF last night and it seemed like it was gonna work, but then it started popping up messages about "this button hasn't been configured" and the dead trackball couldn't close them!

Probably going to go cordless with mouse this time, but wish to use cable KB still.

You know what sucks about it? Trying going out this day and buying a cordless keyboard only that isn't paired with a mouse. I couldn't find one.

jugg2 said:

+1 That sucks.

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At a shop I used to work at, someone spilled coffee on a micrometer and it got very sticky. Nothing could be done to get it smooth again, until someone came along with a brilliant suggestion...dunk it it more coffee.

After soaking it in coffee, it was then cleaned with more traditional methods, and worked great after that...

i havent killed a keyboard yet, however one day about ten years ago my grandfather was in his pharmacy at the counter cleaning his "heater" a .38 special S&W, when it went off while being directed at his keyboard, its blew the keyboard apart, so my grandad saved the keyboard as something to put on his wall, but could never find the bullet, until about a week later when he found it across the room in one of his hanging lab coats.

mossyoak said:

i havent killed a keyboard yet, however one day about ten years ago my grandfather was in his pharmacy at the counter cleaning his "heater" a .38 special S&W, when it went off while being directed at his keyboard, its blew the keyboard apart, so my grandad saved the keyboard as something to put on his wall, but could never find the bullet, until about a week later when he found it across the room in one of his hanging lab coats.

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LOL mossyoak! Sounds like your grandfather is the sort of guy jtice would like to take along on one of his computer-hunting expeditions.

About ten days ago, the cat nocked a can of Diet Mountain Dew into the keyboard shared by my lab computer and the backup computer.
Despite the lack of sugar, the keyboard no longer functions properly, and I'm currently using my Saitek Eclipse keyboard plugged directly into the lab computer so I can perform spectrographic and beam cross-sectional analyses.

I just now checked, and that keyboard is still malfunctioning. :green:

What Don Shock said. You just had to be there. And you had to have seen "The China Syndrome" to fully get it.

I can just visualize all you young whippersnappers scratching your heads and saying WTF the old farts be talkin' about?

about 3 times a week i throw away what im eating and take a bite outa something i wanted to throw away. i bang my head at least 3 times month on the celing when im walking up staires and at the last minute decide to take a look if i locked the door.lol ive had pople say to my face im the dumbest person they ever met.i sure hope they dont know a lot of people

Raggie, I don't know that we could help but become friends if we lived close together. I don't feel that confident about anyone else!

some electric cleaners eat plastic. (like my keyboard)
dishwasher detergents oxidise the plastic too so it gets all powdery.

take all the acrews out the back, pull the face with the buttons off, and leave behind the electrics of it.

then scrub it and abuse it with the method/cleaner of your choice.
(i do simplegreen/hot water and a scrub brush under a tub)

but i recon a toothbrush and toothpaste would do just as well.

to dry it - flail it around like a madman, beat imaginary things with it and change your grip so the force is not all in one direction.

let dry for two hours, (ymmv) and reassemble.

PlayboyJoeShmoe said:

Raggie, I don't know that we could help but become friends if we lived close together. I don't feel that confident about anyone else!

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i can use all the freinds i can get.the fishing is kick but here lately.striper are being caught