Your laptop is actually your best buddy. It's because you lug it around anywhere almost all the time - to school, office and coffee shops, to the mall and even on long trips. Your laptop is in fact your overworked companion that if it could only talk, it would perhaps beg you for a break.
Give your laptop a break then by cleaning its keyboard completely. Really, you can do it by yourself as long as you are cautious enough to handle the cleaning.
Much like any other cleaning job, you have to be wary about the possible dangers of having an accident. And so to avoid this, unplug your laptop before cleaning and make sure all the attachments, like USB drives, CDs, mouse, power charger and headphones are removed from the unit.
You may want to detach the keys in order to give the keyboard a thorough clean-up. This is fine but make sure that before you remove the keys you know how to place them back. Otherwise, leave the keys on and just use a can of compressed air to remove the dirt in between the keys. However if you are very certain that you can put back the keys in their proper positions then go ahead, take them out. Make sure though that you make a diagram of your keyboard for your guide.
When you have removed the keys, soak them in a bowl of warm soapy water for a few minutes. Brush them one by one or you may use cotton swabs to remove dirt from the innermost part of the keys. Rinse them well, spread each key on a towel and leave them there to drain and dry completely.
Meanwhile, clean the keyboard with a can of compressed air. If you don't have compressed air, you may use damp cotton to wipe the surface of the keyboard and cotton swabs to eject dirt from hard to reach areas. Use a damp cloth or microfiber cloth to wipe the track pad which is usually grimy. Rest your laptop on an airy part of the room in order in order for the keyboard to dry.
Check if the keys are completely dry. Wipe each key with a clean and dry cloth then get ready to put them back on the keyboard. You may want to lubricate the keys and keyboard first before re-assembling, to optimize efficiency for a longer period of time.
Place the keys back one by one on the keyboard. Don't rush when you are doing this and don't force the keys if they don't fit. If, despite the keyboard diagram you can't return the keys back properly, better consult a technician or better yet, bring it back to the dealer from where you purchased the unit.
Cleaning your laptop keyboard must be done on a regular basis, to ensure top performance of your machine all the time. The best way to keep it clean however is by not exposing it to dirty elements.
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