Cleaning an iMac aluminum wired keyboard

[itsmesunny]

Hi,

I am wondering if anyone has tried the method of putting a wired aluminum keyboard thru the dishwasher or rinsing with warm water. I have seen quite a few youtubes of people doing it.

No soap and just let it dry completely.

I spilled milk on my A1243 keyboard months ago, cleaned it up as best I could and it just started acting up about a week ago.
My iMac was beeping. After extensive rounds of emails with apple support etc. I found out it was the keyboard - not the iMac.

It's a really nice keyboard and expensive to replace.
I am using one now from my 20+ year old iMac.
It's like using an old typewriter.

The brightness keys show audio and the 4, 5 and 6 keys come up as 7, 8, and 9.

So, does anyone have thougts on doing this or suggestiosns?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

That is NOT advisable at all. Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. You will permanently damage your Apple Keyboard if you follow that advice.

If certain keys are not responding after a liquid spill, your only recourse is to replace it.

C

 

[Lufbrarunner]

If replacing it is the only other option you might as well give it a go, nothing to lose. But then any water in it could short out the circuits and may damage your computer totally so not really an option, bite the bullet and replace it.

 

[itsmesunny]

Hello and welcome.

That is NOT advisable at all. Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. You will permanently damage your Apple Keyboard if you follow that advice.

If certain keys are not responding after a liquid spill, your only recourse is to replace it.

C

Cory, of course, it sounds crazy to me and then I thought if it is indeed damaged beyond repair, what have I got to lose? And no, I don't believe everything I read or see on the internet.

You say it is not advisable and yet my only recourse it to replace it?
So, is that not a contradiction?

I am considering popping out each key - very carefully, that is damaged and cleaning each - very carefully.

Someone, somwhere posted an interactive keyboard, to punch in each key to see if each of them works.

 

[itsmesunny]

If replacing it is the only other option you might as well give it a go, nothing to lose. But then any water in it could short out the circuits and may damage your computer totally so not really an option, bite the bullet and replace it.

Yes. Please see my response to Cory above.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello again,

You don't have anything to lose, since it isn't working normally, but it's not something I would recommend. In 25+ years of computer industry experience, I have never heard of that fixing the issue you have. Water and electronics simply do not go well together.

No, it's not a contradiction...just a statement that it won't help the issue. Over the course of time, what probably happened is the liquid has corroded the connections inside the keyboard itself, which is preventing the keys from functioning properly. I highly doubt that anything can repair the damage, including removing each key and cleaning individually, as the scissor mechanisms are very fragile and easily broken. In addition, any physical damage would be below what you could access by doing so.

You can enable an the on-screen Keyboard Viewer from the Keyboard preference pane, which will visually show which keys are working normally when pressed, and which are not.

It's just my experienced opinion that the keyboard needs replaced. It's ultimately your call to decide on what action you take, based on all of the information and opinions you gather in response to your inquiry. If it were a viable and recommended solution, then Apple would list it in their support documentation.

Best,

C