Did you know your keyboard has 400 times as much bacteria as a toilet seat !!!
That alone is a good enough reason to clean your keyboard !
Also nobody wants to type on a grubby keyboard :P

So follow these steps to typing heaven :D

The pictures are of a Mac keyboard but this process works on all keyboards

Step 1: Cleaning Tools

You could just use a Q-Tip to clean your keyboard, but I decided to use a Dremel with three cleaning attachments.

Attachments

Soft cotton circle,
- Good for picking up dirt between the keys

Small plastic brush,
- Gets to hard to reach places

White abrasive bit,
- Gets muck off tops of keys

Step 2: UN-PLUG IT!!

Before you start removing keys you need to un-plug your keyboard !!

Step 3: Clean Key Tops

I Decided to clean the tops of my keys whilst they were still attached, its easier that way because they don't move as much.

So now put the white abrasive bit in your dremel and put it to about 1/3 full power.
Now just gently brush over the keys and the dirt will be cleaned off

When you are cleaning make sure you don't hold the abrasive bit in the same place for too long or the heat will build up and you will melt a hole in the key.

Step 4: Take the Keys Out

Now we have cleaned the tops of the keys we need to take the keys out to clean underneath.

To take the keys off a Mac keyboard slide one finger under the side of the key and gently lift upwards.
There are two small clips you have to be careful not to break when lifting the key.

When you are removing the larger buttons like the space bar, be gentle because there is a hidden metal clip as well as the two small clips.

It makes it easier to put the keys back on after if you lay them out in the right order above the keyboard.

Step 5: Clean Under the Keys

Now we have removed the keys we can clean underneath them.

To do this put the small brush bit into your dremel and turn it on,
Working from the top down brush all the muck into one corner then either hoover it up or just empty it into a bin.

Step 6: Convert to Dvorak ?

Since all the keys are already off your keyboard you may want to consider converting to Dvorak.

The Qwerty layout was designed because it makes your typing slower. Back in the 1800's when Christopher Sholes created the Qwerty layout, it solved the problem of the the key bars colliding during typing.

Dvorak is an alternative to the Qwerty layout. It's designed to cause as little hassle as possible. The most commonly typed keys are placed under the fingers and then this makes it easier to type common combination of letters and words.

In Qwerty, approximately 31% of typing is done on the home row. In Dvorak it's 70%. The Dvorak layout also has 37% less finger travel.

All this greatly helps to reduce stress on the fingers, hands and wrists which lessens the chances of getting RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury).

Dvorak doesn't take long to learn either :D

Step 7: Put the Keys Back

Now you have finished cleaning you just have to put the keys back.

Step 8: FINISHED

Thanks for reading, hope this helps !

The steps would have been longer but i switched to Dvorak and its taken me two whole days to write it as it is.

Leave a comment and tell me how your cleaning goes :D