Take an old toothbrush and wet the bristles with vinegar, then press the bristles against a towel so the bristles are almost dry. Use the toothbrush between the keys gently, just like you would if brushing your teeth. A small paintbrush treated with vinegar the same way helps to get all the bits and bobs that come out. Wiping the keyboard with a cloth will just push all that garbage back. Be prepared to rinse off the toothbrush and go over the keyboard several times if you have not cleaned it before.
I use this method and it works much better than the canned air. The air is okay for getting off any dust that settles without pushing it into the keys but do not work well for a really good cleaning. The vinegar also acts as an anti-bacterial because keyboards are usually pretty well covered with germs.
Source: How Clean is Your House - thanks Kim and Aggie for all the wonderful cleaning tips
By Kath from Dundee, Scotland
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Alcohol would be better than vinegar. It evaporates more quickly and sanitizes better.
@Lindal, I'm an American living about 20 miles north of 'Kathy in Dundee'; when I lived in the States I used to buy isopropyl alcohol at the drug store and used that exclusively to clean the keyboard, mouse, and doorknobs too for that matter, lol!
Since arriving in Scotland (Aug 2010) I've had a lot of adjustments to make, one is finding a source for isopropyl alcohol. I went to the two biggest chemists (Boots and Lloyds) in my area and they had NO clue what I was talking about when I asked for isopropyl alcohol.
I've been on the hunt. I think it's called 'IPA' here but Boots staff still don't know what I'm talking about. They keep wanting to sell me something called surgical spirit, which just is not the same. It doesn't smell or act the same-no quick residue free drying, either.
It's not the only product I've had trouble finding here in Scotland, so @Kathy, is the vinegar you are using the white malt version?
So far it is the only kind I can find in the shops, and I've checked them all! It seems to work the same way as plain white distilled vinegar but if you can find the plain white distilled that isn't the very strongly 'fragranced' malt variety used on chips, I'd love to know what shop you buy it from!
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