When I first opened up my computer cabinet, I was in shock by the amount of dust that had accumulated on and around the computer’s components.
Now I open up the computer on a monthly basis to blow dust out of the cabinet, and lately, I’ve started taking more care of my keyboard as well. Keyboards will, just like the computer, start collecting dust at an alarming rate. The rate can, of course, be slowed down by keeping a clean apartment at all times, but it will happen to some degree regardless.
Too much dust and gunk can actually damage the keyboard or at least lower the keyboard’s performance. That’s why it’s somewhat important to prevent the keyboard from collecting too much dust.
You can either perform regular maintenance on the keyboard or find ways to reduce the amount of dust collected and only perform maintenance once in a while. Both ways work.
So what can you do to protect your keyboard from dust?
The best way to protect a keyboard from collecting dust and being damaged by dust is to put a cover over your keyboard, keep your home or office clean, and regularly brush the keyboard with a duster brush to remove the dust before it can start accumulating. By simply doing one of these things you will reduce the amount of dust collected in your keyboard substantially.
There are several ways to protect a keyboard from dust:
- Put a keyboard cover on the keyboard
- Keep the area surrounding the keyboard clean (Your house/office/room)
- Place a microfiber cloth on the keyboard when it’s not being used
- Keep a duster brush (preferably) nearby so you can brush between the keyboard’s keys once in a while
- Blast the keyboard with canned air
- Store the keyboard if you’re not going to use it for a longer period of time
Covering the keyboard with a protector is a great start and it will minimize the build-up of dust greatly. It’s also important to target the thing that’s generating all of the dust that’s gathered in your keyboard.
This will most likely be the cleanliness of the environment surrounding the computer. Keeping a clean house will slow down the accumulation of dust on not only your keyboard but all other devices and surfaces too.
If you don’t have a protector and can’t justify purchasing one at the time, a microfiber cloth can be placed on the keyboard.
The main difference that certainly makes the protector better is that the protector can be placed on the keyboard while it’s being used, whereas the cloth must be removed when the keyboard is used. The cloth will, however, protect the keyboard from dust by simply placing it on top of the keyboard.
Swipe the keyboard with a duster once or twice a week, or blast it with canned air twice a month to get as much dust out as possible and to prevent the build-up.
Lastly, store the keyboard in a drawer or cabinet if you’re going away for a long period of time, instead of having it out in the open where it will collect much more dust.
Is Dust Bad For Keyboards?
It’s not unusual to spend a big portion of your day in front of the computer, either at work or at home. For some people, this also includes eating and drinking by the computer.
Aside from the health-related issues that may come from spending too much time inactive, there’s also going to be a lot of build-up of gunk on the keyboard. Dead skin cells, dust, grime, food, and liquid can and will collect under the keyboard’s keys as it’s being used.
The thing about dust is that the build-up will happen regardless if you use the keyboard regularly or not. Dead skin cells, food, and liquid won’t appear unless you use the keyboard, and eat or drink by it.
Dust can, therefore, be seen as a silent killer in comparison to these other things.
Too much dust can affect the keyboard’s performance, and impair the overall experience of using the keyboard. It’s highly unlikely for dust particles to ruin the keyboard entirely, but a lot of dust can make the keys sticky and prevent them from depressing completely.
Keeping dust and other stuff out of your keyboard will make the keyboard last longer.
Read: How Long Should Keyboards Last?
Are Keyboard Protectors Worth It?
Keyboard protectors are thin silicone covers that are placed on the keyboard to provide a layer of protection that keeps your fingers from touching the keyboard but also prevents food and water spill, dead skin cells, and dust from entering the keyboard.
The pad covers the keyboard completely which makes it difficult, or nearly impossible, for the build-up of dust and grime to happen underneath the keys.
One minor annoyance, which can be solved quite easily, is that the cover can “limit” your typing speed a little bit. Sometimes I take the protector off the keyboard for long writing sessions because it feels more natural to type on a keyboard without the protector on.
That’s the only time I may remove the protector, and I don’t do it every time I’m writing either. It’s just something to keep in mind.
Keyboard protectors can save you hundreds, or thousands of dollars depending on your device and habits. Protectors can be used on both laptops and external keyboards, I would definitely get one for a laptop as it will protect both the computer and the keyboard from spills, dust, and grime.
Regular external keyboards will also be better off with a protector on, especially if you’re a heavy user.
Keyboard protectors are worth the very affordable price they cost, even more so if you’re a messy person who tends to eat and drink by the computer. The keyboard protector is the most proactive way of keeping your keyboard clean.
Can You Vacuum Your Keyboard?
The best way to get dust out of the apartment is a vacuum cleaner. So naturally, one would quickly wonder if it’s possible to use the vacuum cleaner on the keyboard and garner the same kind of results.
Seeing as it can be a little bit difficult to reach every nook and cranny of a keyboard when the keys are still attached to it, the vacuum cleaner is a decent way of removing a good portion of the dust bunnies that have accustomed themselves to the keyboard’s housing.
You can vacuum clean both laptop keyboards and external keyboards to get dust and gunk out of them but make sure that the keys are firmly connected to the board to avoid having them sucked into the vacuum cleaner.
Using a USB-powered vacuum cleaner designed for keyboard cleaning is probably going to be your best option.
You can find a bunch of different mini-vacuums for keyboard and computer cleaning online. This is the one I’m using.
These vacuum cleaners are far more suitable for cleaning gadgets than a regular big-sized vacuum cleaner. The nozzle won’t be able to reach a single thing inside the computer without touching or damaging other components, and it will be even less effective on the keyboard.
These small-scale vacuum cleaners are impressive and can be used for all sorts of gadgets, and even for hard-to-reach areas of your house.
How Often Should You Clean Your Keyboard?
The most important part of the entire process of, of course, prevention. If you prevent dust from collecting in the computer, you will never have to struggle to remove it.
The struggle has already been done on a regular basis, which even I fail to do sometimes. Not that I’m a neat freak or superior to anyone else, I’m just sitting here preaching this without having anything to show for it at times.
But how often should you clean your keyboard in order to keep it clean?
It is ideal to clean your keyboard’s surface once a week by giving it a quick wipe-down with a microfiber cloth and a disinfectant, then finish it off with a duster or canned air.
Performing a more thorough clean on the keyboard is also recommended but only once every 5-6 weeks or so. This includes removing the keycaps and getting rid of everything that’s collected under the keys.
Read: How Long Should Laptop Keyboards Last?
What Will Happen If You Don’t Clean Your Keyboard?
You may not think that your keyboard is as dirty as it actually is. When you truly understand how much stuff your keyboard is harboring, you will understand the importance of keeping it clean.
Your keyboard is most likely less clean than your toilet seat unless the keyboard is brand new, then you’ve got a couple of months before the keyboard has surpassed the toilet seat.
So what kind of impact does this have on the person who uses the keyboard, and also the keyboard itself?
- You can get sick if you don’t clean your keyboard: It’s true. Your keyboard is a breeding ground for bacteria that can make you sick. The bacteria can easily make their way from the keyboard into your body because you’re either eating by the computer, rubbing your eyes, wiping your nose, or have small wounds on your hands.
- You can get acne: Dirty electronic devices can cause acne breakouts, according to Dr. Yoram Harth, who is a certified dermatologist. Harth also says that researchers collected samples from 300 different keyboards in an office and found that every single keyboard had bacteria.
- It will be messy: The keyboard will become sticky, and filled with gunk, which can stop certain keys from working and gradually lower the keyboard’s performance.
- It will require more work: Cleaning the keyboard becomes a difficult task when you finally decide to do it.