A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

new lease on life -- cleaned my keyboard - deenibeeni

Posted: Nov 11, 2009

Didn't just wipe it down, like I usually do...this time I took it apart (it was disgusting in there -- I know how all the food & coffee got in there, but what about that enormous wad of dog hair???) popped off all the keys & cleaned them with detergent, cleaned in, around, under keyboard cover. Let everything dry overnight, put it all back together & voila! Feels incredible. I had no idea everything was so gunked up.

(Hint: I took some little snapshots of my keyboard before I started popping off the keys. You'd be amazed.)

Keyboard disasters and helpers - Viking Fan - 35 years of suffering and counting...

[ In Reply To ..]
I'll never forget one time while working at a hospital in Ohio, the company responsible for our "word processors" as they called them in the olden days came in to clean the keyboards, popping the keys off, etc. The one lady said one of the keyboards looked like beef stew at the bottom. We were in hysterics after she left. She was ticked.

I know mine needs cleaned - coffee, potato chips, cigarette ashes, with I'm sure a few pug sneezes thrown in, but it's sometimes just easier to buy a new one than to clean one, but even that takes me forever because it has to have just the right touch for me.

I did find a solution though for when I kept accidentally hitting keys I didn't need and never used like "insert" (I don't bother with typeover when you can use an easier function like shift + arrow) I'd hit that stupid insert key all the time instead of the key I wanted and ended up typing over words, having to retype them. I also got rid of Print Screen/SysRq (never use but can pop back on if necessary), pause/break and there's one more that I can't find. I had no need for them and kept hitting them by accident so I simply plucked them off. I love it now. I never hit them accidentally and have to make a correction. I have my own customized keyboard. LOL! I also have nailpolish on the comma because with the presbyopia just starting, I'm having a hard time differentiating between the commas and periods. It's when I'm editing and have my hands off of the keyboard so much and then have to insert multiple commas that it really helps me because I don't have to bend over to double check the keyboard to make sure I'm hitting the comma. I also put nail polish on all odd number keys on the top row. Makes it easier to know where the keys are because the lighting (none overhead) isn't great in here. As soon as I have clearance from the pod doc for this stupid broken foot, I'm moving our 10 million books from the small bedroom (well, that's an exaggeration - I have my fav authors, he has his, and we have some in common but we seriously have 7 tall bookshelves crammed with books. It's unreal), having Hubby carry all but 1 book shelf down to the basement and taking my office in there where I can work in peace without him lying on the couch right next to me with the TV blaring.

Maybe on my next day off, I'll see if my keyboard looks like a pizza after I take off all the keys. LOL!

HA! - mt3

[ In Reply To ..]
This is so funny. When my computer guy comes over, he tells me my keyboard is the most awful thing he has ever seen, but it my favorite and even though many of the letters are worn off, it is what I know and am used to. I may have to break down one of these days and buy a new one, but for now....anyway, got a kick out of your post. And, hurrah to you for being a Vikings fan. We live in Montana and my husband grew up on Vikings.

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