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How do you clean your screen, keyboard, etc?

Ben Halpern on May 15, 2018

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Meghan (she/her)

cat

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Sung M. Kim

This is the best bio hack ever πŸ‘

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ben profile image
Ben Halpern

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Sung M. Kim • Edited

confession

I haven't cleaned my keyboard and mouse for awhile now (so can't answer... πŸ˜₯)

But for a PC πŸ–₯️ monitor , I use alcohol wipe (after finding out that it is bad for glasses) for glasses πŸ‘“.

I clean my monitor every other day because of this reason,
and then wipe it off with a paper towel for PC monitor.

For my laptop πŸ’», I use cloth for glasses πŸ‘“ as it's more delicate.

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Alyss πŸ’œ

For my keyboard, I turn it on its side and use canned air to blow debris out. If there's a tough to get at spot, I can remove the key and use rubbing alcohol + cotton swabs or microfiber cloths.

Mouse: rubbing alcohol + cotton swabs or microfiber cloth

Screen: I prefer dedicated screen or glass wipes.

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Rem

The best way to clean them is buy the new screens and keyboards.

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Sumant H Natkar

I am super particular about having a clean keyboard and table on which my computer is kept.

I have a year old daughter who is always dropping all kinds of stuff in my keyboard, so I have kept a cleaning solution handy near my desktop.

First thing which I do when I reach home and see that my computer or my table or my keyboard is empty is get cleaning.

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Speedmaster

Screen, /very/ slightly damp paper towel.

Keyboard on desktop, it's bluetooth and I shut it off. Then I wring out a clorox wipe so it's only just damp. Then clean away. If anything is dripping or rolling with moisture it's too wet.

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Dave Cridland

Don't. Look. Under. Your. Mouse.

So my keyboard gradually accumulates a bit of muck, and I've long since learnt to buy gamer keyboards, because:

  • They last longer.
  • They're usually black, so don't show the dirt.

But I have a stupid USB vacuum cleaner my mother gave me as a joke which turned out to actually work, so that's good for crumbs when I've rammed an entire pack of biscuits (or crisps; I'm an equal opportunity snacker) into my mouth while coding. Sometimes I invert the keyboard and apply percussive cleansing techniques.

My screens I clean with Windolene and a microfibre cloth once in a while.

But every now and then I make the fatal mistake of looking at what the underside of my mouse has accumulated.

What the hell is that stuff? No, don't answer that, I really don't want to know.

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Brett Stevenson • Edited

I was noticing that the screen on my Macbook was always getting fingerprints and smudges and no household remedies seemed to help, so I picked up some generic screen cleaner at Fry's and with a microfiber cloth that seems to do the trick. For the case, I usually use a (barely) damp microfiber cloth and just wipe the whole thing down.

Though I haven't found a solution for cleaning laptop keyboards, so I'm interested to hear what people have come up with.

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Douglas McKechie

For the keyboard I just tip it upside down and give it a few shakes to release any loose particles - dust, food crumbs etc. Occasionally when the computer is off I will give it a wipe with a slightly damp cloth. To clarify I have a desktop PC at home (not laptop).

As for the screen usually a microfibre cloth, such as those I use to clean my glasses. Occasionally I will dampen the tip of my finger and use that to clean a spot on the monitor.

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Donald Merand

I find a microfiber cloth with some water works on the screen + keyboard. Occasionally (like when I go to the plague-ridden office) I'll wipe the whole thing down with something antimicrobial.

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Douglas R Andreani • Edited

The screen I use glasses cleaner and a soft cloth. The keyboard I remove all keypads, dump them into a bucket of water. For the base, I use a cotton swab with isopropyl alcohol

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Nicolas Hampton

For my screen I've been using the same cleaner I use for my glasses, but with some skepticism, so I'm definitely reading these comments.

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Itachi Uchiha

I prefer to buy a new keyboard if I need to clean keyboard. If need to clean the screen, I call my mom. She will clean it. She can't accept it :D

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Abhinav Kumar

Slightly damp micro-fibre cloth. I either use water or a mild alcohol solution.

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Ghost

Screen: Non-abrasive alcohol wipes
Keyboard: Power off > Microfiber cloth > RUB RUB RUB > Blow with an air pump
Mouse: Nothing
Anything else: Microfiber cloth

Simple.

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ComputerSmiths

Clean with Isopropyl wipes (any drug store, most grocery stores) and polish with microfiber cloth (Costco) for everything

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Peter Benjamin (they/them)

Little alcohol wipes, similar to those they pass out on airplanes, work great for screens and smudges on my keyboards.

Otherwise, disinfecting clorox wipes 🀷

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dotHTM • Edited

Keyboard:
upside down shake