How to Clean a Keyboard: Quick and Easy Steps (Desktop, Laptop and MacBook)

Learning how to clean a keyboard takes about ten minutes, and the first step is always electrical: switch it off and disconnect it. After that, it is crumbs out, dust out and germs off. The method below follows the cleaning guidance published by Apple and Logitech, and works for desktop, laptop and MacBook keyboards.

Why should you clean your keyboard?

You should clean your keyboard because crumbs, dust and skin oil build up between the keys and on the keycaps. Over time that causes sticky or unresponsive keys. It also turns the keyboard into one of the dirtiest surfaces on a desk.

A shared keyboard is a high-touch surface, like a door handle. In an office with hot desks, many hands use the same keys each week. A regular wipe is basic hygiene, especially through winter colds.

Clean keys also last longer. Grit worked into the switches wears them, and oily keycaps go shiny.

What materials do you need?

You need a few cheap items, and none of them should be wet. Here is what to have ready.

How to clean a keyboard step by step

Work in this order: power, crumbs, dust, wipe, dry. These steps follow Logitech’s and Apple’s published guidance.

1. Power off. Shut down the computer. Unplug a wired keyboard, remove user-replaceable batteries from a wireless one and switch it off. Logitech suggests waiting 5-10 seconds before you start.
2. Shake out crumbs. Turn the keyboard upside down over a towel and tap the back gently.
3. Blow out dust. Hold the keyboard at an angle and use short bursts of compressed air along each row.
4. Brush the gaps. Run a soft, dry brush between the keys to lift what the air missed.
5. Wipe the keys. Dampen a lint-free cloth with 70% isopropyl alcohol, wring it well and wipe each key and the frame.
6. Do the edges. Use a barely damp cotton bud around the keys and in corners.
7. Dry fully. Leave it for a few minutes until every surface is dry, then reconnect.

Logitech says to spray any cleaner onto the cloth and wipe, never to spray the device directly. It also suggests testing alcohol on a hidden spot first, because it can remove printing on some keys.

How do you clean a laptop or MacBook keyboard?

You clean a laptop keyboard the same way, but with the whole computer shut down and the charger disconnected. Apple’s instructions for MacBook and MacBook Pro start with shutting down and unplugging the power adapter. There is no separate keyboard to turn upside down, so compressed air does more of the work.

For a MacBook with a sticky key, Apple recommends holding the laptop at a 75-degree angle, not quite vertical. Spray compressed air across the keyboard in a left-to-right motion. Keep the straw about half an inch from the keys, and do not tip the can upside down. Turn the laptop on its right side and repeat, then on its left side.

Laptop screens need different care from the keys. Apple says to clean a MacBook screen with a soft, lint-free cloth dampened with water only. Use 70% isopropyl alcohol only for stubborn smudges.

How to clean a keyboard at work

Office keyboards need the same method, but more often and with clear rules about who does it. A desk keyboard used by one person needs a weekly wipe. Hot desks and reception terminals need a daily one.

Some offices leave screens and keyboards to staff, and others want them wiped by the cleaners. Either way, write the choice into the cleaning specification. Our office cleaning service is priced at €30 an hour with a two-hour minimum, and you set the task list for your premises.

Our guide on how often an office should be cleaned sets out typical daily and weekly tasks.

Keep a pack of alcohol wipes and a cloth in each team area. People are far more likely to wipe a keyboard if the supplies sit on the desk.

Electrical safety: what not to do

Most keyboard damage comes from liquid getting inside a powered device. These rules protect you and the equipment.

• Never clean a live keyboard. Unplug it, remove batteries or shut the laptop down first.
• Never spray liquid onto the keys. Logitech and Apple both say to apply cleaner to a cloth.
• Never submerge it. Logitech says never to submerge a device in any liquid, unless it is a model sold as washable.
• No bleach, hydrogen peroxide or aerosol cleaning sprays. Apple lists all three among things to avoid.
• No abrasive cloths or scourers. They scratch keycaps and wear off lettering.
• No vacuum on high power. It can pull off loose keycaps on some laptops.

Always check the maker’s own cleaning page for your model. Washable keyboards, mechanical keyboards and laptops with special coatings can have different rules.

Mistakes to avoid when cleaning a keyboard

Beyond the safety rules, a few habits make cleaning harder than it needs to be.

• Prising off laptop keys. Laptop keycaps clip onto fragile hinges. Only remove keys on a keyboard designed for it.
• Holding the air can upside down. Apple says not to invert the can while spraying.
• Using a wet cloth. A dripping cloth sends liquid between the keys.
• Reconnecting too soon. Give alcohol a few minutes to evaporate completely.
• Eating over the keyboard. It is the main source of crumbs and sticky keys.

How often should you clean your keyboard?

Clean a personal keyboard once a week with a shake and a wipe, and give it a full clean with compressed air once a month. Clean it straight away after any spill. Shared keyboards need wiping every day they are used.

A short routine works best. Shake out crumbs and wipe the keys every Friday, and use compressed air on the first of the month. If you manage a whole office, our guide to office cleaning costs in Dublin shows what a regular contract costs. Call 01 230 8646 to talk through a specification for your workplace.