How to clean a laptop keyboard

1. Power down and unplug

To start with, completely shut down your laptop and disconnect the power cable; there are a couple of reasons for doing this. Firstly, you want to avoid the risk of electrocution as there are liquids involved in the cleaning process, albeit it very small qualities. Secondly, if your laptop is running when you clean the keyboard, you could end up deleting files or changing settings as you press the keys.

If your laptop has a removable battery, do not remove it. While this might seem like an obvious move, it's actually more likely to cause issues, since you'll be exposing the power connector.

2. Gently shake out loose debris

Perhaps the easiest way to start the laptop keyboard cleaning process is getting rid of crumbs and other larger pieces of debris that have accumulated under the keys. Simply open up your laptop and then flip it upside down before giving it a gentle shake and a wiggle. You can also gently pat the bottom of the device to encourage things to become dislodged. This is worth doing regularly if you often eat while using your laptop, even if you don't clean it fully; a tiny piece of food becoming lodged under a keycap is liable to cause problems.

3. Blow, or suck, out dirt

A can of compressed air – or, at a push, a hair dryer on a cold setting – is a great way to blast away other debris that has not fallen out with shaking. If you have no way of blowing away dirt (although cans of compressed air are pretty cheap on Amazon), you can use a vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment; this can be your regular home vacuum (assuming it is clean), or a smaller one designed for use in the car.

4. Clean away grease

The keys of a keyboard unavoidably gather a build of grease and oils from being touched. You may have luck in removing much or all of this using nothing more than a microfiber cloth – be sure not to use any sort of cleaning cloth that could shed fibers. For stubborn areas of dirt, very slightly dampen your microfiber cloth with isopropyl alcohol, but always use the absolute minimum, and do not spray or drip any sort of cleaning product onto the keyboard directly.

If you have a high-concentration (90% or above) isopropyl, consider diluting it a little with purified water - roughly two parts alcohol to one part water is sufficient. A concentration in the 60-70% range is ideal; this helps slow the evaporation of the isopropyl to give it more contact time with the surface, but won't affect its ability to kill common bacteria or dislodge grim. Always give your laptop keyboard plenty of time to dry before turning it back on.

5. Key removal

Some, but certainly not all, laptop keyboards can have their keycaps removed, which can be useful for intensive cleaning. You can usually find out whether the keycaps can be removed by checking the manufacturer's website or product manual. Some laptops may include a tool in the box for removing keycaps.

Removed keycaps can be deep cleaned (as they contain no electrical elements), and you'll also have the chance to clean beneath where the key usually sits. Gently replace keys when they are completely dry. Do not attempt to remove keys if you either don't know how to do it or you are uncertain whether it is possible with your laptop, as you may damage the keyboard.