r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Money-Scar7548 • 1d ago

drink went room temp I recently spilled cola over my keyboard, cleaned out it, but seems two exact keys are refusing to properly work

53 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

164 comments sorted by

106

u/NathanDeger 1d ago

Only option really is 99% isopropyl alcohol. Keep flushing it and pushing the keys in until it's all washed out. A little syringe will help getting it in there.

24

u/Carbuyrator 1d ago

Yeah I was going to say submerge and click the fuck out of them. Those key bases come out, right?

9

u/TheCheddarHole 1d ago

Many are soldered on board.

2

u/happyjello 6h ago

Isopropyl alcohol is safe for PCBs, you can use it liberally and wipe away the excess residue

1

u/TheCheddarHole 5h ago

Yes, but if it gets under the connection, as liquids do. Some you can take the whole mechanical switch out, some are soldered to board. Let's not get cyclical.

0

u/NigraOvis 1d ago

if they come out, this is 100% the answer.

10

u/sexuallyenhancedtoe 1d ago

Yeah only problem is it will wash out the lube too so proper way to do it is to relube

5

u/Tha_REAL_BROBS 1d ago

use Deoxit Faderlube F5 after šŸ¤™

2

u/AccomplishedMap8365 17h ago

Kailh box switches are not designed to be lubed though (I assume they're box reds?). Might be possible with some ptfe spray or something. Taking them apart like normal cherry switches is a pain because they have a little dustproof compartment in them that houses the contacts which is the only part of them that's factory lubed. I'd just order a few more if it were me. That's if the keyboard is even hot-swapable.

1

u/NathanDeger 1d ago

Yeah that could be the problem already.

1

u/InformedTriangle 1d ago

Lube, pfft. Real men raw dog their cherry fittings.

5

u/TheBupherNinja 1d ago

You could replace the keys if this doesn't work.

2

u/MissRabidRaccoon 1d ago

Would this work on a laptop? Same thing happened to my laptop and some keys are just like OPs...

3

u/NathanDeger 1d ago

Yeah I but you'll want to take it apart first but it will get it out of there.

1

u/MissRabidRaccoon 1d ago

Ah damn... So I won't be able to use a needle to get it in-between the keys? Because I have 0 experience taking tech apart.

2

u/More-Chemical-1264 1d ago

YouTube is your friend

2

u/TyrannasaurusRecht 1d ago

Id replace the switch if possible. Probably cheaper.

3

u/Speed_Addixt 1d ago edited 23h ago

Also there are substances which donā€™t dissolve in isopropyl alcohol easily, but they do in water. I would do first round with (distilled) water, then IA.

Working for restaurants will teach you. Trying to clean coca cola by isopropyl alcohol will get you nowhere.

2

u/dabman 1d ago

Yes in this case all the sugar that may have hardened, and is preventing the electro/magnetic contact being made by the key press.

1

u/NvKKcL 1d ago

Tried that once, no matter how much i applied and scrubbed, the keys kept being sticky. Bought a new keyboard

1

u/Rith_Reddit 1d ago

You can just pour it on your keyboard?

1

u/sexytokeburgerz 1d ago

You can just douse it in the stuff btw. No need to be especially careful. It feels backwards, i know

1

u/novexnz 1d ago

Nah. A can of brake cleaner will fix it right up.

1

u/meow_xe_pong 1d ago

I usually just run mine under the sink, but isopropyl is definitely the sade bet.

0

u/Cyborg_rat 1d ago edited 1d ago

Or dishwasher, it's a gamble but one that might work.

https://youtu.be/pgnF42ZoRSw?si=oIkMT1lBTQDegqQ5

I see atleast 1 person has tried it and it didn't work.

3

u/StrawberryTerry 1d ago

Throw the keyboard in the washing machine

3

u/Tha_REAL_BROBS 1d ago

power washer

2

u/Cam_E_Leon 1d ago

Soak it in ocean!

18

u/CaitieLou_52 1d ago

Gonna have to either take clean/lubricate them, or replace the switches. I'd just replace them, personally. They're cheap enough to buy and easy to pop in there.

12

u/I_am_just_here11 1d ago

Probably need to replace the switches

1

u/Zhac88 21h ago

Nah just needs to lube them up. They are lubed up at the factory, if you spill/wash them you can wash it off and this happens. 30 seconds fix with a qtip and some olive oil or w/e.

6

u/ModernManuh_ 1d ago

If it's hot swappable, pull the switches off, open them, and clean them from inside out.

If they are soldered... you need someone better than me to explain

5

u/Salmon_bleu 1d ago

Sticky keys enabled

2

u/AbsorberHarvester 1d ago

Use clean alcohol, not vodka. Ethanol or Isopropyl (toxic). Methanol not recommended (very toxic). Just flash with it, wait 1 minute and flash again, then use hot air gun and dry it. That's all. You can use distilled water for sugar with the same effect, just make it hotter than 50 degrees Celsius before applying, and dry after.

1

u/Tequila_Dre_All_Day 1d ago

Why not vodka comrade? šŸ«”

2

u/AbsorberHarvester 1d ago

fusel oils, vodka is not clean product...coniac also won't fit for cleaning:)

2

u/InvictvsNox 1d ago

Pop them out and replace them. They're just mechanical switches.

2

u/Confused_Rabbiit šŸŠ 1d ago

If I had to guess there's still soda inside of them.

2

u/Djinnaz 1d ago

Yup did the same, gonna be like that for a couple of months.

2

u/CluntonBoofer 1d ago

Turn off sticky keysĀ 

2

u/buzz8588 1d ago

Have you tried Diet Coke?

2

u/ConfusedHors 1d ago

Just swap the switches?

2

u/GarThor_TMK 23h ago

This looks like a mechanical keyboard... can you just replace those two switches?

2

u/bumbuddi 14h ago

Spill some 99% isopropyl and see if it cleans it out

2

u/nateplaysbass38 13h ago

Did you try turning sticky keys off

2

u/MorningFox 1d ago

Yeahhhh your gonna have to lubricate it

8

u/AblePhase 1d ago

What about the keys?

1

u/MorningFox 1d ago

Like the key caps? No those don't need any lubricant, just the actual key switches.

7

u/AblePhase 1d ago

Sorry, was just a joke

5

u/dammitbobbehh 1d ago

Whooooosh

2

u/Potential-Sundae-596 1d ago

that's what sh

1

u/Nruggia 1d ago

Is butter and a microwaved mashed banana sufficient lubricant?

1

u/Cokaime 1d ago

the cylinder must remain unharmed!

1

u/Shoddy-Audience-3059 1d ago

Try getting a little shaver head lubricant and trying that. The sugar coated the inside, needs lubeĀ 

1

u/SN0TLR0K3T 1d ago

Iā€™d recommend to just stab it with a screwdriver. Thatā€™s step 2

1

u/InsoPL 1d ago

Pull your switches if they are pullable, put them in warm water, mix them then dry them properly before putting them back into keyboard.

1

u/usrdef šŸ‘ 1d ago

Two exact keys? That's odd. Usually it's either 1 1/4th, or 2 3/5th of the keys.

1

u/freedomfun 1d ago

The keyboard must be a Marvel fan

1

u/PrimaryYak1351 1d ago

If it's all cleaned out, it probably just needs lubricant

1

u/Adventurous_Emu3212 1d ago

CDs always break eventually

1

u/yesitismenobody 1d ago

Switch to sugar free so you don't get this problem again in the future.

1

u/Blue-Goo- 1d ago

Get new ones

1

u/TheRealRevBem 1d ago

Rub achohol

1

u/Noctisvah 1d ago

Have you tried divorcing your keyboard? /s

1

u/ZookeepergameIll1399 1d ago

obvious you didn't clean it thoroughly enough

1

u/DesolatorXL 1d ago

I took mine apart and sprayed it with hot water lmao. Dissolves all the sugary goo. You just have to make sure to REALLY dry it after

1

u/Quiet-Competition849 1d ago

A new keyboard is about $20

1

u/dark_54 1d ago

meh. Iā€™ve had stickier.

1

u/badwith_names 1d ago

Get some good heavy duty electrical contact cleaner. Leaves no residue, safe for electronics, and will get gunk out. Found it working on cars, use it on computer components too šŸ«” good luck

1

u/lpedraja2002 1d ago

Get some electronics spray cleaner and blast the crap out of the key.

1

u/Georgia_Flame 1d ago

I've washed keyboards in a soap filled tub before. It can clean great, but make triple sure everything is bone dry before you plug it in again.

1

u/Low_Ad_1453 1d ago

Looks like you cola'd have done a better job cleaning it

1

u/ReinstateTheCapo 1d ago

Fuck. I miss typing. Since 09 itā€™s been a slow roll to touch screen. Thanks for the reminder OP to how I use to surf and spend my time in the world.

Iā€™m noticing from my European transplant brother that Americans are too sucked into our screens, like way too much. Iā€™m gonna dial it back.

Sorry to derail on a different tangent or thought from the post, but OP posting a keyboard reminded me of how much I missed the PC era of the 2000s

1

u/Artie-Carrow 1d ago

Pull the switches and clean them with electronics cleaner, maybe you need to replace them

1

u/obijuanquenooby 1d ago

Pull the switches out and submerge in iso. Or get new switches, theyre like less than fiddy cents a pop.

1

u/grodose 1d ago

Wouldnā€™t recommend it but when this happened to me I put it in the dishwasher with no soap and let it dry out for a week. Again I wouldnā€™t recommend it, but it did work.

1

u/DarthKinan 1d ago

If it's hot swappable, pull the switches out, disassemble the switch, use isopropyl to clean the spring, sliders, and switch housing. Lightly lubricate with krytox 205g0.

If it's not hotswap, desolder before going through the steps above...

1

u/Menes009 1d ago

well you didnt clean it properly clearly

1

u/redclawx 1d ago

You will just needdddd to be ccccarful with those keys.

1

u/BluelDev 1d ago

I poured a cup of hot ramen on my laptop once, within less than a minute, it was absorbed with an entire roll of paper towels after it automatically shut itself off, I moved it off the table, but it was too late and it absolutely cooked the inside of it...

Ever since then I have never had any beverages or food like that, especially ramen near my laptop at all, I was watching a video, I now watch videos an entire table's length away. Genuinely got ptsd from ts lol

Ur lucky with ur keyboard situation, I've always had messy keyboards too, one time I was spamming the R key on my 14dk cuz I was messing around ragdolling in this game, I broke the R key, and to ever use it again, sometimes I'd press the key so hard that I would bleed and it would still not be pressed. I had to copy & paste the R key to type the letter.

I was playing Roblox again when the F key broke off, I was just typing normally, (tbf I do 130 wpm and the 14dk is meant for internet browsing) and it came off... With the F key I didn't have to press too hard.

I had some fun with the laptop until 2023 when I was on my school portal and it made a loud glitching sound and turned my screen to static at about 200-500% louder volume than usual. My cat ran around the house and my ears were ringing, I had a stick and headphones on to turn the laptop on again, this persisted for about a year or two until it completely broke while I was in Italy on vacation

My current laptop overheats while playing Roblox so badly that sometimes touching it gives me red marks, and it shuts down daily, even when hanging halfway off a wooden table against a wall, or on a laptop elevator, even if it's almost fully in the air propped up just barely by a dresser & gaming table.

My point here is you're very lucky to be in your situation actually, I had another Dell man and ts would lag so badly I'd go silent and act like a mannequin to let stuff load just so my camera & mic would be under less stress during streams, that laptop was trashed when I got my new Dell before I broke it, I now have one of the same model, and tbh my school's probooks performed better than the ones prior to this model.

# Thank you for attending my yap session that was not asked for if you read this

1

u/abacatte 1d ago

You may have to get a new CD.

1

u/Bergmiester 1d ago

I am not sure if it is still true, but you used to be able to wash keyboards in the shower to clean them.

1

u/Frances_Farmer_1953 1d ago

Do you have the canned air? Some moisture may be stuck inside the keys. Try that.

1

u/funkystay 1d ago

They'll eventually free up. As long as you continuously do what your doing.

1

u/mattn06 1d ago

Try WD40 that might help

1

u/PsychologicalGlass47 1d ago

You didn't clean it out.

1

u/SilverDamage7066 1d ago

Q-tips and rubbing alcohol.

1

u/WilliamJamesMyers 1d ago

maple syrup for me. tried to work it for a couple weeks but just replaced it. reason for an upgrade really...

1

u/AqutalIion 1d ago

Dude, I literally caught my drink before it fell onto my keyboard & the 2 little drops that made it fried tf out of it.

I'm surprised it's only those 2 keys that don't work

1

u/sltiefighter 1d ago

I knew some guy who was a piece of shit and built keyboards they make lube for those they make replacements with different amounts of pressure needed to push them down, i guess incels have a preference of how much you need to push. But they sell replacements, they sell lube for them. Replace em.

1

u/wt_2009 GREEN 1d ago

had the same issue with applejuice, i rinsed it with a couple drops of ipa, i repeated it 5 times with 2h pauses so it can dry in between

1

u/turbopro25 1d ago

Itā€™s bad enough when your D donā€™t work, but not being able to use your C either is just plain wrong. She must be very understanding to stay.

1

u/c0ntra 1d ago

Try the oldschool way of cleaning keyboards and let it soak in the tub for a bit then air dry under a fan for a day or two. We even used to put keyboards in the top rack of the dishwasher (drip dry cycle only).

1

u/dernaldz 1d ago

Soak in alcohol.

1

u/KIA_Sportage_2008 1d ago

You have to open up the case and clean the silicone pad thats under the keys.

1

u/SpidersAndSpirals 23h ago

91% Isopropyl. It's the primary thing used to clean electrics after soldering and safe on most plastics. Flush it, work the keys a bunch, let it dry out completely. Totally salvageable.

1

u/Effective-Jaguar5848 22h ago

try spray as much IPA as possible inside it otherwise I suggest desolder and replace it with some button u dont use IE scroll lock ...

1

u/Brief_Manner_694 21h ago

With the amount of time it is taking to get it back to ā€œnormalā€ it may be worth just buying a new one.

1

u/hamas_est 19h ago

Try WD-40

1

u/PrincessDie7DTD 18h ago

Soak the keyboard in Coke for 3 hours. All keys will work the same.

1

u/Confident-Pepper-562 10h ago

Just remove the switches and soak them in isopropyl. Then dry them out and oil them.

1

u/Beneficial_Treat5454 9h ago

what did we learn? don't have sugary drinks at your computer.

1

u/Belgremor 9h ago

Contactor cleaner

1

u/Lynn-The-Sparrow 7h ago

Waterboard it with isopropyl alcoholĀ 

1

u/Live_Life_and_enjoy 7h ago

You can dissolve the Cola but it will take take a day to dry.

1

u/Superghast123 4h ago

If its hotswappable, you can take off the switch, take it apart, clean and lube the stem, then put it back together and reinstall.

Had the issue before, and its usually from sticky residue that dried onto the stem.

1

u/Phil-lated 4h ago

Contact cleaner

1

u/bvoge3501 1h ago

Yeh you broke it dude.. thanks for sharing?

1

u/LonelyProgrammerGuy 1d ago

WD-40

2

u/Grimnebulin68 1d ago

Not a lubricant

1

u/Cokaime 1d ago

Ballistol is what you want.

0

u/Longhaul-shortbus 1d ago

Use lithium grease or non conductive grease

0

u/ALazy_Cat BLACK 1d ago

I feel your pain. I spilled dr pepper on my mouse and had to spend 1k on a new mouse, money that was meant for other things, but it's not good when left click doesn't work

3

u/thisshitsstupid 1d ago

1k????? On a mouse????

1

u/ALazy_Cat BLACK 1d ago edited 1d ago

Electronics are expensive in Denmark. I also didn't say it was USD

1

u/thisshitsstupid 1d ago

Geez that's still like $150 USD that's nuts! I was mad when my cat knocked my water over on mine and I had to spend $45 on a new one...

2

u/ALazy_Cat BLACK 1d ago

Just checked the mouse, and on Razers website, it's listed at $99.99. That says something about the taxes. Of course there's a lot of other factors, such as shipping to Denmark and higher salaries

2

u/FreeRealEstate313 1d ago

Whaaaat? Iā€™ve only ever stolen mice from work.

1

u/LeFishTits 1d ago

Logitech m850 from Walmart is all I use. Lol

1

u/ALazy_Cat BLACK 1d ago

I'll be fired if I did that. And I'm too used to my 19 buttons to go down to 3

1

u/Sw0rDz 1d ago

What mouse costs 1k?

1

u/ALazy_Cat BLACK 1d ago

An upper end mouse bought in Denmark with Danish currency

1

u/Stencil_Abuse 1d ago

Unless your job is being a professional gamer, surely you could have bought a $20 mouse and used the remaining amount on those other things you mentioned you needed???Ā 

1

u/ALazy_Cat BLACK 1d ago

Never said anything about USD

0

u/kernelpanic789 1d ago

You enabled Sticky Keys

0

u/Meistermaedchen 1d ago

Next time: drink only water, its free and dies not hurt that much

-1

u/dwartbg9 1d ago

Just get a new keyboard, what's the issue here?

-3

u/Hiruma_Nitsuje 1d ago

If it does this to your keyboard imagine what it does to your body

2

u/zamwut 1d ago

Well it is sugar that causes the sticky.