Keyboard Cleanup after Spill

[Pepi93]

Keyboar - Corsair K70 RGB Pro MK 2.0 LP

2 spills, first one was a full glass of water, took it apart, let it dry etc, no issues after.

2nd spill, months later, glass of unsweetened almond milk, mainly on the number pad, took it apart, cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol, going around the entire pcb with a cue tip dipped din alcohol, used dust off, let it dry, but unfortunately my 'd' key is not good, sometimes when I press it, it won't actuate or it will double/triple produce the letter 'd'. I tried with icue on/off, same result. I tried cleaning it more by taking the cap off, dabbing with cue tip/alcohol on the key itself, more dust off...painful just to type this.

The + key on the number pad LED also got messed up, but I'm not too worrried about that and just shut the LED off.

Curious if I missed any cleaning steps or if there's anything else I can try?

I can't see any damage to the pcb when looking with a magnifying glass.

Thank you!

 

[EarthDog]

The "d" (LOL) may just be failing at this point... who knows. There's meds for that.

 

[Nebulous]

Last time I spilled 1/4 glass of Woodford Reserve. As I was sipping, the glass slipped and ka-thunk right dead center on my Corsair Vengeance K65. I wasn't upset about the keyboard, I was more upset of spilling my loved booze.

So I took it all apart and submerged it in a plastic tub of 90% isopropyl alcohol. Used compressed air to blast it dry and let it air dry for a few days in the sunlight.

It lives and I'm typing with it as we speak. I figured it was worth a try to save it as it's my favorite kb. I do have a K70 RGB TKL incase of emergencies. I am going to purchase another K65 Vengeance kb. I don't need the number pad, so to me that's a waste on a kb I use for just gaming.

 

[Pepi93]

The "d" (LOL) may just be failing at this point... who knows. There's meds for that.

Good one

Post magically merged: Aug 18, 2024

Last time I spilled 1/4 glass of Woodford Reserve. As I was sipping, the glass slipped and ka-thunk right dead center on my Corsair Vengeance K65. I wasn't upset about the keyboard, I was more upset of spilling my loved booze.

So I took it all apart and submerged it in a plastic tub of 90% isopropyl alcohol. Used compressed air to blast it dry and let it air dry for a few days in the sunlight.

It lives and I'm typing with it as we speak. I figured it was worth a try to save it as it's my favorite kb. I do have a K70 RGB TKL incase of emergencies. I am going to purchase another K65 Vengeance kb. I don't need the number pad, so to me that's a waste on a kb I use for just gaming.

I think I need to try something like this, because simply spraying it a bit with the water/alcohol mixture, then using dust off, letting it dry etc, and rinsing what could be rinsed under water maybe wasn't enough. 90% is safe on plastics and components? I was either using 50/50, 70/30 and yeah I have used 99% isopropyl before too.

 

[Janus67]

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/wiki/keyboardmaintenanceguides

In there are some spill guides and recommendations maybe worth reading over

 

[Pepi93]

I should have mentioned that it's not consistent, sometimes the D just works and other times it acts up...lol

 

[Nebulous]

I think I need to try something like this, because simply spraying it a bit with the water/alcohol mixture, then using dust off, letting it dry etc, and rinsing what could be rinsed under water maybe wasn't enough. 90% is safe on plastics and components? I was either using 50/50, 70/30 and yeah I have used 99% isopropyl before too.

Since I've cleaned used benching motherboards coated in all kinds of gunk, I've even used CRC contact cleaner spray. I like this method better as the stuff dries instantly.

Janus posted a great link as well.

 

[Pepi93]

Since I've cleaned used benching motherboards coated in all kinds of gunk, I've even used CRC contact cleaner spray. I like this method better as the stuff dries instantly.

Janus posted a great link as well.

I have a bit of that stuff left, I'll give it a shot.

 

[Pepi93]

Alright, took it apart, cleaned it all and now will let it sit for a day or so. I didn't use the contact spray because the can said, not for circuit boards/etc, automotive use only...I have motormaster brand...maybe it's different. So I washed all the key caps in soap water, and the pcb/switches sprayed with 99% isopropyl, and used hair drier/compressed air.

UPDATE: Put the keyboard back together today and so far it seems to be behaving well. I'll post again if anything changes, but thanks to all who replied which led me to doing the more "thorough" clean.

If what I did fixed the "d" key issue, for those reading this. It's best to soak the keycaps in a dish soap/water even if the spill covers only parts of the keyboard and for me I had some vinegar in there too, for a few minutes, then rinse well, let dry. For the PCB and key switches, 99% isopropyl, spray thoroughly, let dry...wipe as needed. I only waited a day to put it all back together.

 

[Pepi93]

Well I'm back, and the keyboard is again showing the same symptoms as before...

I'm all ears if anyone has more suggestions. I did look into lubricating switches but that isn't something I'm willing to invest in and these are low profile switches.

 

[JLK03F150]

Does the keyboard have replaceable switches in it? Can you just replace the switches causing a problem?

Amazon.com

 

[Nebulous]

Rats. I have to give you respect for going through all that work to save the keyboard. If you can't replace that particular switch, might as well just replace the keyboard.

Just nosin' around flebay I found this .

 

[freeagent]

I had an old Logitech that was tough. Had beer, coffee, pepsi, gravy, soup.. you name it man.. I cleaned it and it worked out every time. Until one fateful day when my then toddler spilled his formula onto it. I thought, no big deal. Turned out it was a big deal as it killed a few keys lol. So I replaced it with a nice shiny new and expensive Logitech, only for the same kind of formula make its way into it.. and it again died.

Toddler is now 11 and has a Logitech that has been swimming a few times with him.. so far so good.

I just cant bring myself to buy anything from Corsair, the hatred is long and deep

 

[Pepi93]

What's wierd is that now it works fine...it has worked fine since cleaning it until this morning when it was acting up and as I type this now, all keys are functioning properly. I'm a bit stumped. I thought, it's the corsair icue software, but I tried shutting it down and in the morning the problem persisted.

Right now I'm partial to corsair, just because almost my entire rig is corsair and I believe the icue software is better than asus aura. I am eyeing this asus keyboard right now because it's priced well, but again, hesitant because of asus aura and using multiple software. I know icue has asus plugins, but I also like the corsair k68 (spill proof) or the k100 series. They just have to go on a major sale. So for now I'm hoping it acts up infrequently and works properly most of the time.

Here's the keyboard, spill proof, though I like the dedicated multimedia keys of the corsair and use them often. Man, she's purring right now, it's as if she knows we're all talking about her...working like new...

https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_5234&item_id=190846&language=en&srsltid=AfmBOoqGUjQeM_Uk3n9Ubh4uN7sXx7mKE2W7SucNcTXCPrTvVqrvvjRb

 

[EarthDog]

Sounds like it's time for the bin.

 

[infinitevalence]

This is why I only buy hotswap keyboards that run QMK. My kid splilled milk on his keyboard, I opened it up, pulled all the switches and keys, cleaned the PCB with Iso, washed the keys in warm soapy water, and since I use dust-proof box switches, I checked each switch. in the end I replaced 2 switches and he was back to minecraft in under an hour.