Keyboard buttons dishwasher safe?

[tomten]

Hello!

So this might sound like an odd question, i get it...
I have a mechanical corsair gaming keyboard (forgot the model but the expensive gaming one)
And you can easily remove all keys with just a little snap.

Can I just remove all of them and throw it in the dishwasher?
Because the keyboard is very dirty and not nice looking and i've gotten some ghost keys lately (that goes away with pressured air)

And the thought of having to individually clean like 60-100 keys is not appealing but just taking a picture, throwing it in the dishwasher, let it dry and puzzle it back? Definitely.

Thoughts?

Edit: I should note there is no print on the keys and they are backlit by the keyboard being RGB. So I can't wash away any ink/print on the keys themselves.

I'm like 90% sure its a safe and good idea but I don't wanna gamble just before christmas spendings lol...

[Twoddle]

Hello!

So this might sound like an odd question, i get it...

Why would it sound like an odd question? I don't get it.

But yeah, perfectly safe. Every couple of years when cleaning my Steelseries keyboard I'll pop all the keys out and throw them in a bowl of hot water with washing up liquid and give them a swirl. Use a toothbrush to scrub individual keys if you want then leave them out to dry.

The keyboard itself underneath can get pretty grubby. You can use some tissue soaked in citrus cleaner for that. Same stuff is great for cleaning printer rollers btw if you have paper feeding problems.

[Coolface330]

I use Isopropyl, Ethanol Alcohol whatever. Put it on a paper towel, rub down my mouse and keyboard. Technology, and what we touch with our raw hands - everything - gets covered with a layer of muck. From either our touch, or from the air, or from other life forms. Just gotta watch out with alcohol - never use it on paints, leather, screens, or glass lenses - it'll destroy the thin layers on them too.

[TickerDS]

**Don't do this if you don't want to risk breaking your keyboard and/or your dishwasher**

Not gonna lie, back in the day I totally ran my keyboard through a dishwasher cycle a few times over the years in the 90s/2000s.

Was a middle tier, 60-80 dollar back then, microsoft keyboard - one of the cream/white colored ones that everything was back then. It just got meh looking over time and I was left with needing to either really clean it somehow or just throw it away. On a whim I did it once, dishwasher had a low temp cycle, and it came out amazing. Let it sit for a few days in front of a fan after to fully dry.

Worked perfectly, zero issues, and all the grime that built up over years washed away. I probably did this 3 times in the 12-15 years I used the keyboard. Kept it looking brand new for a LONG time.

Now -- this was a different time -- cabled, non (at least easily) removable key caps -- but yeah. It worked great.

Would I do it with my wireless keyboard today....maybe not so much.


Whole point to this, if your keys themselves are looking really really rough, you maybe could do it. Just make sure your dishwasher does not get too hot as it could melt the keys. Of course also make sure your keys are held in good to whatever container you put them in so they dont go flying around your dishwasher.

[Flatspriest]

Yes, you can wash the keys, but not in a dishwasher. You would hand wash them so that you can control exactly how hot the water is and all. In a dishwasher, they can get scattered and broken, or even melted.

[tomten]

The keyboard itself underneath can get pretty grubby. You can use some tissue soaked in citrus cleaner for that. Same stuff is great for cleaning printer rollers btw if you have paper feeding problems.

This is actually my main reason but dont wanna just remove dirty keys, clean it and put back dirty keys.

- - - Updated - - -

Yes, you can wash the keys, but not in a dishwasher. You would hand wash them so that you can control exactly how hot the water is and all. In a dishwasher, they can get scattered and broken, or even melted.

I was thinking about melting too but its pretty hard plastic and the eco program only goes to 40 celsius which is body temp.
Can't be that bad? But maybe the chemical are, not sure. Maybe i should just remove a few and do a test run haha

[pahbi]

Hello!

So this might sound like an odd question, i get it...
I have a mechanical corsair gaming keyboard (forgot the model but the expensive gaming one)
And you can easily remove all keys with just a little snap.

Can I just remove all of them and throw it in the dishwasher?
Because the keyboard is very dirty and not nice looking and i've gotten some ghost keys lately (that goes away with pressured air)

And the thought of having to individually clean like 60-100 keys is not appealing but just taking a picture, throwing it in the dishwasher, let it dry and puzzle it back? Definitely.

Thoughts?

Edit: I should note there is no print on the keys and they are backlit by the keyboard being RGB. So I can't wash away any ink/print on the keys themselves.

I'm like 90% sure its a safe and good idea but I don't wanna gamble just before christmas spendings lol...

You can totally do this, but if your going to wash your keys in the dishwasher you need a dishwasher basket to put them in.

Something like

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Tot-Dishw...9484123&sr=8-1

[Daedius]

Just wash them in a basin with mild soapy warm water.

[tomten]

You can totally do this, but if your going to wash your keys in the dishwasher you need a dishwasher basket to put them in.

Something like

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Tot-Dishw...9484123&sr=8-1

I've tested the top one for spoons and whatnot and they can't drop below no matter how much they bounce around (tried pressing it).
Think i'm just gonna take of the direction arrows and do a test run and see what happens.

I'll keep everyone updated on my success or failure

[pahbi]

I've tested the top one for spoons and whatnot and they can't drop below no matter how much they bounce around (tried pressing it).
Think i'm just gonna take of the direction arrows and do a test run and see what happens.

I'll keep everyone updated on my success or failure

Sounds good!

[Biomega]

Put them in a mesh bag, like one used for delicate clothing in a washing machine. Leaving them loose risks them flying around the dishwasher, potentially hitting the heating elements and damaging both the keys and the dishwasher itself. Even if you put them in the cutlery basket, their low mass means they could potentially be dislodged by the water.

[Twoddle]

From my limited research, keyboard keys are made of ABS plastic (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene).

ABS has a melting point of around 200°C.

https://plasticranger.com/what-is-abs-plastic/

The average dishwasher gets to about 150°F = 66°C during the dry phase.

https://ryujinramenbrooklyn.com/blog...Dishwasher_Get

So you should be OK temperature-wise.

[Kagthul]

Buttons, yes, but dont wash your keyboard. LTT did a video where they dishwashed their keyboards and in a livestream a month or two back revealed that all of those boards died within six months. Modern boards, the traces are so thin, they get damaged by the dishwasher.

[mrgreenthump]

Personally I'd just do some more work myself and wash them by hand. I do the alcohol on a towel trick every month though, so outside of dust and random arm hairs, there isn't much on my keyboard, and for those I just mechanically clean between the rows with a thin piece of anything really regularly. But I do hate typing feel changing even a bit, so any much or oil in my keyboard leads to instant cleaning.

I've owed this K95 now since they came out and haven't yet had to remove the keys a single time outside putting stops in the mute bottoming out. But when it's time I probably just take all the keys apart and blow it somewhat gently with my PC duster and be happy with that while washing the keys themselves in a bowl with a rather gentle washing fluid.

From my limited research, keyboard keys are made of ABS plastic (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene).

ABS has a melting point of around 200°C.

https://plasticranger.com/what-is-abs-plastic/

The average dishwasher gets to about 150°F = 66°C during the dry phase.

I'd be more worried about the detergent than temps. But yeah ABS should be fine.