The Keyboard in Dishwasher Project
January 16th, 2009 by Ivo
Last saturday the sun was shining into my room and it nicely enhanced the gross state my keyboard (a wireless Logitech natural keyboard) was in, after years of typing, which must be zillions of key presses (and having breakfast while reading my daily portion of websites):
At that point I thought that either I would go out and buy a new one, or I'd try something radical. I remembered from childhood that you can put LEGO bricks into a washing machine if you put them inside a pillow cover, and I planned on doing something similar with the keys of the keyboard. While googling if that wouldn't erase the print on the keys, I actually found a guy that used the dishwasher to clean the keyboard.
This could be a bit tricky, but given the state it was in, I thought 'oh well, why not'.
So, after removing the batteries and taking off the wrist pad, I put it in the washer:
I just tossed it in the washer with the rest of the dishes; upside down so the keys would get the most thorough treatment. I added a normal 3-in-1 cleaning tablet, and had it run at the 50 degrees Celsius 2-hour Economy program.
When it was finished, I took out the keyboard, and it was completely soaked:
I poored out the water, took out all the keys so the keyboard would dry more easily, and left it to dry:
After 5 days (it may look dry, but you have to make sure all the inner parts have dried too), I put all the keys back in. This was an interesting puzzle; I had pictures of the layout but I managed to put in everything without looking at them 
. I inserted the batteries and voila, it worked out of the box!
The end result:
So, YES, you can put a wireless keyboard in the dishwasher!
Disclaimer: This may or may not work for you. If you give it a try, it's at your own risk. Do share your experience in the comments, but don't complain that it's my fault if it fries your keyboard.
P.S. I expected the stickers on the back to come off, but although they have a few small bubbles now, they came out fine.
January 16, 2009 at 12:12 am, BinaryKitten said:
If you had unscrewed it and taken out the membrane inside you can do this all without the damage or the length of time that it has taken.
January 18, 2009 at 10:23 pm, Kana Yeh said:
This is a cool project and look at the differences, wow! I wash my keyboards as well from time to time, it is hand wash though. I don’t have the privilege of having a dishwasher. Saves me money from buying new keyboards.
To increase the drying process you could use a hair-dryer the next time
January 20, 2009 at 2:02 pm, Rob Graham said:
Great blog Ivo, I’m currently waiting for the dishwasher to finish cleaning my laptop as we speak!
January 26, 2009 at 7:33 pm, Andries Seutens said:
So who wants to try this with his notebook?
February 03, 2009 at 5:15 pm, Tupac said:
This is really cool.
February 26, 2009 at 9:38 pm, Q said:
No offense, but your keyboard was gross!
February 27, 2009 at 1:53 pm, Ivo said:
@Q: I KNOW!
March 19, 2009 at 4:14 pm, Jarown said:
Does your keyboard still work after 2 months?
March 19, 2009 at 7:14 pm, Ivo said:
ys it still wors lik a charm bt just sme of the kes ar a bit stuk!
nah, kidding, it works perfectly!
July 13, 2009 at 11:59 pm, NEIL said:
ON 7/12/09 I RAN MY USB APPLE KEYBOARD IN THE DISHWASHER RUNNING IT THROUGH THE DRY CYCLE AS WELL. WHEN I INITIALLY PLUGGED IT IN TO MY MAC PRO, IT DID NOT WORK. I NOTICED IT WAS STILL A LITTLE WET, SO I STUCK IT OUT IN THE ARIZONA SUN AT 109 DEGREES FOR ABOUT 6 HOURS (ITS A DRY HEAT). I THEN PLUGGED IT IN TO MY PRO AND TA-DA. IT CAME OUT AWESOME AND THE KEYS DON’T STICK ANY MORE. I AM TYPING ON IT NOW AND HAVE BEEN ALL DAY WITH NO PROBLEMS. I STILL DON’T RECOMMEND DOING THIS, HOWEVER IF YOU DO DECIDE TO DO THIS, MAKE SURE THE KEYBOARD IS “COMPLETELY” DRY BEFORE PLUGGING IT IN.
PS-YOU MAY WANT TO WEAR A LITTLE SUNBLOCK IF YOU INTEND TO STAY AND WATCH IT DRY. CHEERS.
July 14, 2009 at 6:03 am, Ivo said:
@NEIL: great it worked; too bad your caps key got stuck in the process.