Whitepaper: Cleaning tips in times of COVID-19

You don´t want to switch to a washable keyboard or mouse of glass or silicone, but still want to work in a hygienic manner? Then follow our cleaning tips for normal plastic PC keyboards!

1. Do not eat in front of the PC!

A change of scenery ensures your well-being for several reasons. However, this tip mainly has huge hygienic benefits, if the remains of food and grease on your fingers do not stick to your keyboard or PC mouse. The remains form an ideal breeding ground for germs.

2. Gentle cleaning!

Carefully empty your keyboard by tapping it – you will be amazed at how many crumbs appear!

A soft brush is the best tool for the finishing touch so that you reach deeper areas between the keys.

Or spray cans with compressed air can remove the dust from grooves. Finally, we recommend that you wipe the key caps regularly with a moist cloth. However, make sure that your computer is not switched on – otherwise you may trigger some keys inadvertently.

3. More thorough cleaning!

Press the cloth, which has been soaked in cleaner, lightly on the area that needs to be cleaned and remove any dirt using circular movements. Then wipe the cleaned surface off with a damp cloth to remove any remains of the cleaning agent.

To disinfect, we recommend that you use an alcohol-based disinfectant in line with the manufacturer’s instructions.

4. Which cleaning agents?

You do not need any expensive special cleaners or special cloths. A cleaning solution consisting of tap water with a dash of a vinegar-based household cleaner is ideally suitable. The water should be tepid. Immerse a normal, lint-free cloth in the solution and then wring it out well. You can then use it to carefully clean your keyboard as described above.

5. Cleaning a silicone/glass keyboard

Use a soft cloth and a vinegar-based household cleaner to clean silicone or glass keyboards.

Press the cloth, which has been soaked in the cleaner and wrung out, gently against your keyboard and remove any dirt using circular movements. Then wipe down the cleaned surface with a damp cloth in order to remove any remains of the cleaning agent.

To disinfect, we recommend that you use an alcohol-based disinfectant in line with the manufacturer’s instructions.

6. How long does it take to clean my keyboard?

That varies according to which model you have. The complete cleaning process for normal PC keyboards takes about 5-10 minutes for each keyboard.

You can expect the cleaning work to take about 60 seconds for silicone keyboards. Glass keyboards are the winner here – you can clean them with one wipe and this therefore takes no more than 10-30 seconds (depending on the amount of dirt involved).

7. You should avoid these errors:

➤ Do not use a vacuum cleaner to clean your keyboard. It could damage your keyboard.

➤ Contrary to many claims, we do not recommend that you clean your keyboard in the dishwasher. According to a study by the University of Copenhagen, some extremely stubborn molds and bacteria are splashing around inside a dishwasher.

➤ Never use any abrasive agents like steel wool or aggressive scouring agents to remove stubborn dirt.

➤ The cloth that you use for damp cleaning should not be wet for normal computer keyboards!