A laptop keyboard is a delicate instrument on its own and uses quite a few tricks to get its job done. All the keys are designed to be as flat as possible and have as little space in between each other as they can without seriously hindering typing performance. Underneath each button is a scissor like spring that ensures that the user always experience the same force needed to push them. Imagine how awkward would it be to have keys that are softer and easier to push than others. This small scissor surrounds the little piece of plastic that is used to push two foils against each other. When a button is pressed, it caves a little rubber dome under it and closes the circuit on two different foils overlapping each other. A simple on-board chip then recognizes where the circuit has been shorted and passes the letter to the operating system.

How to Clean Laptop Keyboard

Laptop keyboards are prone to suffer damage and stains as we are most likely to eat next to our laptop than a desktop computer due to the fact that they are easier to bring to the kitchen table “just to check e-mails” while having a lunch. Everyone had or heard of someone who had poured coffee or tea in their laptops and had to have it cleaned. Just face it, we drink our coffee in the morning and it’s easier to tip it over half asleep.

Laptop keyboards really don’t like fluid, so when they get in touch with it of any description, your safest bet is to shut the laptop down and remove the battery to make sure nothing stays erroneously under voltage. Second step is to look around the backside of the unit to see if there are any screws marked with a keyboard symbol. If there aren’t any, your safest bet is to undo all of them, and try to pop the keyboard panel out gently with a flat headed screwdriver. If it still doesn’t let you remove it you will have to refer to the disassembly guide provided by the manufacturer of the laptop computer. All the major players on the market release a guide for each model in some sort, search around for repair manual, disassembly guide or service guide combined with the model number of your laptop(you can find it on the bottom of the computer) Once you have it, look for exploded charts depicting the top of it. If all of it sounds rocket science to you I would suggest you to find a local repair shop that accepts laptop keyboard cleaning jobs.

If you manage to take the panel out, check if there is any fluid under it. There is no such thing as “just a little” stuff under your keyboard. Even a drop of water can short the motherboard of the computer and carry the risk of losing important data. If the keyboard panel held it all, you are in luck and need for some electronics cleaning fluid. Warning these can be highly poisonous if inhaled so try to do it in a room with good ventilation. Check some of the stuff on the edge or corner of the board to see if it does no harm then proceed to clean all the keyboard with it. Warning! Laptop keyboard circuitry is really sensitive, so don’t use liquids you think should work, resort to specialized products as they have the least chance of damaging the foils. When you finished with cleaning let the whole thing dry for a few hours and then assemble to see if everything works properly. You didn’t forget to put the screws to a safe place, did you?

Replacement

Finding the right replacement is usually really easy, use the major search engines to look for the model number of your computer and it will usually list the part number of the replacement laptop keyboard you need. Sometimes you can proceed to buy it right away, but you should be aware of how much it really costs. Amazon, ebay, and buy.com usually are a great point to relate to.

Prices

Dell laptop keyboard prices range from $18 to $29 at the time of writing this article, without further notion let’s assume that service costs are about the same.
Sony uses some special one block type solution, so don’t be surprised if you see the prices ramp up to $50 for a panel.
Toshiba seems to have managed using cheap technology in their spare laptop keyboards, expect to see them for $10-$20.

Conclusion

If you are not confident enough to clean or replace your own laptop keyboard, please power the computer off and use professional help. It’s always cheaper to have some small parts replaced than a new laptop and all the data lost.

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