Yikes, what do I do now?

Does this sound familiar? You are working away at your computer and reach across your desk for a document and in the process you know over a steaming cup of jura capresso spilling all over your keyboard. Yikes, what do you do now? Take a deep breath and follow these instructions and there may just be a bit of hope for your keyboard.

First, unplug the keyboard as quickly as possible and turn it upside down to keep the liquid from penetrating the keyboard’s case. Let the keyboard dry for a few hours. This is by no means a quick fix but is probably faster and cheaper than replacing a fried keyboard. You can hasten the drying process with a fan or hair dryer, but don’t use the dryer’s warm or hot settings. For sticky liquids, pop the keys off one at a time by putting gentle upward pressure on both sides of each key, and clean it. Note that the spacebar, backspace, shift, and other large keys can be difficult to replace. Do not plug the keyboard back in until you are absolutely convinced it is dry. Some methods suggest pouring distilled alcohol or water over the keyboard to rinse the liquid out prior to placing it somewhere to dry.