Author Topic: Spilt a drink on my keyboard - Cherry keyswitches washable?  (Read 1512 times)

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Offline floobydustTopic starter

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Spilt a drink on my keyboard - Cherry keyswitches washable?
« on: December 28, 2021, 08:07:27 pm »
I spilt coffee on my keyboard for the umpteenth time :rant: usually it's water or tea lol. It's a Cooler Master Storm with Cherry MX keyswitches.

What I do is unplug the USB, take the keyboard apart and toss it in the bathtub, shower wand hose it down, which also flushes out the dirt, crumbs etc. Swear and cuss profusely.
Then I shake it off and let it air dry for a couple days or bake it overnight. This works fine, no problems after doing this a few times.

But I wondered if the keyswitches are actually washable? Their design is from decades ago. Today, a no-clean process would be used but in the 80's it would've had a CFC-113 solvent wash cycle.
From a random MX datasheet:
Flux:  Fry type GR8 applied by foaming.
5. Cleaning
A.  Fry GR8 is non-hygroscopic flux and does not require cleaning
B.  If cleaning is required on isolated areas such as finger connector, cold cleaning by hand with Alpha 564 is recommended. Care must be taken to avoid solvent entering the keymodule."

There is no Fry GR8 info, never heard of foaming flux application. For large through-hole parts, wash/vent holes I would expect or the keymodule gaps are enough  :-//
Just a curiosity. CherryMX.de is more about marketing to gamers they have no decent datasheets.
 

Offline SiliconWizard

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Re: Spilt a drink on my keyboard - Cherry keyswitches washable?
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2021, 08:32:40 pm »
Well, distilled water is probably no problem as long as you let it dry properly. But tap water... That's not so good IMO. Depends on were you live, but tap water always contains minerals and will leave a residue when drying. After doing that a few times, ...
 

Online ealex

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Re: Spilt a drink on my keyboard - Cherry keyswitches washable?
« Reply #2 on: December 28, 2021, 08:50:21 pm »
i've used alcohol to clean mine ... after it got soaked in beer (enough to trigger the USB over-current protection)
i did not use tap water, as it's very hard and highly chlorinated  - just disassembly, flush with denatured ethanol (way cheaper than IPA, but very hygroscopic), flush with clean IPA, then let it dry in a warm place.

distilled water might have been enough, but I did not have any available at that time.

it looks like it was enough to keep it working, as it happened more than a year ago.
 

Offline bborisov567

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Re: Spilt a drink on my keyboard - Cherry keyswitches washable?
« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2021, 09:29:08 pm »
Type of water is not such a problem, it is just a switch, there is not sensitive curcuitry. Just make sure that you leave them to dry enough, at least a week at room temperature.
 

Online wraper

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Re: Spilt a drink on my keyboard - Cherry keyswitches washable?
« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2021, 09:38:54 pm »
Type of water is not such a problem, it is just a switch, there is not sensitive curcuitry. Just make sure that you leave them to dry enough, at least a week at room temperature.
Actually switches are among the things most sensitive to contamination. Contamination on the contact surfaces will result in a bad contact. And nope, non hermetic switches are not washable, since cleaning agent will bring contaminants inside and then it's really hard to completely get them out from enclosed box.
 

Offline bborisov567

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Re: Spilt a drink on my keyboard - Cherry keyswitches washable?
« Reply #5 on: December 28, 2021, 11:19:55 pm »
A problem might occur only if high current is going through the switch, not the case with keyboards. Also with mechanical switches there is always friction between the contacts which will clean the residue from tap water.
 

Offline rdl

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Re: Spilt a drink on my keyboard - Cherry keyswitches washable?
« Reply #6 on: December 28, 2021, 11:26:10 pm »
I've cleaned electronic stuff many ways, by hand, slosh around in the bathtub, dishwasher, you name it. But I always do a thorough final rinse with distilled water. I've never had any problems that could be blamed on the cleaning. Distilled water is cheap, I keep a few gallons around at all times.
 

Offline eti

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Re: Spilt a drink on my keyboard - Cherry keyswitches washable?
« Reply #7 on: December 29, 2021, 03:04:41 am »
What your keyboard needs is a good dousing in…. Cherry Aid. 😛
 

Offline eti

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Re: Spilt a drink on my keyboard - Cherry keyswitches washable?
« Reply #8 on: December 29, 2021, 04:29:13 am »
If I may, I'd like to proffer some advice re drinking at a computer: I always put my drink about one hand length BEYOND my arms length, so I have to lean right forward and make a concerted effort to reach said drink.

It may sound over the top, but I also grab the cup firmly, VERY much in an overly aware sense, and swoop it around in a deliberate outward arc, at arms length, to my drink takes a "flight path" that is a deliberate arc that goes outward, and then back toward me once it's well away from the desk area.

It sounds far more long-winded and OCD than it is. It's a quick, instinctive but considered way of taking almost NO chances with drinks.
 

Offline amyk

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Re: Spilt a drink on my keyboard - Cherry keyswitches washable?
« Reply #9 on: December 29, 2021, 05:32:18 am »
Contact cleaner spray (usually it's some chlorocarbon solvent) will work to remove any contaminants, but may also remove any lubrication they may have had.
 

Online wraper

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Re: Spilt a drink on my keyboard - Cherry keyswitches washable?
« Reply #10 on: December 29, 2021, 08:21:30 am »
A problem might occur only if high current is going through the switch, not the case with keyboards. Also with mechanical switches there is always friction between the contacts which will clean the residue from tap water.
Exactly opposite. High current can clean the contamination. Not the case with low current and voltage.
 

Offline bborisov567

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Re: Spilt a drink on my keyboard - Cherry keyswitches washable?
« Reply #11 on: December 29, 2021, 07:25:12 pm »
A problem might occur only if high current is going through the switch, not the case with keyboards. Also with mechanical switches there is always friction between the contacts which will clean the residue from tap water.
Exactly opposite. High current can clean the contamination. Not the case with low current and voltage.


High voltage cleans contamination. Current won't even go when the resistance is too high.
 

Offline thm_w

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Re: Spilt a drink on my keyboard - Cherry keyswitches washable?
« Reply #12 on: December 29, 2021, 10:51:33 pm »
A problem might occur only if high current is going through the switch, not the case with keyboards. Also with mechanical switches there is always friction between the contacts which will clean the residue from tap water.

Significant friction would only occur on wiping contacts, MX switch does not using wiping contacts. This is why tactile/limit switches are always kept well sealed.
http://xahlee.info/kbd/ikm/Cherry_MX_Brown_v004_j3qr3.gif

Quote
The reason for this concern is that under normal operation, metal contacts have a tendency to become contaminated by oxide films which form on the surface of the contacts, and by particles of dust and other matter. When a switch is being used to control an inductive load the associated inrush currents and arcing will burn off any con- taminants present. With low energy loads the possibility exists that contaminants will not be burned away and eventually discontinuity can occur.
https://inspectapedia.com/heat/Limit-Switches-%20Basics-Eaton.pdf
https://sensing.honeywell.com/honeywell-sensing-basic-switches-general-technical-bulletin-001017-2-en2.pdf

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Offline floobydustTopic starter

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Re: Spilt a drink on my keyboard - Cherry keyswitches washable?
« Reply #13 on: December 30, 2021, 02:44:07 am »
I think the switch currents are the pullup value in the MCU say 30-50k ohms at 5V. At first, I had to fix some broken solder joints/dead keys. The board was covered in flux, your usual messy PC board so leakage currents aren't enough to be a problem.

After the shower scene, water deposit marks are hard to see but who knows what goes on inside the key module, if gold is involved or how much friction happens. Some are rated 100M cycle lifetime. I don't see a vent so how water vapour gets out is still a puzzle.
Good .gif's of the mech of each type.

 


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