It’s common to forget how dirty your keyboard can get. It’s something we use every day and often eat over, resulting in grime from our finger tips on the key caps, and crumbs hiding inside the keyboard itself. Purchasing a mechanical keyboard is making an investment in a piece of equipment with the expectation it will last a long time. In order to make sure your keyboard lasts, you need to maintain it, and that includes regularly giving it a light cleaning with more in-depth cleanings as needed.

It’s important to be careful when cleaning a mechanical keyboard to avoid damaging either the electronics or the switches inside. The last thing you want to do is soak it in water and immediately plug it in, as this will short out the electronics. There are also a few keys on the keyboard that are difficult to remove and replace. For those keys, we recommend they be left alone as it is possible to clean the keyboard without removing them. With this last installment of the mechanical keyboard guide we share all of our tips and tricks to keeping your keyboard in good working order.

Read Part 4 of the Mechanical Keyboard Guide: Keyboard Maintenance and Cleaning to learn more about taking care of your keyboard.