I have accidentally spilt coffee on my desktop keyboard

Question

I have accidentally spilt coffee on my keyboard. I unplugged it and let it dry for half an hour, then I reattached it and it worked perfectly for one hour of continuous use - but then I tried a couple of keys and realized that the Caps Lock key not only activates the Caps Lock, but also types 3. The same happens with the 3 key: it types 3 but also activates Caps Lock.

Something similar happens with another couple of keys on the left hand side of the keyboard. Eventually, I unplugged the keyboard, and I will leave it for a couple of days until I plug it back in and see if it works properly.

Any suggestions? Is it possible to fix it? Is there still moisture inside it? What do you think?

I have to mention that it is a Razer model, so an expensive "mechanical" keyboard.

Answer 1

Disassemble it. Rinse it in clean water. Dry it thoroughly. Put it back together.

You really should have done this immediately though. Having power on with coffee in it may have corroded the contacting surfaces.

Answer 2

I had the same problem on a 4 year old LG keyboard around 24 Aug 2014. A full cup of instant strong coffee went onto keyboard (with sugar, sweeteners, etc.)

I did following to resolve the problem :

1. Immediately disengaged keyboard from PC.
2. Went to sink and slowly poured about 8 liters of water (sourced from the mountains) all over keyboard to give it a thoroughly good rinsing.
3. Shook all water from keyboard several times during each rinsing.
4. Waited for about 3 days to make sure ALL water inside the keyboard had evaporated.
5. Plugged the keyboard into the desktop computer after a few days.

The keyboard seemed to work fine.

Main thing is to remove all coffee from inside of the keyboard, i.e. gums up the moving parts, contacts, electronics etc.

Answer 3

Is it a Black Widow or one of the other keyboards? The behavior you describe sounds like the layers of plastic that get pushed together have residue between them. When one key gets depressed, the residue allows multiple circuits to be completed. The best bet is to disassemble the keyboard, remove the cellophane sheets, carefully peel them apart and rinse it down. Generally this can even be done with soapy water as long as you make sure you rinse it clean of all residue. This should prevent the shorts that you are getting. It also may be worth washing the plastic parts in the dish washer while the electronics are removed to get them thoroughly cleaned.

Personally, I've never done it on one of my Black Widows, but I did it on my G15 that I had before the Black Widow.

Answer 4

My keyboard acted abruptly the same way.

1. I opened up the keyboard & removed each & every key.
2. Cleaned the inside of the keyboard casing with water spray.
3. Cleaned each & every foam element & key with water.
4. Cleaned the electronic membrane. (Make sure you handle it with care.) First rubbed it with a rubber & then wiped it with spirit. Then dried it in the sun.
5. Made sure each & every component was dried.
6. Fixed everything back & it worked well.