Comments on: Those Wacky Swiss

Those Wacky Swiss

chuckdarwin — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:25:47 -0800

Cyber Clean is a sort of slime that will clean your dirty keyboard.

By: cashman

cashman — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:29:58 -0800

Will this clean up Pepsi spills?

By: Dr-Baa

Dr-Baa — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:32:37 -0800

I like the fact that K-Mart of Australia still uses the old-school logo.

By: sveskemus

sveskemus — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:34:52 -0800

It sure is. I don't know any of the stores in the "where to buy" link, though. So my keyboard will just have to stay dirty.

By: not sure this is a good idea

not sure this is a good idea — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:37:22 -0800

fwiw: keyboards generally clean up ok with soap and water (a toothbrush helps), but you need to leave them to dry for a long time (several days, sometimes longer). the way most work is by having several sheets of plastic laying on top of each other and when you wash the keyboard water gets in there - the long drying period is to let water trapped between the sheets escape (alternatively you can take the whole thing apart and dry by hand, which is quite fun). i'm typing this on an ancient keytronic i cleaned up "as new" after getting frustrated with cheap new models... clickity click! ps i've never had problems (ie damaged anything) trying to use keyboards that are still damp inside - they just don't work.

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:40:14 -0800

Pepsi Goo

By: Debaser626

Debaser626 — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:49:14 -0800

"Will this clean up Pepsi spills?" I totally did not get the above until this: "Pepsi Goo" I am obtuse. You may carry on.

By: davejay

davejay — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:49:27 -0800

Cyber Clean is a sort of slime that will ~~clean~~climb out of your dirty keyboard and destroy you.

By: darkripper

darkripper — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:49:30 -0800

I smoke and never clean my Keyboard, an awesome G15. In the future alien archaeologists will learn a lot on the eventual demise of the human race, just analyzing the various strata on my keyboard. Want to be part of the story too? Don't clean it!

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:50:44 -0800

I'm enjoying a frosty cocktail of coconut water, pink guava juice and light rum. I named it the CyberClean Cocktail.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:54:52 -0800

I saw this the other day but it didn't explain how it itself was cleaned. Anyone know?

By: maudlin

maudlin — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:56:35 -0800

Nowhere near as cute and effective as this monitor cleaner or this screen cleaner, damn it. Do you have something in a gerbil?

By: Mach5

Mach5 — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:57:08 -0800

is this different from the magic eraser? cause that shit rules

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:00:16 -0800

Given he's posted 89 Mefi posts before, he'd have to be a really dedicated merchant to be doing Pepsi Blue ...

By: puke & cry

puke & cry — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:00:42 -0800

I used to get around cleaning my keyboard by using the virtually indestructible keyboard, which was really awesome right up until some of the keys stopped working. Then it became the virtually unfixable keyboard.

By: sotonohito

sotonohito — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:02:48 -0800

One thing to remember is that various studies have shown that cash and keyboards are the two most germ ridden things you will touch in an average day. Toilet seats aren't even in the top ten. I work as the tech geek in a mid-sized office and therefore touch dozens of keyboards every day. I seriously abuse the alcohol hand cleaner stuff...

By: bjrn

bjrn — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:06:48 -0800

I saw this the other day but it didn't explain how it itself was cleaned. Anyone know? I think you scoop up some, use it and then toss the yucky mess at the end.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:06:56 -0800

I seriously abuse the alcohol hand cleaner stuff... You know that just rubbing your hands under running water (without soap, even) is every bit as effective as that skin drying stuff?

By: Malor

Malor — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:14:32 -0800

Apparently you use it until it's so dirty that it's all discolored, and then toss it.

By: batmonkey

batmonkey — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:18:02 -0800

What a nifty solution (compound?) for a mundane but irritating task. No juggling around a can or a brush or waiting for the keyboard to dry out. No mystery about after-cleaning-clean-up, either - if it's a different colour than it started out, toss it and it biodegrades into nothingness, along with the filthy residue of a life lived at the keyboard. Hurrah!

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:32:07 -0800

I'll have another CyberClean cocktail, please. Why, no. This seat is empty. Oh-- it is a refreshing blend of exotic juices and vivyfying nostrums. That's a lovely name, Tina. Cheers!

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:46:38 -0800

can anyone find anything on that site where they explain how this stuff is supposed to clean what's under and between the keys? unless it grows tentacles it's not going to get a damn thing more than a nice rag and/or keyboard duster would.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:53:31 -0800

fwiw: keyboards generally clean up ok with soap and water (a toothbrush helps), but you need to leave them to dry for a long time (several days, sometimes longer). Last time I cleaned my keyboard I just took it apart. What was really amazing was that the actual 'keyboard' component was just two thin sheets of plastic, along with rubber pads that went over the sensor pads and provided springyness. It didn't take long to dry, but getting the rubber pads exactly under they key holes was really difficult.

By: not sure this is a good idea

not sure this is a good idea — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:56:44 -0800

separate, individual pads?! never seen that - mine have a third, middle sheet with holes in (so it's easy to line them all up).

By: Seekerofsplendor

Seekerofsplendor — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:11:57 -0800

Nowhere near as cute and effective as this monitor cleaner or this screen cleaner Thanks maudlin. That link loaded in so quick and was so damn funny, I did an unintentional spit take, and now have to ACTUALLY clean my damn screen instead of reading this Mefi page about it. HA! Truly hilarious. Made my day!

By: netbros

netbros — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:17:02 -0800

Thanks cashman. I blew Pepsi soaked Cyber Clean through my nose.

By: D.C.

D.C. — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:22:23 -0800

Yeah, the best way to clean a keyboard is to take the keycaps off. This stuff is wasteful and I doubt would work well for really stuck-on grime. Note that they only claim it will remove "dust and harmful bacteria." I expect I'd still need to use cotton swabs and wooden toothpicks for any thorough cleaning. Also, LOL at the germophobe marketing angle.

By: quin

quin — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:33:54 -0800

It cleans and kills germs while binding with dirt due to its special viscosity and elasticity... and will change color to let you know it's through. Through with absorbing enough germs and DNA to become sentient... and hungry. Then the B movie styled killing begins. Having a clean keyboard just isn't worth having to fight the Blob.

By: mrbill

mrbill — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:14:18 -0800

I have an IBM Model M (and also a couple of the modern USB and 104-key versions made by Unicomp after they bought the rights from Lexmark/IBM). They all clean up just fine by taking off the keycaps, putting them in the dishwasher (with no soap) and letting them dry for a few days.

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:42:56 -0800

Cyber clean costs $6.50 US, which I imagine does not include shipping. If you go to an Office Depot near any holiday, you can get a new keyboard for $10-15, and you don't need to spend an afternoon wondering exactly where in the house is a good place to store that half-used mound of yellow slime that you are most certain the dog should never, never know about.

By: StickyCarpet

StickyCarpet — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:49:47 -0800

After initially reading this, I went down the street to take a subway. Standing at the top of the stairs, where the ground is plastered with gum and sputum, were two kids playing with some kind of new-fangled ball toy. They threw it as hard as they could at the ground, it just stuck, without bouncing at all. What a change from when we were kids and superballs just came out, and it it was all about, you know, bouncing. Anyway, the father is standing there talking to his friend as the balls become darker on each throw. I'm sure that's because he was planning to do the whole bleach/dishwasher thing when they got home.

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:29:22 -0800

StickyCarpet, what a great way for the metropolis to get cleaned up! Just let thousands of kids loose with their happy fun cleaning slime.

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:01:52 -0800

I wonder if this slime is any good for cleaning off the other kind of slime that I usually get on my keyboard?

By: floam

floam — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:05:57 -0800

XQUZYPHYR: A $10-$15 keyboard will not cut it.

By: furtive

furtive — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:13:01 -0800

You're gonna have to scrub harder than that. No, harder yet.

By: Punkey

Punkey — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 06:57:53 -0800

Yes, but will it copy Marmaduke?

By: mrbill

mrbill — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 12:22:06 -0800

By: limeonaire

limeonaire — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:41:20 -0800

A $10-15 keyboard is the kind of keyboard that just serves as packing material and padding for the computer in the box next to it. I learned a long time ago that a good keyboard will cost money, just as a good office chair will cost money. Unicomp's keyboards (the "current" Model Ms) run around $60, and they're worth every penny. I've got a $14 or so basic Dell keyboard that I like better than any other keyboard I own, including the $60 Apple aluminum wired keyboard and the $50 Kengington SlimType. And I bought my fake-leather office chair for $80 used and it works great. Whatever, man.

By: Greg_Ace

Greg_Ace — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 21:03:01 -0800

Apparently the stuff's hell on your fingernails, though. By the way...a small cheap-o paint brush, a can of compressed air, and the occasional alcohol soaked lens/screen-wipe do a great job of keeping keyboards clean. And stop eating over your keyboard! Were you raised in a barn??

By: majick

majick — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 21:09:59 -0800

"I've got a $14 or so basic Dell keyboard that I like better than any other keyboard I own..." That list doesn't seem to include a Model M and does seem to include some gimmick keyboards, so yeah, I can see why you'd be willing to settle for garbage keyboards. Just spring for the real thing and you won't have to worry about it ever again eBay can hook you up for cheap, and if you keep an eye out they occasionally show up at Goodwill for $4 apiece.

By: sotonohito

sotonohito — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:09:28 -0800

majick Are you talking about those evil keyboards that make the most gawd awful loud "KLICK!!!" noise with every single keypress? I hate those things with a passion. A few years back I had the extreme misfortune to work next to someone who used one and the clacking about drove me insane. I've been using the same $9 keyboard for going on eight years now with no problems, and no hideous noise. When it breaks (and I'm sure that one day it will) I can spend another nine dollars and I still won't wake the neighbors with the vile clattering.

By: femmme

femmme — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:24:31 -0800

i saw this on lifehacker