What to do when a drink is spilled on a mechanical keyboard

Turn off the power first

If you spill a drink on a mechanical keyboard, the first thing you should do is turn off the power. This is because the mechanical switches and management board will short-circuit if energized.

Mechanical keyboards that have a built-in battery in the body, or that have batteries in them, should be turned off. Almost all wireless types do this.

For mechanical keyboards that do not have a built-in battery or other power source, disconnect the USB cable from the PC or other device that is supplying power and turn off the power supply.

Whether or not you can do this quickly will determine whether or not you can save the mechanical keyboard.

Also, if you are wondering "Is it OK? Is it broken?" However, it is also important to "never energize" the keyboard until you are certain that the measures described below have been taken.

After turning off the power, the action to be taken depends on the spilled drink

If water is spilled

If the spilled drink is water, there is basically no problem as long as the power is turned off and dried thoroughly.

When drying the keyboard, you can dry it naturally, but if you dry it naturally, there is a possibility that moisture may remain inside the switch or keyboard, so put the spilled mechanical keyboard in a Ziploc or similar container with a desiccant such as silica gel, and store it in a warm room to absorb the moisture.

If you want to thoroughly blow out the moisture, remove all the keyswitches and blow out the moisture with an air duster or similar. Since it is not possible to blow out to the inside of the base or switches, dry them in front of a heater or dry them in the sun to promote drying.

Spilling a drink other than water

The tricky part is when drinks other than water, such as juice or coffee, are spilled.

If water is spilled on the circuit board or switches, the water will evaporate and have little effect on the circuit board, but juice or coffee may dry out and leave crystals behind. These crystals can cause the circuit board to short-circuit.

Therefore, if a drink other than water is spilled, the substrate and switches are basically cleaned.

Clean with anhydrous ethanol.

Electronic devices are sensitive to moisture because they short-circuit when energized. Theoretically, there is no problem in washing a keyboard with water after a drink has been spilled on it as long as the keyboard is not energized.

As the name suggests, anhydrous ethanol is alcohol that does not contain water. Unlike rubbing alcohol, anhydrous ethanol does not contain water, so it can be used safely to clean electronic devices.

At this time, be sure to clean thoroughly so that there is no residue from spilled drinks. If there is any residue, there is a possibility that it will remain on the substrate as crystals after it dries.

Let it dry for at least a full day, and if you want to be safe, don't use it for a week or so.

It is tempting to immediately energize the keyboard after cleaning has been completed because you are anxious to see if it has been repaired, but suppress that feeling and let it dry for at least a day, preferably a week without using it.

When you are satisfied that the keyboard is dry enough, energize it and check that all the keys are usable. In the case of a mechanical keyboard, if the main board has not failed, the problem is with the key switch itself, so even if there is a key that does not work at worst, it is possible to replace the key switch.