How to Clean Your Laptop After a Spill: Expert Advice for Screen and Keyboard Care

how to clean a laptop screen and keyboard

Keeping your laptop clean does not only serve aesthetic value because it contributes to prolonging and maintaining the optimal performance of your device. Daily wear and tear, as well as spill accidents, continually expose laptops to dirt-clogging conditions, sticky keys, and overheating.

A dusty screen or keyboard is not only an eyesore but slows up performance and strains the eyes. Even worse, grime buildup and spills can tend to jam keys or damage their internal parts if not addressed immediately.

In this blog post, I’ll show you how to clean all the components of your laptop, from screen and keyboard to the fan and touchpad.

So let’s start!!

How to Clean a Laptop Screen?

Your laptop screen gets dusty and may be filled with fingerprints or smudges very easily, which makes it really hard to read the screen clearly.

The appearance of a display comes out sharp and clear from cleaning as well as protects delicate glasswork.

Using the wrong techniques or products can cause scratching or permanent damage, so one should be careful.

Here are the most basic steps in safely cleaning a laptop screen:

Simple Steps to Clean a Laptop Screen

First Switch off your laptop and unplug it. This will eliminate electrical issues and allow smudges to be easily seen.
Use microfiber cloths, for cleaning and dusting delicate screens that will not scratch, not paper towels or tissues.
Mist with distilled water, or a 50/50 mix of distilled water and white vinegar. Make sure the cloth is damp, not dripping.
Wipe the screen with light pressure using circular motions, focusing on marks and lines, rubbing gently not too hard.
Use another dry microfiber cloth clean and dry for final drying of the screen removing any moisture to prevent streaks.

What to Avoid

Never spray liquids directly onto the screen because the moisture may penetrate into the edges and destroy the inner parts.
Never use abrasive chemicals such as window cleaners, ammonia, or alcohol solutions since they can also erase the protective finish over your screen.
Scour away dirt using a scrubby material like a paper towel, tissue, or your shirt because these may scratch the screen.
Never press hard on the screen, as this can cause damage to the sensitive display pixels.
Liquids should not reach the edges of the screen to prevent leak.

How to Clean a Laptop Touch Screen?

Fingerprints and smudges from hands and dust get deposited on your touch screens very easily, which are pretty difficult to operate and hard to see clearly. Therefore, it is quite essential to clean your touch screen properly to keep it in a good condition without damaging it.

It’s pretty simple to do this if you have the right tools and gentle touch. Here are five easy steps to clean your laptop touch screen.

I already said in the previous part what one should avoid while cleaning laptop screens, so just keep them in mind.

Shut down your laptop and unplug it. This will prevent accidental touches and ensure your safety.
Microfiber cloths: Microfiber cloths are soft, which never scratches your touch screen and do not cause marks easily. Avoid rough materials at all costs.
Moisten the cloth just a tiny bit with distilled water or a screen-safe cleaner. Do not make it soaking wet.
Use gentle pressure in a circular motion to remove fingerprints and smear marks from the screen.
Let the screen dry off with a clean, dry microfiber cloth.
dry microfiber cloth. Excess moisture is removed from it without any streaks.

How to Clean Laptop Keyboard?

Your laptop keyboard can easily collect dust and crumbs and grime in general, following day-to-day usage, which may make it less efficient and even unhygienic.

Cleaning it ensures the laptop remains functional for you as well as gives you a good typing experience.

Here is what you need and how you can do it in just five simple steps.

Materials You Need

Compressed air can
Soft-bristled brush
Microfiber cloth
Cotton tassels
Isopropyl alcohol solution 70% or higher

How to clean a laptop keyboard?

Switch your laptop off to prevent accidental key pressing; withdraw the lead from the lead portion of an electric power supply.
Shake out debris: Turn your laptop upside down and just shake it to let the loosened crumbs and dust fall out.
Bush between the keys: Just use a soft-bristled brush or a toothbrush to sweep the remains in particles between the keys. Proceed gently so as not to damage the keys.
Wipe the keys: Use a dampened microfiber cloth in isopropyl alcohol. Make sure the cloth is not soaky rather slightly dampened. Wipe down the keys to disinfect and remove grime. Alcohol dries quickly, reducing the risk of damage.
Clean tight spaces: Take a cotton swab with isopropyl alcohol to clean around the edges of each key and any particularly dirty spots.

How to Clean a Sticky Laptop Keyboard?

Step 1: Turn Off and Unplug your Laptop

Before commencing, switch on the laptop and unplug it. Be sure to avoid any risk of electrical damage or shocks. If your laptop has a removable battery, take that out also.

Step 2: Shake Out Loose Debris

Lean over your laptop with a cupped hand. Upside down, lightly jiggle it to release stuck-on crumbs, dust and whatnot. Take special care, as you wouldn’t want to damage the keyboard and screen.

Step 3: Use Compressed Air

If you have a spray of compressed air, spraying it through between keys and crumbs/dirt removal works well, focusing your blast at different angles from all the different spots inside. Sometimes these debris items are not able to get out on your hands; compressed air helps force that out of them.

Step 4: Clean the Keys with Alcohol

Soak a soft cloth in isopropyl alcohol—don’t soak the cloth, just get it damp. Alcohol dries up quickly and doesn’t leave behind water residue, so that’s safer for the electronics. Gently rub the keyboard surface, getting it over the sticky places.

Step 5 Use Cotton Swabs for Tight Spots

Dampen a cotton swab with a little alcohol and rub around the edges of each key. This is especially good for areas that are hard to reach, where dirt tends to collect. You can also use a toothpick to scrape out sticky spots, but be gentle so you don’t damage the keys.

Step 6 Clean Under Pesky Keys

If the keys are still sticky, determine if they can be safely removed. Most laptop keys pop off with gentle pressure, but check your laptop model’s instructions first. Clean under the key using a cotton swab or cloth and then pop it back into place.

Step 7: Dry and Test

Let the keyboard air-dry for a few minutes. Then, turn the keyboard back on. Your laptop should now be started with the keys tested again. If the keys have stuck, repeat the same steps of cleaning as seen before.

How to Keep Your Keyboard Clean?

Avoid eating near the keyboard to prevent crumbs from falling inside.
Wash your hands before using the laptop to avoid oil and dirt from sticking to the keys.
If you want extra protection from spills and dust, a keyboard cover is in order.

How To Keep Keyboard Clean After Spill?

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to clean a laptop keyboard after a spill. The spill can range from a few drops to a full glass, so one should know how to deal with each case to prevent more damage.

Let’s break it down into large, small, and sticky spills.

Splendid Spills

A big spill—such as if a glass of water, coffee, or soda had spilled onto your keyboard—will soak into the laptop very quickly and potentially damage the internal parts. Here, acting fast is critical.

Turn Off and Unplug Immediately: Shutdown your laptop, unplug it from the wall, and pull out the battery if the model is removable.

DRAIN THE LIQUID Pour any remaining liquid out of the laptop by turning it upside down. Gently shake it so that any remaining liquid might come out.

Dry externally- Dry all liquids from the keyboard surface and also outside the laptop using a lint-free cloth.

Place it upside down on a towel ideally in a cool, dry spot for at least 24 to 48 hours while it air dries.

Small Spills

For smaller spills, like a splash or a few drops of liquid, your laptop would have a fair chance of avoiding internal damage but still needs prompt care.
Turn Off and Unplug the Laptop: Even a small spill can short out the keyboard, so turn it off immediately to be safe.
Blot the spill: Use a lint-free cloth to blot the liquid out of the affected area. Be gentle, do not press too hard on the spill to avoid pushing the liquid further into the keyboard.
Let it Air Dry: Open the laptop with the keyboard side down and let it air dry for a few hours before using it again.

Handling Sticky Spills

Sticky spills, like soda or juice, or coffee with cream and sugar, require extra cleaning because they can leave a residue that can make keys stick.
Shut Down, Unplug, and Drain: Same procedure as with large spills: turn off the laptop, unplug it, and drain it upside down.
Wipe the surface with isopropyl alcohol. Dampen a lint-free cloth with 70% or higher isopropyl alcohol, and then gently wipe the sticky area. Alcohol will break down the sticky residue but will leave no water behind.
Dab Alcohol onto Cotton Swabs around Important Edges: Dip a swab in alcohol and along all affected keys’ edges. This dissolves all the dried stickiness accumulated both between and under the keys.
Let it air dry: After wiping everything down, leave the laptop open and upside down to fully dry before turning it on. This will ensure that whatever is left behind does not cause further problems.

How to Clean a Laptop Touchpad?

Shut down your laptop and disconnect it. Use a dry, lint-free cloth-which can be a microfiber cloth-and gently clean dust, smudges, and fingerprints from the touchpad surface. If the spots are tough, wet the cloth a little bit with a small amount of water or isopropyl alcohol 70% or higher but do not over-wet the cloth.

Internal damage can be caused by the seepage of excess moisture into the edges of the touchpad. Grime and sticky residues may be lifted off gently in circular motions while cleaning the touchpad without applying pressure, as excessive pressure might have an effect on the touchpad’s sensitivity.

Then you would use alcohol on a cotton swab to push dirt that could have become stuck around the edges and the corners of your touchpad; carefully work this around the edges to loosen debris, allowing it to air dry for a few minutes before you return power to your laptop to turn it back on. Periodic cleaning should keep your touchpad feeling responsive and silky to touch.

How To Clean a Laptop Fan?

1. Power off and detach the laptop

First, turn your laptop off completely. Pull it out of the power source and, if accessible, remove the battery. It will be safe and there will be no risk of damage to the internal parts when cleaning.

2. Laptop Bottom Panel Open

Insert the small Phillips screwdriver into the screw holes for the bottom panel. Refer to your laptop’s manual if you must, because different laptops possess different designs. Remove the screws and gently lift up the bottom panel off. You should now see the location of the laptop fan.

3. Keeping the fan steady

Use your finger or a soft tool to press the blades of the fan not moving because spinning causes damage to the fan. Use the compressed can to blow short bursts of air on the fan and its surrounding areas. Then hold the can at various angles to ensure the entire area is cleaned without any residue. Avoid shaking the can because this will cause moisture buildup.

4. Dust with a Soft Brush

The soft brush around the fan and vents has to be gently brushed over for further dust removal. These loosen any remaining dust particles that the air cannot blow out completely.

5. Reassemble the Laptop

Letting the fan be clean requires putting back the bottom panel and screwing it. You can also put your battery back in if it was removed and connect to power for it to continue operating. Your laptop will enjoy having a cleaner and efficient cooling fan.

How to Wipe a Laptop Before Selling It?

You should clean all Personal Information off the laptop before you sell it. Backup all your important files onto an external drive or a cloud storage to prevent the loss of important data.

After you have backed up, log out of your email, social media, and any subscription services that shouldn’t be accessed from the new installation. Next, deauthorize any software like iTunes, Microsoft Office, and Adobe Creative Cloud because most of them have limited activations.

For most Windows laptops, it is accessible via the “Reset this PC” option in the settings, which will erase all files and reinstall a clean version of Windows.

For Mac users, you’ll boot into macOS Recovery. Select “Disk Utility,” then erase the disk and reinstall macOS. This will reset your laptop to a factory-like state, good for new users. In the last step, clean up the laptop and all accessories you are willing to sell before presenting them in front of the buyer or customer.

How to Wipe a Laptop Hard Drive?

Probably the most important thing to do when selling, recycling, or even upgrading your device is wiping a laptop hard drive, which will save private information. First, transfer important files to an external storage device or a safe cloud service because wiping the drive will permanently delete everything.

Sign out of all accounts, especially those with sensitive information and deauthorize the installed software that has limited activation permissions.

Access Windows’s “Reset this PC” feature, which comes with the option to totally erase the hard drive; for Mac users, go to macOS Recovery, access “Disk Utility,” delete the drive, and reinstall the OS.

There is specialized software that overwrites data into each sector multiple times and is a good way for hard disks. This procedure ensures a laptop is secure to be sold or thrown away.

How to Wipe a Laptop Before Recycling Responsibly?

The recycling of a laptop requires you to perform proper data wiping so that sensitive information may not reach the wrong people. First step, back up the important files through an external drive or a secure cloud storage system since you will surely erase all data when you wipe the laptop.

Log out of accounts and de-authorize any software with fewer user licenses, such as Adobe, Microsoft, or iTunes, to avoid a later activation problem. Then, for Windows laptops, go to the “Reset this PC” feature so that it can be set back to its factory default, which will delete all information on the laptop.

Boot to macOS Recovery on Mac laptops, and select “Disk Utility” to wipe the hard drive and reinstall macOS. To go the extra mile, you can utilize particular software for secure erasures, especially if it holds sensitive data.

Wipe the laptop properly; this ensures that your information is safe, even as the laptop heads for recycling.