ibook smell

My iBook keyboard also smells like bad human body odor. I don't know why. It's at least somewhat comforting to know that other people are having this problem. I've had my ibook for a year and a half now, and I really started noticing it at the one-year mark. Is Apple going to do anything about it? This is terrible. It has nothing to do with the back of the keyboard, either. I've tried opening it up and smelling back there and It's nothing. Could it be the build-up of oil from the fingers over time? I would think that would be something Visible, relative to the smell, but it's not visible. the keys and everything still look great.
So please help us Apple, our computers stink--just literally, not in any other way.
It's a dual-usb iBook purchased December of 2002. 700MHz. 14 inch screen.

Steve, call Apple. Although the length of this thread is impressive, there is no assurance that anyone from Apple will read any if it.

If you have AppleCare perhaps they will send you a replacement keyboard. According to folks in this thread, that has solved the problem for them.

This would drive me CRAZY.

😟 the same with mine...
and it gets worse and worse.

I called Apple about the iBook B.O. keyboard. They won't even sell me a new one. I told the girl I spoke with that I had taken the keyboard out before with no problems. She said that it wasn't because of difficulty with the installation, but that the shipping packaging was too complex?! Where do they get this stuff?!!

Hey Apple,
That's really LAME!

I have found keyboards listed for sale at MicroDoc,

If I stick my nose right onto the KB, I smell what appears to be an adhesive odor, like when packing tape gets old. It smells faintly like BO, but nowhere near as bad as the stink my wife's cat emitted earlier when depositing some material into the cat box. Good God now that's awful! Light a match will ya!?

People get a life! Use the body oil suggestion, Cutty Sark/Bushmill's or buy a new one.

arrgghh!!!

- popeye

I was just visiting SmallDog Electronics to drool over the G4 iBooks, and guess what I found? At the right-hand bottom corner of this page:

http://www.smalldog.com/product/12652506

there is something called "Natures Miracle Stain and Odor Remover." This thread immediately came to mind. Don't know if they are recommending using it on the iBook, but I'll bet you could take off the keyboard and put some of this stuff on a cloth or paper towel, lightly wipe both the top and the underneath side of the keyboard with it, allow it to thoroughly dry, and it would help. You might have to do it on a regular basis, but it would be better than putting up with a stinky keyboard. And lots cheaper than buying a new one.

Hi All

Two related stories that might shed some light on this... A few years ago, we noticed a strange fishy smell in the house at the top of the stairs. It wasn't there all the time, but started in the evening. To cut a long story short, we eventually pinned it down to a plastic light fitting that had started to decay. The heat of the bulb was driving the decay process, and that explained why the smell was worse in the evening (because that's when the bulb was lit). There was no option but to replace the fitting.

At about the same time, there were stories in the press of a plastic "cancer" affecting plastic products more than 30 years old. This was a spontaneous breakdown of the chemical structure, accompanied by a vinegary smell. The real killer is that this particular "cancer" was infectious in that the breakdown products from one affected item could start the reaction in another. and another, spreading just like a fire.

So how what does this mean for iBooks? Perhaps a rare chemical breakdown affects a plastic component in the keyboard, possibly driven by the heat of the iBook. Further, perhaps the breakdown components from a faulty keyboard can go on to affect the replacement.

What would this mean? First of all, no amount of sweet smelling agents are going to have any long term affect on the problem; secondly, a replacement keyboard could be infected by some traces left behind from the first; and thirdly, the longer a smelly keyboard is left, the more traces of breakdown products will be left behind when it is eventually removed.

Sadly, although I'm a scientist (of sorts) I'm no chemist and I have absolutely no way of proving or disproving my theory, but I would suggest that anyone with this problem acts sooner rather than later to get a replacement keyboard, the old keyboard should be discarded immediately and not kept around as a spare, and the iBook should be carefully cleaned before the replacement fitted.

Any suggestions for a suitable way of cleaning an iBook?

Bob

I wonder if the G4 iBook keyboard has the same BO issue. And if it doesn't, hopefully its compatible with the G3 iBooks. This smell is just getting worse and worse.

Yeah - I have an iBook G3 900 MHz that stinks too. I, before I found this thread, put Speed Stick deodorant under the keyboard. It kind of works for now. I'm sure the stink fighting power will go away though as the deodorant only advertises 24-hour protection. 🙂

Jason,

Welcome to Apple Discussions.

I hope you're joking. I picture the innards of a Speed Stick melting and running all over the inside of your iBook. Not a pretty picture in my mind. You will have bigger problems than odor if you really did this.

I have a client who reported the same symptoms, after reading these articles, I suggested it may be the keyboard, perhaps some smell emitting from plastics or glues, who knows, she called Apple, who indicated they have in fact heard of the issue, that was all that I found out, and as her iBook was out of warr., they offered and sold her a new keyboard for approx. $70. Just thought ya'll might want to know, so, she ordred one, and I'll remove the old one, let the ibook air out for a day or so, then install the new keyboard, and presumably, that will take care of it.
Cheers,

Daniel

I first noticed this exact BO problem on my 13 month old iBook a couple of weeks ago. Truly, I wasn't sure where the smell was coming from, until later in the week when my friend complained that her iBook smelled like BO. Lo and behold, it was coming from both of our keyboards. Her computer was older, and the smell stronger.

I called Apple on Monday and explained the issue. The first guy I talked to said he had never heard of the problem, and it was helpful to send him to this discussion area. He sent me to a specialist, who sent a new keyboard out to me, which I received today, free of charge. No hint of smelliness now!

I may have had an easy time of it because I have the applecare protection plan. I would certainly recommend signing up for applecare before spending $70 on a new keyboard: you'll get a lot more out of it.

My point? The smell IS the keyboard, and if you want to be treated really well by apple support, sign up for applecare.

Congratulations, Rebecca, and welcome to Apple Discussions.

You shouldn't have to sign up for AppleCare to be treated really well by Apple Support. After all, the support personnel should approach each customer not just as someone with a current problem, but as a potential repeat customer for Apple. The price of admission to the fold for Apple users is high enough to expect courteous and effective service whether or not AppleCare factors into the equation. But, I agree that it doesn't hurt your position to have it (usually quite the contrary).

Maybe the keyboard you bought was the same generation of keyboard as the originals -- the new one sent from Apple is still odor free after quite some time.