how can i clean the white keys on my keyboard

I have had many Apple products over the years and have tried many cleaning methods. Eyeglass cleaners, vinegar, alcohol, ammonia, and products that use chemicals common to these can damage the surface of the device. Your beautiful white device then becomes dirtier faster and has a different feel to the surface. There is also a risk of removing the letters/numbers/symbols on the device.

To clean with my method, you will need soft gauze, coconut oil (solid is easier to work with), and a tiny bit of elbow grease. Wrap the guaze around a finger tip and dip into the cococut oil, rub with circular motions on the keys and use the other hand to hold keys down as you clean the base of the keyboard. Everything cleans up beautifully, original white looks great, and the keys feel slick as when they were new.

Happy scrubbing my obsessive compulsive friends!

I just cleaned my white key board and wanted to share. I used Pledge multi purpose and microfiber cloth. This worked better than a baby wipe & lysole wipes. It even cleaned the metal part in between the white keys which I did not think was dirty. Overall, my key board look brand new. I just spray a little pledge on the cloth, and with one fingure, rub the keys in a circular motion and done, fast and easy.

I am obsessed with this product, I even use pledge multi surface on my glass mirrors, stainless steel fridge, and bmw LOL. Cuz it works that good.

I use this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MFHX3U

Lightly run the white side on your keys and the icky dirt comes off rather easily. I use it dry, and I lightly rub repeatedly, I don't use a ton of pressure. DISCLAIMER: I've started using this recently, so I don't know if repeated uses will eventually wear the lettering off. So please proceed carefully! Also, I assume that the regular Magic Eraser would work too, but use it DRY.

I use a baby wipe, keep water and any other liquids away from the keyboard or you risk killing it. You can also create a solution of 1 part vinegar for 4 parts water, dip a rag in it and wring it as hard as you can to get as much moisture out of it as possible. Then clean the keyboard while keeping a dry rag at hand.

Hi everyone. I do not recommend the Magic Eraser or products like that. While they do work great to remove the grunge, they damage the keys and eventually the letters wear away. I have tried almost all suggestions here and still can't find anything that works. And the instructions to be found on the Apple site are no good - a lint free cloth and water won't remotely touch the grime. I will try the CLR, but any more suggestions are welcome.

JWS Newbury

Having read much of the recent advice on cleaning the keyboard I tried a few options. Alcohol (enough to dampen only) on a cotton bud worked very well. The best source was gin out of a miniature bottle. Maybe vodka would have worked as well. I now have a very clean keyboard.

22 June 2015

There is another recent thread running on this topic... "How do you clean a wireless keyboard?" (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6890997). I posted the comments below on that thread. IPA (rubbing alcohol) is not a bad idea, it will be a pretty decent solvent for many types of grime and will not harm the plastic keys. Still, it obviously has to be kept under control, you can't allow it to run down into the keyboard and shutting everything down while you are cleaning the keys is also a must.

For a keyboard that has gotten this dirty it will take some fairly aggressive action to get it clean. You might need to be prepared to replace the keyboard if you get too aggressive. I too have used window cleaner like Windex and other cleaners like 409 on my hard wired keyboard, but as mentioned you CAN NOT let it run down into the keyboard. If some liquid does get in the keyboard, even if it does't destroy the function could gum things up as it will likely carry some of the dirt and grime with it. I am a plastics engineer. None of these cleaners will harm the keys. Perhaps hold the keyboard upside down and slowly wipe with a sponge or cloth somewhat saturated with the cleaner. This should keep liquid from accidentally getting into the innards of the keyboard. It may take several cleanings like this to get it truly clean.

Some folks pop the keys off and wash them with soap and water or dishwasher top shelf. Google for videos or printed instructions.

Don't EVER use glass cleaners. I did it once, and the white plastic turned a little bit orange. For ever 😟.

We npticed that too. My wife discovered this trick. Use CLR...that cleaner that removes shower grunge from shower heads...with a cotton swab. Dip the swab in the fluid and then gently wipe against each key on the keyboard. We've done this a few times and it works just fine.

I have just used Astonish - 'The great household cleaner'. I used some barely damp jay cloth with Astonish on each key and it worked a dream - they have no more grunge and they feel lovely and smooth again 🙂.

I use Formula 409. I spray it on a paper towel, making sure it isn't drippy wet, and rub it on the keys. Make sure it isn't wet enough to leak into the keys. Works like a charm on both the keys and the base.

I wouldn't spray this anywhere around the screen.

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (or other similar brand). Wet the end ever so slightly and then use a circular motion over your entire keyboard. Reverse the circular motion for a few seconds, wipe to perfection with a paper towel. This method works and takes less than a minute. It's like, well, magic!

i just used pledge multi purpose to clean my keyboard and your right looks brand new. i used an old nail brush and it was much quicker, place the key board on the floor and spray from a height to avoid getting the keyboard over wet lol plus it now smells nice too lol

I just now decided to clean my filthy keyboard. After reading everybody's comments I decided to try Vim since it's more of a paste than liquid. I put a little water on a paper towel with a teeny drop of Vim, squeezed out the excess water, turned the keyboard off and upside-down as suggested and viola! I now have a clean keyboard, except for the "b" which I just noticed now. Oh, and the 1. Well… It looks better than it did before.