Keyboards and cat hair

[Margaret CPA in OH]

In looking through a cabinet, I noticed a can of compressed air. I decided to blow out my keyboard having noticed a bit of cat hair floating about (see avatar for responsible parties).

Wow! I think I found another cat! So now I've blown and picked and prodded between the keys but still see wisps here and there. Any really effective ways to get out the rest without completely dismantling the thing? I may do that but not until after the season for fear that it will never be the same.

[taxtrio]

Maybe just give that keyboard to the cat! And treat yourself to a new one!

[Elrod]

Blast it out with water hose...But let dry GOOD before use.

[Jack from Ohio]

Replace it. Not much more than the cost of that can of air you wasted!!

[jklcpa]

If it was working before you blew it out, I wouldn't worry about those last little wisps. If the keyboard is still working after this cleaning, keep on using it.

[Margaret CPA in OH]

Thanks, all. It's still working so I will probably just keep on keepin' on at least for now. I was just astonished at the amount of hair! And that it was still working with all that cushion!

But I think a new one after April may be in the cards.

[TAXMAN]

With that much in the Keyboard I would be concerned if my Computer Fans might need some attending to. Just thinking.

[Margaret CPA in OH]

Thanks, Taxman, but I do tend to the computer and fans. I take her in for a spa treatment about every 6 months, before and after tax season, to the guy who built her. He does a thorough cleaning job inside the box and the hard drive.

I often turn over the keyboard for those pesky crumbs but never imagined there would be so much hair.

[kcjenkins]

[joanmcq]

Ha, my kitty helper hard booted my computer & screwed up ATX. I shake out crumbs all the time from my keyboard & blow out hair. But I'd hate to see what all might be in there. She also sneaks in the office and liberates my pens.

[Jack from Ohio]

These examples are why I have a Beta fish.

[Janitor Bob]

LOL Joanmcq....My cat did the same thing a few days after your post while I was in the middle of a return (fortunately, no ill affects). Why Dell would put the main power button on the top of the case, I'll never know...surely they understand that my cat uses that area as a step to get to my keyboard/lap.

I now have it pushed back where helper kitty will not step on it.

[pikester1967]

"Trying to get myself in trouble and lighten the mood."

Our Aussie (see pic on left) sit's beside me late at night when completing tax work.

He seen all these cat's. All I can say is;

Woof Woof!

[mcb39]

LOL Joanmcq....My cat did the same thing a few days after your post while I was in the middle of a return (fortunately, no ill affects). Why Dell would put the main power button on the top of the case, I'll never know...surely they understand that my cat uses that area as a step to get to my keyboard/lap.

I now have it pushed back where helper kitty will not step on it.

My Gateway has the on button on top also. My husband built a stand to set the PC on and raise it up under the desk. My cat doesn't sneak in there. This stand also serves to keep machine up off the floor and deters the fan from sucking in dust. My cat usually sits on my desk on top of whatever paper I am trying to work on at any given time.

[Margaret CPA in OH]

Yes, Marilyn, cats on papers. See my avatar. 'Nuff said.

[kcjenkins]

[Eric]

Buy a new keyboard. Run the old keyboard through the dishwasher, and let it dry completely before plugging it back in, 2 or 3 days at least. I shake the heck out of it to get as much water out as I can, sometimes take a hair dryer to it, but I find that a couple days outside in the sun during the summer works great.

It'll be like brand new, as long as it still works. And if not, well, you've already got a replacement. I wash mine every couple years, and about 1 out of 5 times they don't work afterward, but they're cheap enough so that it doesn't bother me too much. Dirty keyboards kind of gross me out. Before I worked at ATX, I had an awful job where I had to share a cubicle with people who worked other shifts. I once ran a toothpick between the rows of keys--I won't go into detail. The things I've seen, I cannot un-see.

Edit for details: None of my desktop keyboards are fancy or wireless, or have LED back-lighting, or anything like that. I would guess that the more complex and fancy a keyboard is, the more likely they are to fail after a bath. I wash the keyboards alone, and without soap. I don't use the heated-dry option.

[kcjenkins]

Basically, at the start of the season, it actually makes sense to me to buy a new keyboard, which as you say, are not expensive, even if it sits in it's box for the net year! What you want is to be able to get back up and running in ten minutes, if anything happens to your keyboard. I kept an extra mouse for the same reason. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126096

[Jack from Ohio]

There is a plethora of keyboards in my office/garage/computer work bench. No way am I spending time running a $12 item through the dishwasher!!

[JohnH]

So if you left a dirty $10 bill in your trousers and it went in the wash, would it be best to dry it and reuse it, or just throw it away? After all, you probably have plenty of other $10 bills lying around somewhere.

[SCL]

hey JH...relativity/apples and oranges...you make the call.

if bill gates was working on a multi million/billion dollar problem, and he saw a $100 dollar bill lying on the ground...

would it be worth 30 seconds his time to pick it up and put it in his pocket?

probably not, but he would do it anyway.

[RitaB]

There is a plethora of keyboards in my office/garage/computer work bench. No way am I spending time running a $12 item through the dishwasher!!

Hey, I finally realized I don't have to stare at the toaster or microwave while they work. Bet that dishwasher runs without you standing there, Jack.

Sorry, I had to. Heehee.

The dishwasher seems a little violent to me. And humid. I just run the shop vac over keyboards. Not the whole shop vac, just the little attachment with soft bristles. Don't call PETA, but you can vacuum some cats, too. Others will kill you if you do that, so your mileage may vary.

I do snag ten's that end up in the washing machine, too. Actually any currency or coin. It feels like my tip for doing laundry. Oh, and not only would I pick up a $100, I'd shove any of you out of my way and run to get it.

[JohnH]

The turn this thread has taken reminds me of a friend who would always say "I'll never be too old or too fat to bend over and pick up money."

[Jack from Ohio]

Hey, I finally realized I don't have to stare at the toaster or microwave while they work. Bet that dishwasher runs without you standing there, Jack.

The dishwasher runs without attention, but in the time it takes to put it in, take it out, spend time drying it, then testing it to see if it works, I can do an entire tax return and earn $200. Spending an hour+ on a $12 item is not worth my time. Same goes for printers....

[JohnH]

How far could you have gotten on a tax return in the time it took you to post that reply? :)