It’s not long before you end up with a laptop that has collected dust and crumbs between the keys, and the screen covered with smudges. Thankfully all you need is a few household cleaning items and a bit of patience to get your laptop sparkling clean again.
Before you start cleaning your laptop you must ensure it is completely turned off and the power cord unplugged, and if possible, the battery removed. Throughout the cleaning process be careful not to spill liquids on the laptop and never apply liquids directly to the laptop – instead apply the liquids to a cloth, making sure it is not too moist, and use the cloth to clean the laptop.
Close the lid of the laptop down into a closed position. Dip a cloth or sponge into a cleaning mixture made up of about 1 part washing-up detergent with 5 parts of water, then thoroughly wring out the cloth. Carefully clean the lid of the laptop, then open the lid and carefully clean the touch pad and around the keyboard, but not between the keys.
Use a slightly damp cotton swab to get into the more difficult external areas. You must not try to clean out any USB ports, power sockets or any other slots in the computer. Rinsing the cloth often will avoid smudges and you may find wiping the laptop with a dry micro fibre cloth or a cloth that won’t leave behind fluff will give it a nice finish.
Use a cotton swab or some other soft tool to gently scrap away any dust or grime logged between the keys, without pushing it further into the laptop. Once finished, use a vacuum cleaner on its lowest setting to remove the grime. You can now use a slightly damp, almost dry cloth to carefully wipe the keys down.
For the screen, do not use any soaps or cleaning liquids as this can cause permanent damage. Use a micro fibre cloth and water only, using a dry micro fibre cloth to dry it once you have finished. Special cleaning kits for LCD screens are available which you may want to consider purchasing for a perfect job.
