From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair


If a keyboard's Cherry MX keywitch got some
WD40 inside, is it possible to flush it out?

Is replacing the MX keyswitch the only way?
--

@~@ Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
/ v \ May the Force and farces be with you! Live long and prosper!!
/( _ )\ https://sites.google.com/site/changmw/
^ ^ https://github.com/changmw/changmw
The game is afoot... Meow...

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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On Tue, 7/7/2026 2:06 AM, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

If a keyboard's Cherry MX keywitch got some
WD40 inside, is it possible to flush it out?

Is replacing the MX keyswitch the only way?

You'd flush it out with WD40.

Well, you should not have used WD40 in the first place
(we could have told you that).

Seriously, you should never use a substance that
you know leaves a residue. It should be a liquid
which dries up. Rinsing keyboards in clear water,
it depends on keyboard construction how long it would
take for the water to dry.

Membrane keyboards are great for water-rinsing. Two
or three days of gentle-warm air flowing over the
keyboard, and it is dry again and ready for reassembly.

Any mechanical key-switches, it's going to take longer.
And some keyboards are toast, if you spill a coke on them.
If the keyboard cannot be fully disassembled, it makes
it difficult to avoid sticking-switches. I had a keyboard
that cost $150.00 and that one used steel rivets and
no screws, so it could not be disassembled for drying
purposes (the plastics unscrew, but the internal assemblies
are riveted).

Paul
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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On 7/7/2026 4:37 PM, Paul wrote:

On Tue, 7/7/2026 2:06 AM, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

If a keyboard's Cherry MX keywitch got some
WD40 inside, is it possible to flush it out?

Is replacing the MX keyswitch the only way?

You'd flush it out with WD40.

Well, you should not have used WD40 in the first place
(we could have told you that).

No, it's a cheap keyboard that looked new in
Sham Shui Po. I bought it home then found
that some keys were stuck, notably the ENTER
key and the Right Shift key under it.

I popped their keycaps and smelled the
corresponding MX keyswitches underneath.
It's like kerosene or WD40, I could not tell.

So, could those mysterious liquid be cleaned
without replacing the corresponding keyswitches?

Maybe an arsonist suddenly aborted a dark
operation and dumped the keyboard. I dunno... :)
--

@~@ Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
/ v \ May the Force and farces be with you! Live long and prosper!!
/( _ )\ https://sites.google.com/site/changmw/
^ ^ https://github.com/changmw/changmw
The game is afoot... Meow...
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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On Tue, 7/7/2026 4:55 AM, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

On 7/7/2026 4:37 PM, Paul wrote:

On Tue, 7/7/2026 2:06 AM, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

If a keyboard's Cherry MX keywitch got some
WD40 inside, is it possible to flush it out?

Is replacing the MX keyswitch the only way?

You'd flush it out with WD40.

Well, you should not have used WD40 in the first place
(we could have told you that).

No, it's a cheap keyboard that looked new in
Sham Shui Po. I bought it home then found
that some keys were stuck, notably the ENTER
key and the Right Shift key under it.

I popped their keycaps and smelled the
corresponding MX keyswitches underneath.
It's like kerosene or WD40, I could not tell.

So, could those mysterious liquid be cleaned
without replacing the corresponding keyswitches?

Maybe an arsonist suddenly aborted a dark
operation and dumped the keyboard. I dunno... :)

It is probably less trouble to find another keyboard.

I don't know how much solder-heat a switch like that can take.

Paul


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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On 7/7/2026 6:32 PM, Paul wrote:

On Tue, 7/7/2026 4:55 AM, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

No, it's a cheap keyboard that looked new in
Sham Shui Po. I bought it home then found
that some keys were stuck, notably the ENTER
key and the Right Shift key under it.

I popped their keycaps and smelled the
corresponding MX keyswitches underneath.
It's like kerosene or WD40, I could not tell.

It is probably less trouble to find another keyboard.
I don't know how much solder-heat a switch like that can take.

No, I wanna repair/save/fix the keyswitches.

Is there an easy solution to flush whatever
fluid as trapped inside those 2 Cherry MX
keyswitches?

I don't wanna re-solder those 2 keyswitches.
That would be a lot of trouble-s. :)
--

@~@ Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
/ v \ May the Force and farces be with you! Live long and prosper!!
/( _ )\ https://sites.google.com/site/changmw/
^ ^ https://github.com/changmw/changmw
The game is afoot... Meow...
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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

Mr. Man-wai Chang <toylet.toylet@gmail.com> wrote:

On 7/7/2026 6:32 PM, Paul wrote:

On Tue, 7/7/2026 4:55 AM, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

No, it's a cheap keyboard that looked new in
Sham Shui Po. I bought it home then found
that some keys were stuck, notably the ENTER
key and the Right Shift key under it.

I popped their keycaps and smelled the
corresponding MX keyswitches underneath.
It's like kerosene or WD40, I could not tell.

It is probably less trouble to find another keyboard.
I don't know how much solder-heat a switch like that can take.

No, I wanna repair/save/fix the keyswitches.

Is there an easy solution to flush whatever
fluid as trapped inside those 2 Cherry MX
keyswitches?

I don't wanna re-solder those 2 keyswitches.
That would be a lot of trouble-s. :)

If the liquid has found its way into the switches where they are
in-situ, then another liquid could be used to soak it out without
dismantling. Water is no use because WD40 and most other oils are water-repellent, it needs to be a solvent for oily things. Some
alcohols will dissolve a limited amount of oil, so you could try soaking
it in isopropanol for a few days (in a closed container outdoors, to
prevent evaporation and a build-up of flammable fumes).

Alternatively you might find a two-stage process works better - use a
very light oil like paraffin [kerosene] to dissolve the heavier oily
substance, drain it well, then soak in isopropanol to remove the
residual paraffin.

Do not use 'rubbing alcohol' as a substitute for proper isopropanol, it
is contaminated with water (and possibly other unwanted substances).
Check that anything you use will not damage the plastics or remove the lettering.
--
~ Liz Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk
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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On Tue, 7 Jul 2026 16:55:16 +0800, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

On 7/7/2026 4:37 PM, Paul wrote:

On Tue, 7/7/2026 2:06 AM, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

If a keyboard's Cherry MX keywitch got some WD40 inside, is it
possible to flush it out?

Is replacing the MX keyswitch the only way?

You'd flush it out with WD40.

Well, you should not have used WD40 in the first place (we could have
told you that).

No, it's a cheap keyboard that looked new in Sham Shui Po. I bought it
home then found that some keys were stuck, notably the ENTER key and the Right Shift key under it.

I popped their keycaps and smelled the corresponding MX keyswitches underneath.
It's like kerosene or WD40, I could not tell.

So, could those mysterious liquid be cleaned without replacing the corresponding keyswitches?

Maybe an arsonist suddenly aborted a dark operation and dumped the
keyboard. I dunno... :)

I would personally try 99% isopropyl alcohol. It is cheap and likely easy
for you to find, and likely will take most of the oils off the keyboard.
It shouldn't take long to fully evaporate either, probably real quick if
you put it out in the sun.

Best of luck.
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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On 7/8/2026 7:24 AM, Nick Canuck wrote:

I popped their keycaps and smelled the corresponding MX keyswitches
underneath.
It's like kerosene or WD40, I could not tell.

So, could those mysterious liquid be cleaned without replacing the
corresponding keyswitches?

I would personally try 99% isopropyl alcohol. It is cheap and likely easy
for you to find, and likely will take most of the oils off the keyboard.
It shouldn't take long to fully evaporate either, probably real quick if
you put it out in the sun.

Best of luck.

To submerge the whole TKL keyboard? That takes
a big bucket and a lot of "99% isopropyl alcohol"!!
And it's dangerous because "99% isopropyl alcohol"
could caught fire.

Let me think about it. It's a high-risk op!!!
--

@~@ Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
/ v \ May the Force and farces be with you! Live long and prosper!!
/( _ )\ https://sites.google.com/site/changmw/
^ ^ https://github.com/changmw/changmw
The game is afoot... Meow...
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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On 7/8/2026 7:24 AM, Nick Canuck wrote:

On Tue, 7 Jul 2026 16:55:16 +0800, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

If a keyboard's Cherry MX keywitch got some WD40 inside, is it
possible to flush it out?

I popped their keycaps and smelled the corresponding MX keyswitches
underneath.
It's like kerosene or WD40, I could not tell.

So, could those mysterious liquid be cleaned without replacing the
corresponding keyswitches?

I would personally try 99% isopropyl alcohol. It is cheap and likely easy
for you to find, and likely will take most of the oils off the keyboard.
It shouldn't take long to fully evaporate either, probably real quick if
you put it out in the sun.

I suppose both kerosene and WD40 are volatile
fluid? In that case, maybe I could just bake
the keyboard under bright sunlight for a few
hot summer days in Hong Kong right now.

Then I could immerse the TKL keyboard into
a big bucket of hot water for a day, then
leave it to dry under sunlight again for
a few hot summer days.

Well... worth trying as this method does
not need anything special, nor involve
fire risks. Meow....
--

@~@ Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
/ v \ May the Force and farces be with you! Live long and prosper!!
/( _ )\ https://sites.google.com/site/changmw/
^ ^ https://github.com/changmw/changmw
The game is afoot... Meow...
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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On 7/12/2026 9:23 PM, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

To submerge the whole TKL keyboard? That takes
a big bucket and a lot of "99% isopropyl alcohol"!!
And it's dangerous because "99% isopropyl alcohol"
could caught fire.

MERGEE+!uuc(t|Uo2o)t++*!>N+Uoeiu-i*-Roa+ <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/zht/%E8%A9%9E%E5%85%B8/%E8%8B%B1%E8%AA%9E-%E6%BC%A2%E8%AA%9E-%E7%B9%81%E9%AB%94/merge>

SUBMERGEE+!uuc(t|Uo2o)t++*!>N+Uoeiu-i*-Roa+ <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/zht/%E8%A9%9E%E5%85%B8/%E8%8B%B1%E8%AA%9E-%E6%BC%A2%E8%AA%9E-%E7%B9%81%E9%AB%94/submerge>

Flood myth - Wikipedia
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_myth>
--

@~@ Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
/ v \ May the Force and farces be with you! Live long and prosper!!
/( _ )\ https://sites.google.com/site/changmw/
^ ^ https://github.com/changmw/changmw
The game is afoot... Meow...
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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

Mr. Man-wai Chang <toylet.toylet@gmail.com> wrote:

On 7/8/2026 7:24 AM, Nick Canuck wrote:

On Tue, 7 Jul 2026 16:55:16 +0800, Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:

If a keyboard's Cherry MX keywitch got some WD40 inside, is it
possible to flush it out?

I popped their keycaps and smelled the corresponding MX keyswitches
underneath.
It's like kerosene or WD40, I could not tell.

So, could those mysterious liquid be cleaned without replacing the
corresponding keyswitches?

I would personally try 99% isopropyl alcohol. It is cheap and likely easy for you to find, and likely will take most of the oils off the keyboard.
It shouldn't take long to fully evaporate either, probably real quick if you put it out in the sun.

I suppose both kerosene and WD40 are volatile
fluid?

They contain volatile components but there are also non-volatile oily substances in WD40, they are the ones that will prevent switches from
working.

[...]

Then I could immerse the TKL keyboard into
a big bucket of hot water for a day,

Oil won't dissolve in water.
--
~ Liz Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk
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