I've taken a few keyboards apart, however, Apple's aluminum keyboards (wired and bluetooth) are welded together with covers glued on, so they cannot be cleaned like cheaper keyboards.. Usually it's just water in some tight spots that takes days or weeks to evaporate, and putting it in air tight rice for 3 days seems to be the most successful solution for all kinds of electronics.
BEWARE: if the water causes a short where it can draw enough current, it can fry some traces near the short. If that happens (smell of burning), it's toast, buy a new keyboard.
NOTE: Traces fry because they get hot, and this can take anywhere from a split second to several minutes. So unplug the USB from the computer, and don't plug it in for more then about 20 seconds the first couple times you test.
If the drink was more then water, it may leave a residue that will never leave on it's own. It may be fixable, but the cost may be more then just buying a new keyboard.
That said, Isopropyl Alcohol (flammable) can wick into tighter spots then water, and evaporates much faster too. Rubbing Alcohol has 70% Isopropyl, but it's also has 30% water, so look for 99% Isopropyl at a Wal-Mart or electronics store for the best results.
Make sure you're in a well ventilated place (like outside), and pour across the keyboard slowly several times. Make sure you have a bowl underneath that's at least large enough to catch most of it. And you should still let the kb sit for a day after the treatment because any displaced water may be in a bad location before it evaporates completely.
Some people say a hair dryer can speed things up. It's probably true, but high heat can ruin the kb too, so touch the surface often to make sure you're not getting it too hot. DO NOT use a hair dryer with flammable Isopropyl Alcohol.
2 Comments
So i told my mom and i put the whole keyboard in a thing of rice. Am i good?
by Jonathan
leaving it to dry for a few hours isn't quite what i meant..give it a day..
by pollytintop