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Great Monday start with my coffee spilled on my mechanical keyboard and my mouse...

I tried soaking up as much as possible but didn’t open them up to see. For the keyboard when I removed the keys and checked what got affected I can clearly see some keys on the bottom right of the num pad with a brown tint in the translucent plastic holding the mechanism so for sure these got hit.

Now I’m gonna let it all dry unplugged but do you think that keeping using the keyboard and mouse can pose a short-circuit risk or any other risk for the computer if I plug them in again later? I’m asking since USB conducts current and also this keyboard is so big that it uses two usb plugs. One for Data and one for the lights on the keys etc.

I’m referring to a laptop with an external keyboard and mouse.

Thanks for any input you can give me!

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First, be thankful you did not spill coffee on the laptop.

Second, coffee is not clear water and can leave a residue.

Third, carefully clean everything (including around keys) with a slightly wetter than damp cloth so there is no sign of residue anywhere.

It may not be feasible to disassemble a consumer keyboard, but if you can, you can do a deeper cleaning. I am not sure about the feasibility of this.

Fourth, allow to dry at least 8 hours.

Now try the external keyboard and mouse.

Certainly, be prepared to replace. I would replace them.

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  • The worst thing to do is hope it will improve.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Sep 28, 2020 at 12:48
  • All the bases were covered in my answer and allowing the keyboard to dry while waiting for a new one is not a bad thing to do.
    – anon
    Commented Sep 28, 2020 at 12:53
  • Nope. You completely missed the important bit. Strip it down to component level & clean it with isopropyl. Poking at the bits you can see with a damp cloth is like putting it in rice & praying.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Sep 28, 2020 at 13:00

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