The best way to clean a keyboard is… the DISHWASHER? 

Future Colin here - most of the boards that we did this test with died within a year. They **did** work for a time, but most had a key or two stop responding properly after ~9-12 months of daily use. So, take this video with an enormous grain of salt, and instead consider getting a mesh bag for keycaps + removing your plastics to wash your keeb without putting the printed circuit board in the dishwasher! -CW

Instructions Unclear Dishwasher has now RGB lighting

Was this just a way for Linus to write off his new dishwasher as a business expense?

"A fast way to clean your keyboard." "We waited a week for the keyboards to dry." "Fast."

Did you know, you can put dishes in your keyboardwasher.

This is exactly what RU-vid was made for: people like Linus to carry out real world tests so we don't have to. Love it.

I can’t wait until keyboards are advertised as dishwasher friendly

My father in law worked at a particle accelerator facility. He was giving me a tour of the electronics lab. They had a dishwasher sitting in the middle of the lab. I asked one of the techs what it was for. He said they used it to clean circuit boards. Thier was a special detergent they used in it. Some of the boards they serviced were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Linus......Puts GPU in oven, keyboards in dishwasher....up next "Hard drives in microwave"

"A quicker way to clean your keyboard" ... Takes a week to dry...

“Can I sing this song” “That’s fine, I licensed it” This is what true power looks like

Linus: wait a week to dry Me with 1 keyboard: I'm out

You should have overclocked the dishwasher.

Linus DishTips

It would have been nice to know how they felt to actually type something out. Were the key switches sticky, slow to return, harder when pushing down, or inconsistent feeling between keys?

Keyboard maker: "Every board gets an ethernet port for high speed performance" Linus: "Wha???"

"that's fine I licensed it" best editor's note ever xD

"it's fine, I licensed it." boss

Corsair's "You can keep your warranty" was pretty hilarious

He legit got the license for that song just for a 2 second clip 😂

My macbook has a keyboard build in. Do I just put the whole macbook in?

The "golden sample" keyboard was from me. I found it outside a going-out-of-business thrift store in Squamish, BC, under a "FREE!" sign. I grabbed it (carefully) knowing it'd be perfect for this upcoming video.

In my experience, taking the key caps off, brushing the board with a dry toothbrush while letting the key caps soak in soapy water, then tooth brush the caps one by one as the rest soak was a good way to keep things relatively dry, so you don't have to wait a week for it to dry, at best I waited an hour, got very good clean results after 6 years of use. I was using a Razer black widow. It's not rgb, it just has green backlight.

“Quick way to clean your keyboard” didn’t you just wait a week for it to dry?

This is so much more in depth than I could have ever imagined when I clicked the video lol

Kids in background: Dad's doing something weird again.

I do it a way that deeply removes dirty, I put the entire keyboard with the keycaps (removed) in an ultrasonic bath with 100% isopropyl alcohol, in less than a day it is completly dry and deeply cleaned.

Years ago, Logitech made a washable keyboard with spread out keys. It cost, at the time, a mere $30 and I've gone back to it over and over again. It's comfortable, easy to clean, and why they discontinued it I'll never know.

Roses are red, Screens give off light, When Linus says “speaking of”, I double tap the right.

I tryed this with my gaming laptop is now very clean thanks you Linus

You should keep in mind that unless you're filtering your dishwasher's water, the amount of minerals dissolved in your water could vary widely depending on your area's water source, and this might lead to some serious issues for some people if you're simply letting this water dry on the keyboard.

"Thats fine, I licensed it"

The Saitek keyboard Linus asked, "Why does this have an ethernet port on it?" That port went to a proprietary numpad/gamepad that came with that model. I know this because I had one back in the WinXP days.

Linus “How can I make Buying a Dishwasher a business expense? Hmmmmmmm”

"Its fine I licensed it" i laughed so hard

I work in the IT department of an electronic board manufacturer and I've found that running the boards through the regular water wash (non-saponified) works well. Then I throw the keyboards in an ESD bin or bag loaded with desiccant packs.

"Remember kids: The difference between screwing around and science is writing it down." ~Adam Savage~

When I had a dishwasher I did this with my cheaper keyboards, was to scared to do it with more expensive equipment. Only fried one because I didn't let it try off completely. So *LET IT DRY OFF KIDS!*

Thanks a lot, Linus! I tried this and my keyboard doesn't work. Now I need to buy a new laptop.

3:08 "borrowed on condition of annonymity" 9:21 "poor Tyler's keyboard"

Linus 2010: This keyboard cable is braided Linus 2019: This keyboard has microbial growth

Wife: what you watchin Me: oh just some guys using a dishwasher for keyboards. *awkward silence*

Linus's smile when he said "Chip happens" killed me

This was actually a very informative video. And something I recommend doing if you have a spare keyboard to use while you're quality or gaming keyboard is in the wash

When I was working at a second hand store years ago we cleaned lot's of computer parts, including keyboards, in a restaurant grade dishwasher, then we let them dry for 1-2 days and never had any problems.

Logically there should be no problem cleaning any electronics with water as long as you let it properly dry before plugging it in. I'm more worried about the plastic of your keyboard.

Chip happens. 🤣 your face when you said that was priceless, the dad joke is wonderful

Linus: Wait one week for the keyboards to dry. Also Linus: So this might just be a fast method to clean your keyboard!

*tosses laptop into dishwasher*

SSD does not survive in dishwasher, I can confirm

August 24,2021 - With a follow up. After getting Root Beer in my K95RGB keyboard, and the L key doing the sticky constant press, I removed the key caps. Then I disassembled the board to get it down to minimal and remove as many water traps as possible. I ran the main board with the mechanical switches and the bottom plate through the dishwasher. Added a little soap (less than a tablespoon) to the first wash. Then let the second wash and rinse both do water. It went through the plate warmer dry cycle as well. The parts came out with water all over them. Shook the excess water off of the bottom plate and dried it with a towel. The top plate with the mechanical switches and main board were loaded as well. I shook out as much as would come out, THEN I took my wet/dry shop vac and ran it over each of the mechanical switches. It was amazing how much water was trapped inside of each switch. I used the small angled tip and went along and pressed the button for each switch down as the vacuum would then suck all the water from inside and around each switch up and out. By removing the water this way it also removes anything in the water that would be left once the water dries out. The interesting thing is you can see the water coming out of each switch as the vacuum sucks it out. It will also let it dry faster with less possibility of corrosion when less to no water is left inside. When I reassemble the board and test it I will edit this post. At this time I can say that the mechanical switches look much better and seem to work better. Will still have to test them. If any of the switches has gone bad, I have the skills and experience (20 years working in electronics designing and building prototype boards) to replace the switches, IF I CAN GET REPLACEMENTS. More probably this coming weekend. August 25, 2021 THE FOLLOWUP! I am typing this on my CLEANED K95 RGB keyboard. All the keys work. All the lighting works. All the switches work. Using a shop vac to remove the majority of the water from the mechanical switches was an excellent idea and worked quite well. There were a handful of buttons required several presses to get them to start working. Once they started to work there was never any more trouble. In addition the drying time was only 3 days. CONCLUSIONS If you have and intend to use a shop vac to remove the water, AND disassemble the keyboard to the extent you can, AND remove the keycaps, It could help to use a SMALL amount of soap only in the beginning wash. The shop vac will remove the excess water before it dries and leaves any soap deposits. This is important especially in the mechanical switches. If you use any soap only use a teaspoon or 2 at most. As to the keyboard, it seems like the key action is a little better. The keyboard is about 4 years old and seems to work like new again. So nice to have a keyboard that isn't all covered with dust, debris, and gunk.

Nice experiment. Though I think I should point out that wireless keyboards that use batteries or solar charging ones shouldn't go through the wash as it carriers more wires inside. At a bare minimum remove the batteries out of those keyboards as it could cause corrosion.

Taran: “Hey Linus, have you seen my many keyboards?” Lucas: “Linus, did I leave my old Ducky mechanical keyboard somewhere?” Linus (closes the dishwasher): No... Edit: Wow 200 thank you

Putting stuff in a dishwasher to clean (big industrial dish washer) is pretty normal, BUT you need a vacuum oven to properly dry stuff afterwards.

9:06 food flied off the cleaned and dry keyboard and hit Linus's face/cheek and neck. lolol

0:56 I was expecting to hear a loud shattering sound, my heart

rgb dishwashers next?

No one's gonna check for corrosion?

Almost all of those growths are benign and/or beneficial. Thanks Mythbusters.

Man that Saitek keyboard really takes me back.

I think we as viewers deserve an updated video. I really want to know if adding soap has any adverse or beneficial affect. It may also be helpful to know what other computer components can be put in a dishwasher.

Mom: Im glad to see you finally doing dishes. Me: ...

HAHA "The noodles are cooked" killed me.

Just had a major spill on my mechanical keyboard. Took it apart and did a manual "water/dish soap and a brush"-procedure. An hour later (some hair-dryer application in between) and here i am typing on a clean as new fully functional keyboard. Thanks a lot Linus !

What I learned watching this video: 1. Linus is now going to have Pink Eye. 2. Thankful for my Corsair Keyboard which is very easy to clean thanks to open sides and raised key caps. 3. I am going to continue on with my philosophy of never using someone elses key board... EWWWWWW...

Welcome to Linus destroying stuff that we want but don't have

3:16 the moment i realized choosing this video to watch while i eat wasnt a bright choice))))

I did this with my Corsair K70 after I spilled a drink on it, left it out to dry in the sun for about a day and it's working perfectly now :D

I can imagine the advertising fir these keyboards now: RGB lighting's Macro Cherry switches Dishwasher safe

"We are going to sacrifice them all for science" *science

"This method is Quick, Fast" took 1 week to completely dry

This video was like 10x more thought out than I would've thought

"Quick, fast" *takes a week to dry*

My computer teacher SWORE by washing them in the dishwasher. He said every weekend or so, when the class' keyboards got nasty, he'd take them home and throw them in there, and we had the same keyboards at least the two years I was there.

I used to do Level 1 and 2 tech support for a US computer company, and I had that conversation with an IT guy from a company that used hundreds of "our" computers. He said that they had a dishwasher in the IT shop just for keyboards.

Been doing the manual key removal cleaning for over decade..some of my older KBs the keys didn't separate individually, they were bunched together, i would take to my back yard and just wash with my power jet lol(never broke) and let it dry in the sun..

Linus is just using this as an excuse to test out his new dishwasher while making content. Kill two birds with keyboards. :)

dish is ridiculous

I use to clean old Arcade PCBs that were not working and dirty(caked with 20-40 years worth of dust and smoke res). Not only did it clean it super well without issue, but it actually fixed them on occasion.

Linus: "that's fast and easy" Also linus: " you need to let it dry for 1 week"

I started this video just as I sat down to eat... bad idea

I've just dumped mine in a bucked and then swooshed it with a cleaned dish brush, then let it dry for a few days. (Corsair K65 RGB) Worked great, only downside is waiting it to dry. I heard soap can be bad as some keyboards have oil as lubricant in the switches, better let it be.

It also works for the whole laptop, you guys saved me so much time!

Been doing this for years, hell at SGI we used an I believe it was a Hobart professional dishwasher after the wave solder runs.

8:51 What? No! Quick-dry with air pressure, _THEN_ let it sit for a couple days! Leaving that water on your tech will have the water react with your metal circuit - rust! It may still work, but lifespan will be _greatly_ reduced. The air pressure minimalizes that effect (you basically let it dry out for just for safety, for those droplets in pockets the air pressure can't reach)

"quick and fast" waits a week to dry

I’ve done this with crusty old TV remote controls with sticky keys and it works like a charm (just take out the batteries.) I do a pre wash with a toothbrush under the faucet first.

Even the cat at the beginning of the video was like "What the hell are you doing?"

are keyboards gonna have a new feature in packaging where its gonna say "DIsh washer friendly!" ?

Moral of the story, if you want it done right, you gotta do it yourself.

Shows you how well I listen to Linus... I put mine through the dishwasher... aaaand now I need a new one.

10:40 ..."quick fast" * waits a week to dry *

As linus wonders how to make his new dishwasher a business expense

Instructions unclear, whenever I press the space bar my dishwasher starts.

I'd be interested to see what the traces and what not look like after the dishwasher. Would be interesting to see if there's any traces of corrosion on anything, or if it's mint. Cause usually water is bad when left on

After soldering, if cleaning needs to happen, PCAs are put into what is basically a very expensive dishwasher that rinses with deionised water. You can put wet electronics into an oven at 60 degrees C for an hour or two to completely dry them (as long as there aren’t moisture sensitive devices in them)

The worse thing for a keyboard is liquid that contains sugar, like orange juice or ice tea, and coffee which contains sugar and creamer. Cookie crumbs can be dumped out or blown out using a compressed aerosol can. I wash keyboards in the sink using dish soap and then rinsing them using the sprayer. After shaking out some water I use a hair dryer on a warm setting to dry them. I've never had a keyboard not work after washing and drying this way. I don't wash my own keyboards as I never drink or eat near them, and I just use a vacuum to suck out dust. If you are bleeding over your keyboard then make an appointment to see your doctor.

Hey guys... Um, turns out the Razer Huntsman Elite is not dishwasher proof. Good to know, good to know.

I wouldn't do it with a modern keyboard, but I did it with one in the 80s and it worked wonderfully.

Just the title alone was enough to wash the smile off of my face