Originally Posted By: DonCorbata
What is washed? Is it what remains after removing the printed circuit board or does it include the printed circuit board?
Everything.

Electrical components are not harmed by water, IF you can get them completely dry before putting power to them. They don't melt or dissolve in water; the potential for damage is that if there is power to them while still wet, the water will conduct electricity to places you don't want it to go.

I have disassembled a "Gateway2000 Anykey with the dreaded melted plastic rivets" and successfully reassembled it. I don't recall what I did about the drilled-out rivets, it was years ago, but it wasn't anything high-tech. Possibly a few dabs of RTV Silicone or something, or maybe even some good quality strapping tape.

In the case of the riveted keyboard, I wouldn't wash it without disassembling it, because it would be difficult to get it completely dry while it was all sealed up.

Don't do what a fellow I ran into at the local computer shop did... he spilled soda pop into the keyboard of his Macbook Pro, wiped it off and then powered it up to see if it had been damaged. It probably hadn't been -- until he hit that power button. It made a few bad sounds (not from the speakers) and that was the end of it.

The AnyKey doesn't have any transformers or other difficult to dry components in it. You can wash it as much as you want as long as you get it completely dry afterwards.

tanstaafl.
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