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General discussionWhat's that gunk on my keyboard?(45 posts)solved(45 posts)solved
(45 posts)solved
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Posted October 02, 2016
Okay, that's a mystery that I've been wondering about for ages. You know that disgusting stuff that tends to appear on keyboards over time?

Exhibit A

I'm sometimes literally ashamed to let others use my computer / keyboard because of that gunk, particularly because I know that some people's keyboards never even begin to look like this, even without regular cleaning. So I'm wondering, what is it? I always presumed that it's just dust that sticks to sweat left on the keys and turns into a doughy substance. Maybe also small amounts of regular water left on your skin after washing your hands (I wash mine a lot). However, I've also heard people claim that it's shed skin, although I'm somewhat sceptical of that explanation.

So, what is it really? And how the hell does it appear even in spots you don't usually touch? I mean, for frigg's sake, it's on my home key. THE HOME KEY!
This question / problem has been solved by Ghorpmimage
Posted October 02, 2016
high rated
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F4LL0UT: Okay, that's a mystery that I've been wondering about for ages. You know that disgusting stuff that tends to appear on keyboards over time?

Exhibit A

I'm sometimes literally ashamed to let others use my computer / keyboard because of that gunk, particularly because I know that some people's keyboards never even begin to look like this, even without regular cleaning. So I'm wondering, what is it? I always presumed that it's just dust that sticks to sweat left on the keys and turns into a doughy substance. Maybe also small amounts of regular water left on your skin after washing your hands (I wash mine a lot). However, I've also heard people claim that it's shed skin, although I'm somewhat sceptical of that explanation.

So, what is it really? And how the hell does it appear even in spots you don't usually touch? I mean, for frigg's sake, it's on my home key. THE HOME KEY!
Crazy physicist coming to aid you! Believe it or not but me and my friends actually made an actual experiment to determine what is this goo. We had a lot of equipment that can determine the chemical composition of a substance and they all basically confirmed our expectations. When you wash your hands they usually become dry. They do not like it so they start to sweat but unlike normally, it contains a lot of grease to prevent further drying. And that oily substance is the most important component of the gunk you see. Plus some dust, dead skin etc.

As you have mentioned you wash your hands often so here is your answer: you dry your hands way to often. You should invest in a better soap and/or some moisturizer. Again, believe it or not, one of my friends after this experiment (he suggested starting it because he saw this effect on his keyboard) stated taking care of his hands and now his keyboard is gunk-free.
Posted October 02, 2016
Probably skin grease mixed with dust and whetever other dirt you got on your hands, I notice you can instantly recognize a slobby smoker's keyboard.

Just clean your keyboard regularly if you are a sweaty person, smoke or eat in front of your pc. If all three apply to you drop one of the things you can do something a bout.
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F4LL0UT: So, what is it really? And how the hell does it appear even in spots you don't usually touch? I mean, for frigg's sake, it's on my home key. THE HOME KEY!
My theory on that is that if you touch a key you leave a grease stain, over time dust collects on it and it becomes proper gunk. Keys you regularly type on you also regularly clean of dust automatically.
Post edited October 02, 2016 by WBGhiro
Posted October 02, 2016
Its a patina of dirt and dust combined with moisture from the air and oils from your skin. If your the type that eats at the keyboard there will be food particles in there too.

The odd thing is, as well as adding to the gunk when you use the keyboard, you're also removing it. Which is why rarely used keys (Hello Home) will have more gunk than WASD.

Having a "white" keyboard has just made it more obvious.

Our kids keyboards get this bad, though they do smear food around.
Posted October 02, 2016
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Ghorpm: snip
Wow. That reply really surpassed any expectations I had. You physicists truly are gods among men.

I'm still confused how the stuff ends up on the sides of my keys, though. :D
Post edited October 02, 2016 by F4LL0UT
Posted October 02, 2016
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Ghorpm: snip
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F4LL0UT: Wow. That reply really surpassed any expectations I had. You physicists truly are gods among men.
Yep and this one dirtied himself with chemistry and biology to get the truth.
Posted October 02, 2016
high rated
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Ghorpm: snip
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F4LL0UT: Wow. That reply really surpassed any expectations I had. You physicists truly are gods among men.
Nah, we simply get bored from time to time and can't work on "serious" projects any more. I mean, touch screens, eye-controlled-screens, huge data storage devices, faster processors... come on, who needs that stuff?! And then we do something to satisfy our real curiosity and here you are.

BTW: my favorite experiment was when I proved (again, using various equipment) that a perfume smells slightly differently on every person - because each of us decompose these smelling molecules a little bit differently and thus the smell is different. And it's not a big change but most people can make a difference with their noses. I did and thus I wanted to be sure :D Now I am :D
Posted October 02, 2016
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mechmouse: The odd thing is, as well as adding to the gunk when you use the keyboard, you're also removing it. Which is why rarely used keys (Hello Home) will have more gunk than WASD.
Well, I presumed as much because if the amount of gunk were fully proportional to actual use there would be so much of that stuff on some keys that I could scratch their names into it. However, WASD actually are the worst offenders in my case. At least on the keyboard I got at home, surely the distribution is different on the keyboard I use at work.
Posted October 02, 2016
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F4LL0UT: I'm still confused how the stuff ends up on the sides of my keys, though. :D
You spread this substance all around you, not just by touching things. The problem is we usually clean furniture and floors around us but we are not caring about our electronic devices.

I'm sure you have noticed that you when you don't clean your house for a week it's very dirty but if you leave your house for one week and come back it'll be only slightly dusty, not even close to a mess you made before - that's because we stir the around us, emit a lot of grease/dust/dead skin etc. particles all around us and thus the mess.
Posted October 02, 2016
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Ghorpm: Nah, we simply get bored from time to time and can't work on "serious" projects any more.
Well, surely you could combine the two. I mean, you could probably come up with some industrial use for keyboard gunk. I can see how harvesting it in large quantities could pose a problem, though.
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Ghorpm: I'm sure you have noticed that you when you don't clean your house for a week it's very dirty but if you leave your house for one week and come back it'll be only slightly dusty, not even close to a mess you made before
Oh no, it will be super dusty AND I'll find a dead cat.
Post edited October 02, 2016 by F4LL0UT
Posted October 02, 2016
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Ghorpm: I'm sure you have noticed that you when you don't clean your house for a week it's very dirty but if you leave your house for one week and come back it'll be only slightly dusty, not even close to a mess you made before
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F4LL0UT: Oh no, it will be super dusty AND I'll find a dead cat.
Take the cat with you (before dying of course) and repeat the experiment :D
Posted October 02, 2016
avatar
F4LL0UT: Wow. That reply really surpassed any expectations I had. You physicists truly are gods among men.
avatar
Ghorpm: Nah, we simply get bored from time to time and can't work on "serious" projects any more. I mean, touch screens, eye-controlled-screens, huge data storage devices, faster processors... come on, who needs that stuff?! And then we do something to satisfy our real curiosity and here you are.

BTW: my favorite experiment was when I proved (again, using various equipment) that a perfume smells slightly differently on every person - because each of us decompose these smelling molecules a little bit differently and thus the smell is different. And it's not a big change but most people can make a difference with their noses. I did and thus I wanted to be sure :D Now I am :D
I've always wondered what you physicists do all day. Now I know.
Picture related.
Posted October 02, 2016
low rated
avatar
F4LL0UT: Okay, that's a mystery that I've been wondering about for ages. You know that disgusting stuff that tends to appear on keyboards over time?

Exhibit A

I'm sometimes literally ashamed to let others use my computer / keyboard because of that gunk, particularly because I know that some people's keyboards never even begin to look like this, even without regular cleaning. So I'm wondering, what is it? I always presumed that it's just dust that sticks to sweat left on the keys and turns into a doughy substance. Maybe also small amounts of regular water left on your skin after washing your hands (I wash mine a lot). However, I've also heard people claim that it's shed skin, although I'm somewhat sceptical of that explanation.

So, what is it really? And how the hell does it appear even in spots you don't usually touch? I mean, for frigg's sake, it's on my home key. THE HOME KEY!
avatar
Ghorpm: Crazy physicist coming to aid you! Believe it or not but me and my friends actually made an actual experiment to determine what is this goo. We had a lot of equipment that can determine the chemical composition of a substance and they all basically confirmed our expectations. When you wash your hands they usually become dry. They do not like it so they start to sweat but unlike normally, it contains a lot of grease to prevent further drying. And that oily substance is the most important component of the gunk you see. Plus some dust, dead skin etc.

As you have mentioned you wash your hands often so here is your answer: you dry your hands way to often. You should invest in a better soap and/or some moisturizer. Again, believe it or not, one of my friends after this experiment (he suggested starting it because he saw this effect on his keyboard) stated taking care of his hands and now his keyboard is gunk-free.
You done an experiment to find out it's dust and sweat,this I find very hard to believe.Boy,oboy some people need a life.
Posted October 02, 2016
avatar
Ghorpm: Nah, we simply get bored from time to time and can't work on "serious" projects any more. I mean, touch screens, eye-controlled-screens, huge data storage devices, faster processors... come on, who needs that stuff?! And then we do something to satisfy our real curiosity and here you are.

BTW: my favorite experiment was when I proved (again, using various equipment) that a perfume smells slightly differently on every person - because each of us decompose these smelling molecules a little bit differently and thus the smell is different. And it's not a big change but most people can make a difference with their noses. I did and thus I wanted to be sure :D Now I am :D
avatar
zeogold: I've always wondered what you physicists do all day. Now I know.
Picture related.
That's actually a proof of my point of view :) Around 1900 Max was working on the blackbody radiation theory. It's well known that during this time he rarely slept and drank a lot of coffee. That's why he looked like this. But you see, that was a serious project, and he didn't take any breaks during it. Me and my friends do a lot of silly experiment just to give ourselves a rest. I don't want to look like this at age 43 :)
avatar
Ghorpm: Crazy physicist coming to aid you! Believe it or not but me and my friends actually made an actual experiment to determine what is this goo. We had a lot of equipment that can determine the chemical composition of a substance and they all basically confirmed our expectations. When you wash your hands they usually become dry. They do not like it so they start to sweat but unlike normally, it contains a lot of grease to prevent further drying. And that oily substance is the most important component of the gunk you see. Plus some dust, dead skin etc.

As you have mentioned you wash your hands often so here is your answer: you dry your hands way to often. You should invest in a better soap and/or some moisturizer. Again, believe it or not, one of my friends after this experiment (he suggested starting it because he saw this effect on his keyboard) stated taking care of his hands and now his keyboard is gunk-free.
avatar
Tauto: You done an experiment to find out it's dust and sweat,this I find very hard to believe.Boy,oboy some people need a life.
Don't worry I have a life, family :) As I said: a silly experiment is a very good way to relax and regenerate before doing something more serious. I know most people think we are nerds without a life to live, but let me assure you it's not like that. Each person engaged it that experiment has a family and nobody's spouse is a physicist.
Post edited October 02, 2016 by Ghorpm
Posted October 02, 2016
low rated
avatar
zeogold: I've always wondered what you physicists do all day. Now I know.
Picture related.
avatar
Ghorpm: That's actually a proof of my point of view :) Around 1900 Max was working on the blackbody radiation theory. It's well known that during this time he rarely slept and drank a lot of coffee. That's why he looked like this. But you see, that was a serious project, and he didn't take any breaks during it. Me and my friends do a lot of silly experiment just to give ourselves a rest. I don't want to look like this at age 43 :)
avatar
Tauto: You done an experiment to find out it's dust and sweat,this I find very hard to believe.Boy,oboy some people need a life.
avatar
Ghorpm: Don't worry I have a life, family :) As I said: a silly experiment is a very good way to relax and regenerate before doing something more serious. I know most people think we are nerds without a life to live, but let me assure you it's not like that. Each person engaged it that experiment has a family and nobody's spouse is a physicist.
Do you think adding several different items/chemicals to that keyboard dirt would come up with a new patch for W3 that would end all the problems in the game?
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General discussionWhat's that gunk on my keyboard?(45 posts)solved(45 posts)solved
(45 posts)solved