Ultimate writer's distraction - keyboard cleaning

Dismantling and cleaning your keyboard - the ultimate distraction for a writer

Sometimes writing is not easy. And when the words aren't flowing, and it is too painful to look anymore at the empty screen or blank piece of paper, writers are known to find inventive ways to distract themselves.

A tidy up of the desk, a bit of housework, cleaning the windows. You name it, any mundane task will do. Well, dismantling your computer keyboard and giving it a mighty spring clean is one of the more elaborate "get out" distractions. But it has tangible benefits, is quite relaxing and feels therapeutic.

And so I did. Not with my home computer keyboard, which I am happy to say is kept in fairly good condition. But instead the task at hand was my workplace keyboard. Now, it's fairly well-looked after compared to some I've seen in near proximity, but I knew it needed a little attention, and so I set to work and soon discovered that "needed a little attention" was an understatement. Please don't judge me.

Here are six easy steps to guide you (with photos) should you decide to do your own keyboard spring clean.

1. Unplug the keyboard from the computer. Take a photograph of the keyboard before you start. A close up, but showing all the keys. You'll need this as a reference at the end when you put all the keys back in place.

2. Prise off the keys one by one, using a blade, such as a screwdriver head, or rounded butter knife. Slide the blade under a side or corner of the key and lever up.

3. When all the keys are off you'll see how much debris has gathered beneath. You can remove much of this with a small brush. Then use a damp cloth or disinfecting wipes to give the area a thorough clean. Use Q-tips, or ear buds, to get into all the corners (and hey, the verdict is in ... don't push these things deep into your ears. Who knew?)

4. Clean each of the dismantled keys with a wet cloth or wipes. But don't use a cleaning agent, such as alcohol, that could strip the lettering from the keys.

5. Snap the keys back into place. Note you may find some keys have a thin piece of metal underneath. I found two, one was the space bar and the other was a "shift" key. It should be obvious how to align these so they keep that distinctive responsive feel when pressed. Put these keys back in place first as it will make it easier, then replace the other keys (using your original photo as a guide).

6. Tada! Your keyboard looks brand new, is hygienically safe, and you can at last get down to writing that magnificent novel with no further excuses.

Oh wait, the bottom of the oven looks like it needs a scrub. I'll be back shortly.