Key ghosting after cleaning with isopropyl alcohol

Help and Getting Started
1

I cleaned my keyboard reading articles online using 70% isopropyl alcohol and after that some key are working wrong, 14 to be exact. Out of which 2 are not working (home and pg up) and other 12 are ghosted in pairs, so when I press for example: 1 on the numpad, the output in “21” and when I press 2 then the output is also “21” (if pressed enough number of times then there is a “12” among “21’s”). So the affected pairs are - (1,2) (4,5) (7.8) (paste key,/) (down arrow,right arrow) (insert,delete). I read online related this and wiped the keyboard according from inside with tissues to remove any residue but it didn’t worked, I waited about 2/3 weeks since the incident in hope that it may eventually dry and start to work before writing to you. Technically my keyboard is well under warranty but due to covid situation i’m unable to get it repaired. Pls help me resolve this issue as this issue is affecting my work.

My keyboard is : HP Pavilion 4CE97AA USB Keyboard and Mouse Combo.

*Image of the affected keys, line = ghosted, cross = not working.

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image1500×638 75.2 KB

*One more thing, the home and pg up key were working after the clean and stopped working after some days.

2

I don’t really know if someone can help you with this kind of keyboard : it seems to have rubber dome keys, and not mechanical switches, so I assume the problem may reside between the sheet layers inside the keyboard…
Can you even open the boxing without voiding the guaranty to see if there is dust (or even a dead bug) inside ?

Good luck with this (and feel free to take a look at shop.keyboard.io to find a better keyboard : they comes with the source code and a screwdriver :hammer_and_wrench: )

3

yes i was able to open it and i wiped the thin sheets (3 transparent with some circuit drawn on it, a rubber membrane over all)

4

I’m sorry to hear that you’re having trouble with your keyboard after cleaning it with isopropyl alcohol. It’s possible that the alcohol has damaged the keyboard’s circuitry or caused some other type of malfunction.

Here are a few steps you can try to troubleshoot and possibly fix the issue:

  1. Unplug the keyboard from your computer and plug it back in. Sometimes a simple reset can fix the issue.
  2. Check the keyboard settings on your computer to make sure that the correct keyboard type is selected. It’s possible that the wrong keyboard type is selected, which can cause certain keys to malfunction.
  3. Try connecting the keyboard to a different computer to see if the issue persists. This can help you determine whether the problem is with the keyboard itself or with your computer.
  4. If none of the above steps work, you may need to contact HP customer support for assistance. Since your keyboard is still under warranty, they should be able to help you troubleshoot the issue and possibly repair or replace the keyboard if necessary.

In the meantime, you may want to consider using a different keyboard or a virtual keyboard on your computer to continue your work.