Some time ago, I deftly managed to spill a full cup of coffee into my spare USB keyboard. It’s an early Apple USB keyboard that came with a circa 2001 CRT iMac DV I picked up off Freecycle, and I had been using it interchangeably with my PS3 and Wii as needed once the iMac itself just turned out to be too old and slow even for my three year old daughter. I immediately flipped the keyboard upside down (which is what you’re supposed to do as soon as any liquid hits it) and yanked the cord from the PS3, which was fortunately off at the time. I let it drain for a few hours and then set it aside to be cleaned when I had the opportunity.

You may have heard that it’s possible to wash a keyboard in a dishwasher, provided no harsh detergents or dry cycle come into play. NPR even did a story on this in June 2007. The official line from keyboard manufacturers Logitech and Microsoft was that this is a bad idea, but there’s nothing wrong with the concept. You make sure there’s no battery involved (for example, if it’s a wireless keyboard), place it keys-down in the dishwasher, turn off the dry cycle and hit go. Then you let it drain and dry for, like, forever, resisting the urge to melt the keys, and any adhesive in the unit, with a hair dryer when you get impatient.

The fact of the matter is, I don’t have a dishwasher. Or rather, I am the dishwasher.

So I took mine apart, keeping all the screws aside. I removed all the keys and put them in a large covered cup with some hot water and a drop of detergent, and shook it. Then I drained the soapy water and refilled it with clean hot water, shaking until all the soap was out, then dumped the keys onto a towel to dry. The inside of the keyboard I tossed into the sink and washed it with a dish brush and some dish liquid. Once it looked clean, I rinsed it thoroughly and placed it upside-down on a towel. I used paper towels to dry any water I could reach, and left it to dry overnight with the keys.

This morning I got up and reassembled it, but I’m being cautious and will leave this in the corner where my forced-air heating system blows dry air into the room for a couple of days, then I should be able to type on my consoles again. Assuming I haven’t ruined the thing. The Internet is full of “throw your keyboard in the dishwasher” testimonials, but I’ll let you know how this worked for me when I plug it back in.