I did this years ago and it was so gross I didn't want to do it again. And each key came out separately - a real pain when you wanted to put it all back together
My good ergonomic keyboard wouldn't put in spaces so typing was a pain. I had to copy a space and add it after every word I typed
Not wanting to take it apart and find what might be in there I went and bought a new one. When I got home I discovered that it was a USB keyboard and wouldn't plug into my keyboard slot. I had to plug it into my USB hub. It worked fine except for some really weird reason the computer could not see my mouse unless I plugged that into the hub as well. OHsigh I had control of both my mouse and my keyborad and had 2 less USB slots. And the keys are so small I am making way more mistakes and you are finding out what a bad typist I am. (I won't tell you how many times I had to proof read this)
That worked well until I tried to get into the BIOS. No keyboard. I couldn't use the keyboard to get into the bios. The computer couldn't see the keyboard until Windows opened. sigh
So I went to buy an adapter and it seems no one sells them anymore. sigh. I had to buy a short cable that would let me use a USB adapter I had. Reboot the computer and zap - no keyboard. I guess it didn't like the taste of the cable so back to the hub. sigh.
I was in a store last night and they had a sale on PS/2 keyboards!!! Wow my problems solved. That is what I am using right now. Are you ready? sigh The keys here are similar to the first computer I had way back in the 80s. Small in size, keys too close to each other and the constant click click click of the keys.
grrrrr So I grabbed the old ergonomic keyboard and decided to bite the bullet and take it apart.
EEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
Yes I eat over my keyboard. And it serves as a tray for all sorts of things: cat whiskers, crumbs, spilled drinks and two insect larvae.
The good news is that is was so easy to take apart and clean. You still have to be carefull but it comes apart in modules. Once the back was off the rest was easy, left side, right side and middle. All plastic with no wires attached. So I washed them. In the kitchen sink. Took a little brush and got out all the crap. They are sitting in the drainboard right now. I'll let them dry for a couple of days just to make sure there is no water to drip onto the wires when I put it back together. All in all much easier than the old one I took apart in the 80s.