[/i]Silje England Garshol/istockphoto[/i]
DCL
My laptop is often dirty. I use it extensively everyday. I eat at it. I take it with me on trips. Quite frankly, it is the single most important thing that I own. It is imperative that my laptop is kept in tip-top shape. I don't want to have to buy another one for at least a couple of years.
Most of my laptop-to-human interaction comes through the keyboard. I write constantly. A study by AM Denmark concluded that there might be something rotten on your keyboard. At any given time, your pad may have 3000 microbes per square inch. That's more than a toilet seat.
The most common way of removing dust from a keyboard is canned air. I don't like canned air. It seems like a waste of packaging. Although most brands tout their ozone friendliness, they are [/url="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/compressed_air.php"]not eco-friendly[/url].
The Green Office offers a line of keyboard/mouse cleaning products. They look like they are all too disposable to me. 18 wipes per box? 18 pieces of trash per a box that is also trash.
A reusable brush is probably a better choice. It can get into the crevices and it can be used for as long as needed. Personally, I just use a rag lightly dampened by rubbing alcohol to get rid of dust on my keyboard.
