Overheard a guy at a coffee shop say he cleans his vintage keys with denture tablets

I was grabbing a latte this morning and this older gentleman was telling his friend he drops a denture tablet in a bowl of warm water and lets his keycaps soak for 10 minutes. Said it gets all the grime out of the crevices without scrubbing. Has anyone else tried this method or is it gonna mess up the plastic?

2 comments

2 Comments

david_henderson612d agoMost Upvoted

Denture tablets for keycaps sounds like one of those things that works fine until it doesn't. The abrasives in those tablets can cloud up clear plastic or wear down shiny finishes over time if you do it too often. A little warm water and a soft toothbrush usually does the trick without introducing chemicals that weren't meant for ABS plastic. That guy's keys might be okay for a few soaks but ten minutes in warm water with dissolving agents could soften the plastic or mess with the legends. Seems like overkill when a damp microfiber cloth handles most grime anyway.

fiona33211d ago

I've soaked my double-shot PBT caps in denture cleaner for years and never had any clouding wear off. The abrasives are way softer than people think, it's basically just mild peroxide and baking soda. ABS is a different story though, so I wouldn't risk it with stock caps from a gaming board.