How to keep computer accessories clicking

Your computer can't perform its job without basic input and output accessories like your monitor, keyboard and mouse, so it's essential to keep them functioning smoothly. Here are a few tips on how to maintain them.

• Use a soft chamois — never a tissue or paper towel! — to clean the liquid crystal display (LCD) screens on flat-panel computer monitors.
• This also applies to laptop screens. Use a back-and-forth, not a circular, motion. Never apply any cleaning product without first checking with the display or system manufacturer.
• Commercial cleaners may damage the LCD, void the warranty, or both.
• If tougher measures are needed (and the owner's manual recommends it), try lightly moistening a lint-free cloth with equal parts rubbing alcohol and water.
• Use the same back-and-forth motion to clean; then gently wipe with a dry, soft cloth.

• Periodically disconnecting your computer keyboard and shaking it out is a good way to get rid of the dust and debris that gathers under and between the keys.
• But that's only half the job. A can of compressed air can also comes in handy to blow away the bits of food, pet hair and other flotsam that typically get trapped under the keys.
• Once you've removed all the loose material, use a baby wipe or lint-free cloth dampened with some alcohol to remove the dirt and gunk that builds up on the keys themselves.

• Are some of the keys on your computer keyboard responding intermittently or not at all? Before you go out and buy a new one, see if you can salvage it.
• Start by disconnecting and cleaning the keyboard as described above.
• If that doesn't do the trick, you can usually pop off the offending keys with a small screwdriver.
• Clean the little button at the key position with a cotton ball dipped in alcohol, and clean the key itself the same way. Pop the key back in place.
• The key still doesn't work? Oh well, keyboards are pretty inexpensive these days.

• Is your computer mouse becoming less responsive? It probably just needs a good cleaning.
• If the mouse has a removable tracking ball, use some alcohol or a 50-50 solution of water and vinegar to clean the accumulated grime from the ball chamber.

  1. Disconnect the mouse from the computer and remove the ball from the mouse's underside by twisting off the plastic holder over it.

  2. Use a cloth dampened with the vinegar-water solution to wipe off the ball and to remove dirt and fingerprints from the mouse itself.

  3. Use a moistened cotton ball to clean out the gunk and debris from inside the ball chamber. If you are using the vinegar-water solution, let the chamber dry for a couple of hours before reinserting the ball.