How to Clean a MacBook Keyboard

Shut down and unplug your MacBook before cleaning. Hold it at a 75-degree angle (almost vertical) and use a can of compressed air with the straw attachment. Spray in a left-to-right zigzag across the keyboard, rotate the MacBook to its right side and repeat, then to the left side and repeat. This dislodges crumbs from under the keycaps without prying them off. For sticky residue, dampen a lint-free cloth with 70% isopropyl alcohol - never spray liquid onto the keyboard.

Wipe each key, then dry with a microfiber cloth. Don't use household cleaners, paper towels, or anything that drips. If a specific key is stuck or unresponsive after cleaning, the membrane underneath may be damaged - common on the 2016-2019 butterfly keyboard models, which Apple's service program covered until 2023. Out-of-warranty? Azizi Technologies replaces individual keys or full top-cases at Dubai workshop pricing.

Clean keycaps help the display too: oil on the keys is what leaves keyboard marks on a MacBook screen.

If you are cleaning it because you plan to sell, the rest of the prep is in how to sell your used MacBook.

The sticky keyboards that come across the Bur Dubai counter have a signature: fine sand and a sugary residue. Sand gets in from beach days and from construction dust at site offices, and karak tea or a sweet coffee leaves a film that gums the keycap stems after it dries. For the residue we lift the caps and clean the stems with isopropyl on a cotton bud, which is the step the home method skips. One mistake we see weekly is people spraying compressed air with the can tilted, which sprays liquid propellant under the keys and leaves a frost that corrodes the dome contacts. Keep the can upright.

Another is using a vacuum, which can pull butterfly keycaps clean off. The space bar on 2016 to 2019 models is held by a different clip and will not survive being prised; if that one is sticky, bring it in rather than lifting it yourself.