How to Clean the Keyboard on Your T-Mobile Sidekick

Late last year, I decided to give up my "old-fashioned" cell phone and join the Smartphone revolution by purchasing a T-Mobile Sidekick. I immediately fell in love with the device, which allowed me to access my e-mail anywhere and bang out messages quickly using the full, QWERTY-style keyboard. Soon, I was on my Sidekick typing pretty much constantly.

A few weeks ago, however, I noticed that the keyboard on my T-Mobile Sidekick was looking pretty dingy--there was dirt, smudge marks, and just some general signs of wear-and-tear. I figured it was time to give my Sidekick, especially the keyboard portion, a good cleaning. However, I was a little apprehensive about just using soap and water because it was such an expensive piece of electronics. I decided to head to the internet to look up the best way to clean the keyboard on the T-Mobile Sidekick, and I was able to find some pretty good advice.

The information I found pointed out that the Sidekick device is designed to be water resistant, so the Sidekick wouldn't just stop working if I got it a little bit wet. However, it was suggested that I use rubbing alcohol to clean the Sidekick keyboard, since alcohol evaporates much faster than water and is generally recommended to clean electronic devices. With this information in mind, I put a small amount of rubbing alcohol on an ordinary paper towel and ran it over the keyboard of my T-Mobile Sidekick. I was impressed at the immediate improvement of the appearance of the keyboard. A considerable amount of dirt and grime was removed with just a quick pass of the alcohol-soaked towel.

However, there was still some dirt left in between the keys of the Sidekick keyboard. The spaces between the keys were much too small to get into with my fingertip and a paper towel. I decided that a Q-Tip was about the right size for the spaces between the Sidekick keys, so I dipped a Q-Tip in rubbing alcohol and proceeded to get in all the "nooks and crannies" of the keyboard. The Q-Tip worked out perfectly, and soon the keyboard on my T-Mobile Sidekick was looking almost brand new again.