Every time someone recommends cleaning an accessory or part with acetone, be careful. Besides being flammable and harmful to health, acetone is particularly aggressive toward certain plastics. If you think I'm exaggerating, then you're invited to watch a timelapse in which a Logitech MK250 keyboard is devoured by a little acetone in about 70 hours….
Acetone and Plastics: A Cautionary Tale
A couple of weeks ago, I set out to clean my trusty IBM Model M keyboard, and I honestly can't describe the primordial horrors that came out of its keys. In the end, the solution was to use the purest detergent I could find, water, an old toothbrush, and a lot of patience. Why not something more aggressive? The plastics used in keyboard manufacturing are often very intolerant of certain chemicals. The web is full of examples of beautiful mechanical keyboards ruined by alcohol or another product that works wonders in the kitchen but eats plastic for sport. That brings us to acetone, widely used in laboratories, and excellent for preparing metals before painting... but for heaven's sake, don't use it to clean keyboards….
The 70-Hour Dissolution
https://www.youtube.com/embed/LusMOtGwTrAThe video shows a Logitech MK250 keyboard (less than 25 euros, though it has already been replaced by another model) yielding to the power of acetone. The liquid had to be refilled several times due to natural evaporation, but it only needed just over 70 hours to turn its victim into goo. Granted, acetone did not manage to destroy 100 percent of the keyboard, as we can see remains of cables, and the membrane itself resisted somewhat, but the main shell and the keys were gone.
More Acetone Experiments
This is not the first acetone experiment from the Amazing Timelapse channel. You can also find cassettes, VHS tapes, calculators, a mouse, fake Lego pieces, a fidget spinner (remember those?), a Playmobil figure, and even a Nokia 3310. If you want to see more free destruction with acetone, you can't miss them.
