I've been noticing soot in certain areas of my MacBook's( late 2007) key pads. I've been using a silicon key pad skin. It seems heat needs to vent out of those keys. Now I want to discard the silicon protector. But I really do not want to wear out the keys. I've worn out my iBook's letter "A" before. How durable are these key pads? Do they wear out like those in the iBook G4?
I have the same MacBook as you and aside from a month with a keyboard protector, I've just used the bare keys. (Typing with it felt unnatural and I made a lot more typos with it on). No wear or damage. And just for reference, I'm a light typer. I touch the keys and don't smack or slam my fingers down on them like I've seen other people do. And I also use iKlear cleaner on the keyboard using the included rags once a month to clean the keys and in between.
Do the areas around "S" & "D" , "M" & K", and "Delete" get sooty too? I mean without using the silicon skin? Yes, I agree, it feels better without the skin. I feel like the writer that I am
well, my Fn key popped out for no apparent reason, so i'm not sure about durability now. still, i was told not to use keyboard protector especially for unibody models 'cause the heat vents emanate from the keyboard, thus the keyboard protector will block the vents and cause the laptop to overheat. btw, by sooty do you mean grease stains? or something else?
enuhski's right, don't use the silicone on the keyboard as it is where the heat leaks out. This was advised to me by the technician where i bought my mb. I've only been using my mb for 2 months but i hope it doesn't wear out.
yup, i guess the best way to keep the keyboard clean/grease-free is to wipe it often with a damp micro-fiber cloth and/or use a cleaning solution. or maybe use hand sanitizer or alcohol before typing. oh, and speck cases are bad news for the battery, too, btw. (slightly OT but still important to know) my sister's macbook overheated a lot and she had to replace her battery before she even got to max it out. anything that blocks the heat vents can't be good. :O if it's any consolation, my Fn key begging for repair is dust free. Unlike the crap all over the keyboad of my old ibook.
@Mad Mac: We have the same MacBook. I think the stains you see are there because I think the keyboard holes are the main intake for the cooling fan. The exhaust is in the gap in the screen hinge. And the oil from our skin/fingers causes the dirt to stick/accumulate in those keys/areas.
yeah typing with a keyboard skin felt really unnatural at first. but i want to get used to it to ensure less dirt goes to that area. cleaning the areas between the keys because of dust is quite troublesome.
@jps444: Not for me. For me, I turn off the system. Dampen a microfiber cloth, use a pencil to depress a row of keys, and use the cloth to clean in between.
I guess the MacBook will use every orifice it can for ventilation. As for the li-ion battery, heat, inactivity (always fully charged and on AC power), cycle count, improper storage (should be 40-50% charged only) are the factors for its total life span. I am on the fence here. On one hand I don't want dirt being sucked into my Mac and I don't want the keys to fade off. On the other I don't want to impede airflow and discoloration and damage from heat. Does Apple have an official position regarding this dilemma?
I was actually that OC before, for the first few months of owning a white mac. I received a silicon keyboard protector as a freebie, but I never likened to use it. So I just learned to accept the fact that wear and tear, in time will take its toll on your gadget no matter how careful you are. Now, I'm past that OC stage, I use it bare and just clean if it gets too dirty for me. Btw, I use a make-up brush every now and then just to make sure dust won't accumulate in-betweens the keyboard.
