Spray keyboard cleaner5/16/2023 Clearly even this nearly useless thing has a market. Although that’s how I try to live life, and it does feel like I’m helping, it usually does far too little. Update 2: Over at Gristmill, JMG urges Costco to ban the cannisters. Update: Please read my follow up to this post here. In fact, my canister even sports a little “non-ozone depleting” label. It’s a sad example of how our attempts to invent our way out of a jam, led us into another problem.Īnd here’s another reason to ban these little canisters: getting high with them is dangerous. (HFCs and some other compounds were introduced on a large scale in the 1990s to replace ozone-damaging CFCs.) While HFC-134a is awful for the climate, it’s almost totally benign when it comes to the ozone layer. It was actually to avoid ozone depletion. The reason the manufacturer put HFC-134a in my air canister wasn’t out of some nefarious plain to despoil the environment. Interestingly, there’s a backstory here that’s sort of tragic. I have no idea how feasible it would be to ban or reduce HFC-134a in those uses. But there is absolutely no good reason why a keyboard cleaner should pack that kind of climate wallop. It’s also used in refrigerators, auto A/Cs, some medical devices, and in some industrial applications. Now, it may not be possible to completely ban HFC-134a. And I would likely still have plenty of fuel leftover for side-trips.Īll that, packed into a canister retailing for $10.99 at the Office Depot around the corner.Īnd it strikes me as an instance where the best remedy is pretty simple: just ban it.įind this article interesting? Support more research like this with a gift! With that much gas I could drive my trusty Honda Civic from Seattle to New York City. And then back to Chicago. So unless I missed something in the number crunching, using up my 10-ounce can of cleaner will have the same climate-changing effect over the next 20 years as burning at least 100 gallons of gasoline. Before your eyes glaze over, just keep in mind that over a 20 year period, HFC-134a is roughly 3,300 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. My little 10-ounce canister contains 100 percent tetrafluoroethane, a greenhouse gas that’s sometimes known as HFC-134a (meaning it’s a form of hydrofluorocarbon). So the other day, while I was merrily blasting away at my keyboard I decided to read the contents. And, as many office workers may know, one of the easiest ways to clean a keyboard is with those compressed chemical canister thingies (pictured above). Unfortunately, my habit inevitably results in little crumbs of sandwich or potato chips or whatever making their way onto my computer keyboard. Every once in a while I look down at my crumb-ridden keyboard, get disgusted, and then embark on a cleaning frenzy. Heck, right now I’m eating a doughnut while I write this post. Here's the best way to clean it.I have an untidy habit of eating while I’m working on my computer. Your A/C needs cleaning: Your air conditioner is probably filthy.Gross oven? How to deep clean it using nontoxic items.Dust mites: Keep dust mites away naturally to help with allergies.Airpods & earbuds: Most effective cleaning method for your headphones.Video game controllers: The best way to clean controllers, consoles.Clean toys: How to clean and disinfect them.Suede shoes: How to clean suede shoes them without ruining them.Make groceries last: How to make your groceries last at home.The perfect fruit: How to pick the perfect watermelon, cantaloupe or honeydew.Hard-to-clean coffee maker: Best way to clean the inside of your coffee maker.Zipper stuck?: Here's how to easily fix it.Refrigerator relief: The best way to clean the inside of your fridge.Clogged dryer vent: Keep it clean to keep your family safe from house fire.Do-it-yourself dryer balls: How to make cheap, but effective, dryer balls.Laundry hack: Here's how to dry your clothes quicker.Regular disinfecting in addition to frequent hand washing and avoiding activities like eating over the keyboard won’t keep the germs away, but it will cut down on all of the germs and bacteria living in the keyboard capital of QWERTY. A 2018 study from the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found disinfecting your keyboard just once can significantly reduce germs and bacteria.
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