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Review: Cyber Clean
Cyber Clean looks and feels like silly putty (and even comes in a similar small plastic pot), but it's the product's smell that gives it away - the faint whiff of (non-drinkable) alcohol means it must be a cleaning product.
In this case, it's a keyboard cleaner - any kind of keyboard, in theory, can be cleaned with this stuff. The way it works is that you remove it from the pot and press it flat and hard against the surface to be cleaned. Leave it there for a few seconds, then lift it away and with it will come all the dust and dirt that's built up between or under the keys.
We tried it on a variety of keyboards including several desktop and notebook models, as well as mobile and standard telephones. It worked reasonably well in that a certain amount of dust and particles were brought up each time. You can fold the substance over and use it again quite easily because the dust and dirt is absorbed into the material itself.
But it does feel a bit... funny, lifting away all that dirt and simply folding it into the putty, then using the same (now dirty-ish) putty again. But it continued to work and, the manufacturers claim, adds a layer of bacterial protection as well (obviously, it's harder to test that bit). It gets progressively murkier in colour the more it's used, and there's a handy colour chart on the side of the pot to tell you when it needs to be replaced.
The product still left a bit of dirt under most of our test keyboards, although on the very dustiest it got rid of a fair amount of the dust in the first couple of presses. This is a good alternative to the other easy cleaning option (using a compressed air spray to blast the dirt out), but it isn't as thorough as the best (dismantling the whole thing and putting it in the dishwasher). Clearly, it has its benefits in terms of time and effort, although at £20 for four pots, it isn't cheap.
Save your money. I ended up putting alcohol on a paper towel to clean the keyboard - and I have a teensy vacuum attachment. This stuff barely works and it is expensive.
posted-by adrienrain | September 13, 2008 7:39 PM
Will it get cat hair out? I have 2 cats who love to walk on my keyboard, and deposit cat hair between the keys.
posted-by penny | December 5, 2008 6:16 PM
I've been looking for a cleaner, thanks for the review. I think I might try the alcohol paper towel method, it's a lot cheaper.
posted-by Lisa | December 10, 2008 8:15 PM
This looks like a decent cleaner, but I wonder if a small Air compresser work for cleaning keyboards or a non-static electronic keyboard.
I usually just shake the dust out of the keyboard and use compress air.
posted-by Frogger | July 26, 2009 12:48 AM
Cyber Clean is a P.O.S. scam. Potentially it could take dirty, hair and everything else box putty claims it can do. BUT, that isn't reality as they neglect to specify HOW hard you have to push down? Do you push till your on verge of breaking your keyboard? This great marketing, just save your money and use the alcohol and towel the total cost is less then $2.
posted-by Jon | November 16, 2009 1:15 AM
It seems almost identical to the white glue & borax stuff you probably mixed up in science class. So, it's grossly overpriced. BUT, it does work very well, especially on my laptop keyboard, which is almost impossible to clean without ruining it. Does a good job removing cat hair especially.
posted-by Bob M | November 23, 2009 11:05 PM
This putty is actually a spinoff of a childrens gag toy. It is fart putty. you take the putty out of the cup put and put it back in using 2 fingers and it makes a fart sound. This product is sold in most toy stores much cheaper at about 1$ per tub and smells the same (citrus). Infact this cyber clean putty is manufactured by Joker SA the makers of fart putty.
posted-by Christopher Ripley | December 25, 2009 9:36 AM
Why don't you kick your cat up the @rse when it's on your computer that will stop it fur getting in their in the first place. Take soem control or are you their pet.
posted-by Jenny B | January 10, 2010 2:17 AM
Personally a use it for quite long (about two years) and I think thats pretty useful... For keyboard, but especially for USB ports and ventilation behind the computer !
Knowing that you can re-use it around 50 times, i dun think that's expensive...
posted-by Tony | January 26, 2010 6:29 AM
Cyber Clean sucks. Cleaning my iPod with it left it coated with residue of the cleaning product and did nothing to remove dirt from the ports.
posted-by Tyler | February 6, 2010 5:47 PM
Something to add. It's not just a keyboard cleaner. The manufacturers claim that it can be used on all electronic devices.
posted-by Tyler | February 6, 2010 5:49 PM
I'm definitely going to try fart putty, but to whoever suggested that your cats can be controlled obviously hasn't had a cat. Cats go towards warm stuff, so a laptop is insanely inticing.
posted-by Stephanie | April 1, 2010 10:16 PM