Letting cleaning slime sit in one spot can ruin your laptop.
Alina Bradford/CNETThere have been articles all over the Internet talking about the electronics cleaning trend: slime. This gooey cleaning tool has been advertised as a great way to get dust and lint out of keyboards, modems and more.
Of course, the craftier people on the Internet quickly started posting recipes on how you can make your own. Alarmingly, some of these recipes can ruin your electronics. Through trial and error, I’ve found a recipe that actually works and doesn’t leave your keyboard covered in dripping goo.
Cleaning slime recipe
To make homemade cleaning slime you will need the following ingredients:
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- 1 ½ cups warm water
- ¼ cup borax laundry booster
- 5 ounces white school glue
- Food coloring (optional)
Your cleaning slime will start out as an oozing mess.
Alina Bradford/CNETHow to make cleaning slime
- In a paper cup, mix 1 cup warm water with the borax and stir until the borax is dissolved. Put the borax water aside.
- In a mixing bowl mix a half-cup of warm water, the glue and two drops of food coloring.
- Add the borax water.
- Stir until firm. It will start out as a gooey mess. Don’t worry. It will firm up as you mix.
- Knead with your hands until it becomes a dry ball of ooze. This can take around five minutes.
- If the slime is sticking to your hands or will not form into a ball; add a couple more tablespoons of borax.
- Do not use the cleaning slime on your electronics if the slime won’t roll into a ball.
How to use cleaning slime
Using cleaning slime is tricky. You need to knead a piece into a firm ball, then dab whatever you are trying to clean. Do not let the slime sit on any piece of electronics for more than a second because it will start to ooze inside of the unit and will potentially ruin it.
After trying my homemade slime, it just seems like a lot of work when you can just whip out a cleaning cloth. It does pick up dust and lint from nooks and crannies, but it can leave behind a residue if the mixture hasn’t been kneaded enough. It was really fun to play with while I cleaned though, so it’s worth giving it a try. Plus, it got gunk out of nooks and crannies that can be hard to reach with a regular cleaning cloth.
Editor’s note: This article was published on Jan. 18, 2016 and has been updated.
