I had an entire multi-wipe Clorox procedure I became very good at. I'd put a bit of water in to make them wetter then dry with a stack of bathroom paper towels - ThreadSky

swiftonsecurity.com • 2 days ago

I had an entire multi-wipe Clorox procedure I became very good at. I'd put a bit of water in to make them wetter then dry with a stack of bathroom paper towels

Reposted from Megan Seivert🌙

CLEAN YOUR WORK LAPTOPS PEOPLE. PLEASE. WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS SO FILTHY WTF IS THIS 😭

Love, sad HR person currently detailing a very nice company laptop covered in weird dirt and spit or some type of shit

Comments

etchachan.bsky.social•2 days ago

My boss once ruined the screen of a fancy Apple laptop by cleaning it with a baby wipe. Turns out that the anti-reflective screen coating was vulnerable to baby cleaning products, and the screen looked like complete shit afterwards.

swiftonsecurity.com•2 days ago

The external rubberized coating they used to use on IBM ThinkPads like T42 was KNARLY it just absorbed dirt and sweat it was terrible. Also their right hinge was weak and the metal would fatigue and crack all the time. Common failure mode.
Yep, years in Helpdesk. T42, legendary machine otherwise.

sundawg1.bsky.social•2 days ago

I remember those.

ploeg.bsky.social•2 days ago

Good old MTM 2373-5TU.

swiftonsecurity.com•2 days ago

I would go to wipe down a machine that had been in the field for years and it was just layers of invisible sebum and trapped dirt. I tried very hard to clean it up I always imagined how I would feel as a new hire with a dirty machine. I'd also flush heatsink which vacuumed dust like nothing else?

punkrockpm.bsky.social•1 day ago

I was a new employee that was given the absolute nastiest keyboard.

I went with it to the IT guy and just mutely held it out with a look of despair.

Dude was like "WTF WE HAVE 50 BRAND NEW ONES, THAT'S DISGUSTING, WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE" and gave me a new one

And that's how work crushes start

thefyuuri.bsky.social•2 days ago

I WFH but I make a point to clean my stuff regularly. I took my external keyboard apart once to clean it, but lost my z key down the garbage disposal. Whoops.

Eh, who needs a z key anyways...

kampfschlaefer.de•2 days ago

I don't understand why employers would reuse laptops for new employees? If the former user did 3+ years with that machine, it's a) written off, b) obsolete technology, c) the battery is probably a fire hazard and d) no matter how well behaved the user was, it's a biohazard. Why try to salvage that?…

kampfschlaefer.de•2 days ago

Why not value your new hires by handing them a pristine machine? You want the new hire to give his best, why let him/her work with an old hand-me-down?

(I admit: it is a different situation if the former user used the machine in question for only up to a year.)

kye.boats•2 days ago

Because there are other people in the world, people that aren’t nerds. “Brand-new hardware”, as opposed to something a few years old, will make zero difference in the majority of roles.

Please touch some grass instead of writing a two-post lecture that hinges on everyone being a techie.

richih.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yeah, non tech people are famously indifferent to "it's new"

ldrberi.bsky.social•2 days ago

I think the T42 coating was breaking down. Sometimes using alcohol would make it so much worse. It’s like to softened and turned into a dirt sponge.

swiftonsecurity.com•2 days ago

Oh yeah there were also the coatings that were straight up breaking down. But they did just retain dirt and oil.

ldrberi.bsky.social•2 days ago

My fingers feel gross just remembering it. Damn thing went 5+ years though.

rismith.bsky.social•2 days ago

Alcohol absolutely caused it to become friable and break down.

raymitchell.bsky.social•2 days ago

T42. Classic workhorse

jaystapleton.ca•2 days ago

I would buy those hinges in bulk. Loved those machines

pwnyslaystation.bsky.social•2 days ago

Man, that laptop was insanely popular and well-reviewed. Like everyone had the T42

roman-d-mueller.ch•2 days ago

I always hated the StinkPads.

falkduebbert.bsky.social•2 days ago

Even smoke residue... (Ok. The letters of the keyboard too.)

dougontech.bsky.social•2 days ago

Oh bro, I remember seeing the keyboard of a chain smoker back in the day when people could actually smoke... that was some horrific...

overfireisland.bsky.social•2 days ago

clorox wipe followed by rubbing alcohol on a paper towel helps the wipe residue dry all the way!

banjoista3.bsky.social•2 days ago

You ain’t seen nothing till you’ve worked in the Geek Squad.

loam-d.bsky.social•2 days ago

People don't respect their work issued hardware because employers don't give us the respect we deserve. Failing to maintain the equipment in a basic way is a small act of implicit rebellion.

orpach.bsky.social•2 days ago

Does anyone make laptops with pour-through keyboards like thinkpads used to have?

Alternatively, can you put a regular laptop in an ultrasonic bath of dry cleaning fluid?