You can find out more about cleaning your keyboards and trackpads here. Cotton swabs work well for the ridges of your keyboard keys and the spaces between them, as long as you make sure the swab isn’t too wet. Pour a few drops of the alcohol onto the microfiber cloth, wring it out so it’s just damp, and then carefully wipe down the exterior of your laptop (in other words, everywhere but the screen and keyboard).

Kerr recommends using a microfiber cloth ($9 on Amazon) and rubbing alcohol that contains at least 90 percent isopropyl alcohol ($3 at Walmart). “The most critical thing when cleaning a laptop or desktop computer is to apply the cleaning product to the tool you’re using to clean, never ever directly onto the computer,” Jolie Kerr, cleaning expert and host of the podcast Ask a Clean Person, told The New York Times. Wipe down your laptop surface with a microfiber cloth and rubbing alcohol.

According to The New York Times, you should use short, quick bursts of air, since long ones may cause moisture to collect inside your computer. Once you’ve turned your laptop off, spray the can away from it first to empty any condensation, and then aim the air into all the cracks of your keyboard, your USB ports, and any other crevices or holes in your laptop. Just like you might sweep your floors before mopping them, you want to blow any dust and other buildup out of your laptop before you wipe it down a can of compressed air ($8 on Amazon) does the trick nicely. Use a can of compressed air to get rid of crumbs, dust, and other buildup. Here are four steps for easily disinfecting your laptop, while also ridding it of all the crumbs of lunches past. And while you can’t exactly toss it in the washing machine with some bleach and let the spin cycle do the dirty work, you can definitely clean all its surfaces without breaking a sweat.

Even if you’ve mastered the art of diligently washing your hands to the tune of your favorite song refrain, there’s still a chance that germs are hanging out on your laptop.

Laptop clean