Spreading Hand Lotion On Touchpad

[halthefrog]

Recently, my MacBook Air M1 touchpad started to feel sticky, and my fingers hardly move on it. I found a solution by spreading some Nivea hand lotion on it, though I may have applied a little to the edges as well.

Could this cause any damage to my laptop? Thank you.

 

[Absrnd]

Recently, my MacBook Air M1 touchpad started to feel sticky, and my fingers hardly move on it. I found a solution by spreading some Nivea hand lotion on it, though I may have applied a little to the edges as well.

Could this cause any damage to my laptop? Thank you.

it is always good to put more muck in the track pad.....NO NO NO.

Please don't do this, give your hands a GOOD wash, and clean the track pad with a slight moist microfiber cloth.
If the the dirt does not come off, use a glasses alcohol cleaning cloth, en really get the into the edges.

 

[halthefrog]

it is always good to put more muck in the track pad.....NO NO NO.

Please don't do this, give your hands a GOOD wash, and clean the track pad with a slight moist microfiber cloth.
If the the dirt does not come off, use a glasses alcohol cleaning cloth, en really get the into the edges.

I won't do it anymore, thanks. But did it cause any possible damage, i wonder? Should I be worried for the past usage of hand lotion?

 

[aihpcfl]

I won't do it anymore, thanks. But did it cause any possible damage, i wonder? Should I be worried for the past usage of hand lotion?

I doubt there is anyone here who knows from experience. My guess is it was a bad idea, that it sounds like it didn't do any immediate damage*, but it is possible you may notice something later on. My further guess is damage might appear as degradation of the surface of the track pad, if anything appears at all. I repeat, just guessing.

* I am assuming from the wording of your post that you did this already, not that you are still thinking about it. If you are thinking about it, then don't do it.

 

[JPack]

You basically added liquid to it. But if there's any damage, the trackpad won't offer tactile feedback to clicks.

 

[BigBlur]

You probably just needed to wipe the trackpad with a damp cloth or rubbing alcohol. It's made out of glass.

Lotion gets sticky when it dries up...so it'll probably get sticky again. Maybe it got sticky in the first place from lotion residue on your hands/fingers?

 

[joeblow7777]

Just in case anyone was thinking that Mac keyboards don't already look greasy enough! 😂

 

[MajorFubar]

It's wild how you thought adding a greasy liquid to the trackpad was a good idea. How come you didn't just think of cleaning it with a cloth, lightly dampened with an proprietory cleaning solution, or IPA.

Apple gives specific guidance here: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/103258 which you could have easily searched for and found for yourself.

 

[ignatius345]

Do you really want hand lotion on your display? Because that's where it can easily end up when you touch your greasy trackpad and then your keyboard... which then makes contact with the screen when it's folded.

 

[WilliApple]

Next time, use a Clorox wipe. Lotion may cause damage to the pressure sensitive sensor on the trackpad.

 

[GoodWheaties]

Trackpads for the last 10 years have been solid glass that doesn’t move at all so it shouldn’t hurt anything. I doubt it could get between the glass and the aluminum. But I would clean it well with isopropyl alcohol and a micro fiber cloth as others have said.

 

[JPack]

Trackpads for the last 10 years have been solid glass that doesn’t move at all so it shouldn’t hurt anything. I doubt it could get between the glass and the aluminum. But I would clean it well with isopropyl alcohol and a micro fiber cloth as others have said.

Many liquid damaged MacBooks have trackpads that do not click. Liquid can definitely get between the glass and aluminum chassis.

 

[Parowdy]

Trackpads for the last 10 years have been solid glass that doesn’t move at all so it shouldn’t hurt anything. I doubt it could get between the glass and the aluminum. But I would clean it well with isopropyl alcohol and a micro fiber cloth as others have said.

Couple things.
Apple first released a MacBook with a „Solid State Trackpad“ in 2015, leaving the MBP to catch up 2016. So that’s one company with two line ups. I haven’t seen any laptops irl that have a glass trackpad that weren’t Macs.
The glass DOES move, it can move A LOT too, depending on how much you press it. You can literally press the glass in the corners beneath the aluminium frame.
Debris and liquids can easily get beneath the trackpad or get stuck between the edge of the trackpad and the frame. Hand lotion is nothing but grease, which will slowly work its way throughout the bottom side of the trackpad if enough gets in, which it will if you do what OP did.
They do move and any kind of liquid or similar substance, ESPECIALLY if it doesn’t evaporate, will leave residue behind and may impede the trackpads performance.

 

[GoodWheaties]

Couple things.
Apple first released a MacBook with a „Solid State Trackpad“ in 2015, leaving the MBP to catch up 2016. So that’s one company with two line ups. I haven’t seen any laptops irl that have a glass trackpad that weren’t Macs.
The glass DOES move, it can move A LOT too, depending on how much you press it. You can literally press the glass in the corners beneath the aluminium frame.
Debris and liquids can easily get beneath the trackpad or get stuck between the edge of the trackpad and the frame. Hand lotion is nothing but grease, which will slowly work its way throughout the bottom side of the trackpad if enough gets in, which it will if you do what OP did.
They do move and any kind of liquid or similar substance, ESPECIALLY if it doesn’t evaporate, will leave residue behind and may impede the trackpads performance.

Huh I’ve never looked before but it does move a bit. I actually thought the solid state trackpads didn’t move. My bad.
Also yes, I was only referring to Macs as we are on a Mac site.

 

[Parowdy]

Huh I’ve never looked before but it does move a bit. I actually thought the solid state trackpads didn’t move. My bad.
Also yes, I was only referring to Macs as we are on a Mac site.

Fun fact: the first MacBook with these trackpads actually had the option to turn the „haptic sound“ of „clicking“ off. Since 2016 the trackpads always click audibly. Strange decision on Apples part, I wonder why it’s apparently not possible for it to click silently.

 

[throAU]

Recently, my MacBook Air M1 touchpad started to feel sticky, and my fingers hardly move on it. I found a solution by spreading some Nivea hand lotion on it, though I may have applied a little to the edges as well.

Could this cause any damage to my laptop? Thank you.

You could have just... cleaned the sticky substance(s) off it.

I know the hand lotion may have been conveniently at hand given the situation, but it's just not as hygienic as cleaning it properly.

 

[5167767]

Your MacBook💻 may malfunction. I certainly would not recommend that to anyone.

 

[Technerd108]

It really depends on how you did what you did. Lotion isn't just oil either. It has water and chemicals in it as well. Some the chemicals may be more damaging along with the water. lotion is made to penetrate the skin and not just to stay on the surface. This could be a problem to the internals.

If you used a very small amount and a large cloth then probably not a big deal but I wouldn't ever do it again.

You can use a pure oil on a cloth for the finish as it probably wouldn't have the same issues a lotion would.

Even using water based cleaners could potentially be a problem and even alcohol based cleaners as again they are not all alcohol.

The key is to use as little cleaning product as possible on a cloth. Probably best to use a dry micro fiber cloth except for the times that is not enough.