On top of being a super geek, one of my other well known characteristics is that I am a bit anal when it comes to the quality of the products I buy. I’m hardly ever happy with a sub-par product. Even the littlest imperfection drives me nuts. So, needless to say, I was extremely irritated when I noticed that my brand new MacBook had started to discolor or look dirty. The discoloration had occurred in the palm rest area and it was driving me nuts. Some people would be able to look past this however, it really had me irritated.
When I first noticed the discolortaion, I immediately assumed that it was the same problem that several people had reported with earlier versions of the MacBook. Back when the MacBook first came out there were a number complaints about the MacBook discoloring in the palm rest area. Even though Apple has supposedly fixed this problem, I immediately assumed that my MacBook was suffering from the same problem.
Since I was concerned that my MacBook was discoloring due to a defect in my laptop, I went ahead and called Apple care. The individual that I spoke with told me that I had two options. #1, I could ship my MacBook back and have the palm rest replaced or #2, I could send my MacBook back and have an entirely new one sent to me. Since I haven’t spent a ton of time getting things setup, I decided to choose option #2. While on the phone, I was a little concerned because the product specialist that I spoke with told me that this problem no longer exists and that he hasn’t received a complaint like this in a long time.
Upon getting off the phone I started to wonder if the replacement MacBook would have the same problem. From what I understand, Apple changed the material that they use in their palm rests long before I purchased my laptop. So, by getting a new laptop I wasn’t sure that the problem that I was having would go away. Like a good geek, I headed over to the Apple discussion forums where I posted a question in which I asked if the replacement laptop that I was about to receive would have the same problem as my current laptop. One of the replies that I received suggested that maybe I should try and clean my laptop and that it may just be dirty. In order to clean it, the commenter suggested that I try and use a Mr. Clean Eraser. Since I had nothing to loose, I went to Wal-Mart and picked up two magic erasers.
After just a couple of swipes (don’t do it too hard) of the eraser my MacBook started to look new once again! I guess my problem wasn’t as severe as I initially thought it was. Since my MacBook now looks as good as new, I decided to cancel the exchange and keep my existing MacBook. In order to prevent this problem from happening again, I’ve gone ahead and purchaseed a Macpad from Macstyles.com. Hopefully this will protect the palm rest and help to keep my MacBook clean and looking good.
To be honest, I’m a little surprised that my MacBook looked dirty after having it for < 1 month. I would have thought that Apple would have figured out how to produce plastic that isn’t so susceptible to getting dirty. After all, when I spend $1400 on a laptop, I don’t expect it to look dirty after three weeks of use. Come on Apple, you can do better then this :).
If your MacBook is starting to look a little dingy, I recommend that you try out the Mister clean eraser. It really made my dirty MacBook look clean again.
February 18th, 2007 at 5:13 am
I would think instead of blaming Apple you look at how you use your Mac.
Oils in your hands, grease, food, etc will be left on a laptop be it Mac or other. I guess since Apple uses lighter colours for their laptops discolourations from dirty hands will show up more readily than on say a black HP or a purple Sony.
There’s no way around it barring wearing latex gloves.
Oh and with the whole anal bit, you do realise anuses produce crap don’t you?
February 18th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
I also have a white MacBook. I find the best way to clean it is with a slightly damp cloth, that cleans my MacBook up to looking like new every time.
February 19th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Thanks for the tip. I did try a damp cloth however, the magic eraser seemed to work better.
February 19th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
Good point
March 6th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Being so proud of my beautiful white Macbook when it arrived, and having read about discolouration issues, I washed my hands religiously before going near my Macbook.
However, after 2 weeks of having my Macbook it has already begun to discolour. Explain that…!
September 17th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Hi, was having the same problem. Thanks for the tip.
September 25th, 2007 at 8:30 am
I have had my Macbook for about two weeks ago and the pad area is discolored! I think my hands are pretty clean — I wash them as often as one might expect. This is very annoying. I will try the eraser and buying the cover pad but I would not expect to have to do this on a brand new computer.
September 27th, 2007 at 3:48 am
Hey namesake!!! ;-)))
I had exactly the same problem. Bought my MacBook (my first Mac after 20 years of Window$), started getting used to it but was horrified at seeing the pad area becoming reddish brown. No question about not washing my hands, Lou! I also tried everything. Went back to the Apple Store and bought some cleaning products they sell. No results. I also tried using a wet cloth, but to no avail. Eventually, I started surfing the Web and read your blog. And, man, Mr. Proper Eraser sure did wonders!!!!! My MacBook’s pad area is as white as it was on the day I bought it! I’m taking Mr. Proper Eraser to the Apple Store today to fill them in on it.
Thanks a lot, Alex!
Thanks a lot
October 16th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
Is my macbook the only one Magic Eraser isn’t working on? I’ve heard such great thinking about it but it’s not working on mine. Help!!
October 20th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
If it’s white, what do you expect? It’s going to show everything. Get a clue.
November 16th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Well, I’ve had white Macs for ages, and this is the first one to have this discoloration issue. I agree with all above who’ve said Apple must get a clue. This MacBook, all in all, has been subpar in comparison with previous models. The entire faceplate (including the palm rest) started to curl up at the ends of my husbands. I am an Apple loyalist, but this model is crap. Thanks for the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, tip, Alex. You are a gem.
January 1st, 2008 at 10:56 pm
i’ve tried the magic eraser and it didn’t work. i got the macbook the day it came out. i know by now thats a lot of dirt built up but a few weeks of owning my macbook i noticed the dirt and tried the magic eraser and it didnt work then. does anybody know what cleaning chemicals are safe to use on this plastic?
January 13th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Gorgeous! I bought a macbook this past summer and was really ticked off when I saw dirt from some angles on the palm rests. I tried a lot of things, microfibre clothes, half rubbing alcohol half water solution (works on a lot of things) and to no avail.
thanks for this tip! i had some magic erasers lying around and they got put to good use!
January 21st, 2008 at 12:15 am
I tried nail polish remover, magic eraser, bleach, and even alcohol. NOTHING removes the marks on mine. Unfortunately I bought my macbook in July ‘06, so I can’t call up applecare and replace it.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:26 am
My mac is just a month old as well. I have the keypad protector that extends to the palm area. My problem now is that certain areas of my macbook have marks from the protector. I’m from the Philippines and I doubt we have that Magic Eraser here.
Can anyone suggest any other option? (other than using a damp cloth). Thank you.
January 30th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Joan: I’m from the Philippines too and I had the same problem with the keypad protector! My advice: take it out. Now.
I took mine out after three days of using it, Php1200 down the drain, but it was doing more harm than good. I still haven’t found a solution for the stains though
February 3rd, 2008 at 5:07 am
oh man you idiot. you phoned up apple because your macbook was getting dirty lol. that’s like phoning up nike because your trainers got dirty and swearing blind to them that you took care of them haha. and here’s me looking around trying to find a good cleaning solution for my macbook.
February 3rd, 2008 at 7:40 am
Woz,
Apparently you didn’t read the post because I do talk about how to clean a MacBook….
February 8th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
For Joan from the Philippines, use Hydrogen Peroxide. Go to any of you drug stores.
If that doesn’t work, get a salt (about 2 tbsp), dump it in a half a cup, containing hot/boiling water. Stir it until the salt melts and water becomes around the degrees of lukewarm to warm. Get a cotton ball and dip it in the mixture. Squeeze it and rub it off the discoloring surface.
Make sure remove your battery before applying any liquid or any form of substance to you MacBook. Goodluck!
February 9th, 2008 at 2:11 am
i just bought my macbook yesterday and there is already a dark smear by the palm area, it loooks like someone got a pencil and drew on it then rubbed it a lot. im gonna try the magic eraser thingy, and if that fails im getting a full keyboardcover, probably black, i dont know what thats gonna look like on a white one… but better than dirtyness
February 16th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
i got my mac in july 07 and was wondering if i got get replacement macbook because i tried everything and nutting is working, also im having other problems and was just shooting it out there?
February 23rd, 2008 at 6:49 pm
You might be my new best friend! I had these incredibly annoying spots on the place where my hands rest, and now they are gone! I just bought the Magic Eraser and now I keep some to get rid of the spots whenever I see them. You really saved teh day!
April 5th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
thank you alex! i was freaking out as I got my Macbook through work and have to return it once my contract is up and this sucker is beginning to look like shit after only a few months. I am going to try both the Glass Plus wipes for the keys and the Magic Eraser for the palm rest area. thanks
April 27th, 2008 at 3:24 am
My wife and I have identical macbooks. Mine gets dirty, hers does not. I spray a tiny bit of Formula 409 and a cloth, and it comes clean. I’ve come to the conclusion that my hands tend to have more oil than hers. And yes, I was them!
May 4th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Gracias por el consejo funciono super bien
Thanks for the tip It worked awesome!
Regards from Puerto Rico