Does a dirty computer keyboard indicate mental problems?

I realize that's a strange question, but being away from my keyboard for two weeks made it look especially dirty. And even though I bought the thing used for a couple of bucks several years ago, I have only now realized that I never once bothered to clean it. It never seemed to matter. Yet this morning, the act of looking at the dirt was utterly depressing, and I wondered which was worse: my failure to have noticed that it was dirty, or my failure to clean it. The thing is, I would immediately notice a dirty keyboard if I visited someone else and used his computer, so what's with my apparent double standard?

Or am I being too picky?

I hadn't planned to write a blog post about as mundane a thing as cleaning my keyboard (an easier and cheaper process than going out and buying a new one), but now that I'm wondering about my motivations in cleaning it, I suspect that I might be trying to hide something.

Perhaps I'm covering up my own slovenly habits? But if I am, then isn't the act of cleaning somewhat of a contradiction? Wouldn't it be easier to just never clean it and never mention it? No; I suspect a deeper coverup. I think I might be trying to cover it up from myself, by engaging in a form of denial. Cleaning my keyboard is something I do to convince myself that I really do care about the appearance of slovenliness even though I don't. As to other people, I'd defend my right to be a pig, have my dirty keyboard, and post my dirty blog posts with it. But the fact is, I honestly didn't like seeing it dirty, and there's no denying that if I cleaned it I cleaned it. Hence the "coverup" of my filth was -- and is -- successful.

This is one of those things like shaving or cutting your fingernails or hair (or even pulling weeds) that if you don't do them, you live with the natural filth. But if you do them, you have a temporary reprieve. If you don't care, it shows. Not that I consider caring or not caring about these things to be particularly virtuous. But this keyboard thing interests me because unlike fingernails or hair, it's so private that but for this blog post I'd be the only person aware of or affected by it.

What I cannot figure out is whether I really care. Why did it take a two week vacation to make me see dirt that has stared me in the face every day for years? Do I really care? Do I only care because I happened to notice? And is this really about appearances? Is there a distinction between concerns with how something appears to others and how it appears to me? Is it neurotic to be concerned with the appearance of a keyboard, or is it neurotic not to be? And what could be more neurotic than talking about such a private matter on a public blog post?

I wonder what Freud would say...

AFTERTHOUGHT: Now it occurs to me that any reader who actually read this inane post might want to know what I did to clean the keyboard. Following the instructions here, I removed all but the little-used F and number keys, and threw them into warm water with mild detergent. As the keys soaked, I wiped up the huge quantities of dust and grime which had accumulated under the keys. Then I removed the keys, wiped off all remaining dirty with a paper towel, threw them in a paper bag and shook them dry while applying a hair dryer. Before I started, I thought to take a picture so I'd know how they went back in.

Here's a typical before section:

And the same section now: