Laptop keyboard option

Shut the laptop down, unplug from the power and remove the battery.
Then take off the keyboard. A lot have latches or clips up near the screen. You would carefully move the loose keyboard near you. The keys will be facing the desktop. First, get canned air and spray the section under where the keyboard usually sits to get rid of any loose debris. Next, turn the laptop over so the keys are now face up. You'll want something like a sponge brush women use to put on eye makeup. You should be able to find then cheaply in a place like the Dollar type stores, near the makeup. You will also need distilled water. Pour a tiny bit in a cup, something that won't tip over easily and dump on the notebook. Dip the sponge in distilled water and use one or several to clean the keyboard. Also use the canned air on that. Turn the notebook and keyboard over and put the keyboard back in place.
You can insert the battery but do not turn the notebook on or plug it in until you are 100% positive there is no moisture; otherwise you run the risk of shorting something out.

As to what flavor of linux...first is the taskbar at the top or bottom? (That usually lets me know if you are using gnome or KDE). There are other desktops but gnome and KDE are the most prevalent.

Where the windows start button is located, is there a letter or picture there?