How to Clean a Mouse Step by Step: The Complete Guide

Cleaning a mouse is something that we will face sooner or later. Therefore, we bring you a guide to do it correctly. Ready?

Over time, peripherals require maintenance, as with many technological devices. On this occasion, we have focused on how to clean a mouse because it is a peripheral that we use often, which implies greater wear.

Let's start!

Index of contents

Types of mice

Before we start cleaning the mouse, we should distinguish between the types of mice that we find today. Make sure what type of mouse you have because certain steps can change.

Analog or "ball" mouse

It is a mouse that we cannot find, but it exists and must not be forgotten. It is a mouse that uses a ball to recognize the XY coordinates, in short.

Optical mouse

Modern and optical mice function as cameras because they continuously take photos. The photos are used as data to find out where the mouse is on a surface. The sensor is a CMOS (like that of cameras) and works together with 2 lenses and a light to know the XY coordinates a thousand times per second.

Opticians usually have a red LED light that projects their light and is widely used in the gaming sector .

Laser mouse

In this case, it is a peripheral similar to the optical one, but that serves other purposes. The laser can scan more complex surfaces as they detect irregularities in the environment. In short, they give more information to both the sensor and the mouse processor.

Trackpad or pad

You have to be careful with this type of mouse because it works by touch and is integrated in laptops, so its removal is not so easy. In addition, cleaning the mat of a MacBook Pro is not the same as cleaning a regular laptop because they work differently.

In this case, you do not have to use the tools below, but you should use disinfecting wet wipes and a microfiber cloth. Apart from this, we advise you to disconnect the battery from the laptop to avoid scares.

Essential tools

We will try to make it as simple as possible, but do not worry because it will be a piece of cake. We won't need many tools or utensils, so you don't have to invest a lot of money.

Microfiber cloth

Ideal to clean all the residues that we find in the mouse. You can use a normal cloth, but a microfiber is recommended to remove the residues more easily.

By the way, never use wet wipes because you can damage the circuits or components of the mouse. Humidity is not a good friend of these.

Propanol or isopropyl alcohol

It is the alcohol that we usually have in the medicine cabinets to heal our wounds and prevent them from becoming infected. In our case, we will use it for cleaning and cleaning the mouse. For this purpose, we are going to use ear buds.

On the other hand, if you don't have alcohol, you can use water. It is always better to use alcohol because it disinfects, unlike water.

Hand towels

Hand towels are perfect for drying the mouse after cleaning. You can use conventional towels, like the ones we use to dry after showering. It is important to dry the mouse well because water is the public enemy # 1 of all technological devices.

It is not recommended to use a dryer because hot air can damage a circuit or component.

Chopsticks or brushes

As the dimensions of this peripheral are small, we will have to use toothpicks or brushes to access the most complex corners of the mouse's compartments or compartments. In case you do not have chopsticks, you can use brushes because fine hairs allow us to remove everything we do not want.

As a useful tip, you can use these when cleaning the components of your computer. In that case, I would recommend using brushes because it is less aggressive.

Screwdriver

You will have to open the mouse to clean it, so we will have to find a screwdriver whose head fits with the screw. In most cases, mice use small Phillips screws, so we will need a small Phillips screwdriver.

When these things arise, I always recommend buying a universal screwdriver in which you can install the desired head for each type of screw. In this way, we have a more versatile tool and we save money.

Tweezers

We make this tool optional, but it can help us in cases where we cannot remove a small item. We put them as an observation for you to take into account.

How to clean a mouse

After explaining the types of mice and what we will need, the next step is to explain how to clean a mouse step by step. Ready?

Unplug the mouse

The first thing we must do is unplug the mouse from the computer so that it has no power. In this way, we will avoid any short circuit or electrocute ourselves with the mouse. In case you have a wireless mouse, you have to remove the batteries for the same purpose: that it is not plugged in.

Clean with a cloth or suede

Once disconnected, we will have to clean the mouse with a suede or microfiber cloth. If the surface of the mouse contains embedded dirt, you can moisten the cloth to try to soften the dirt and remove it more easily. Be careful with this because it is one thing to moisten the cloth; and another, soaking the cloth.

Use a toothpick for small holes

It would be ideal if you used a toothpick to remove all the dirt we have on the scroll frames, on the buttons, in the small holes on the front of each click, etc. As we have said before, you have to use these utensils to access the smallest areas.

Brushes will help us, but they will not be effective as it is solid and embedded dirt, which the conventional stick can do. In principle, use the toothpick for the mouse surface.

Clean the bottom of the mouse

When we finish cleaning at the top, we have to turn the mouse and put on one of the most important parts of it. We find two predominant elements: the sensor and the surfers or "feet".

The sensor is usually protected by glass or metrakylate. However, we will now focus on surfers, which are the supports that the mouse has to slide, which must be completely clean. To do this, you can use a toothpick or brush.

Sensor and top cleaning

It is time to use alcohol to clean and disinfect the mouse. We will take a stick and we will dip its end in alcohol. Then we will clean the top and the sensor.

When we're done, we'll let the alcohol dry. If it has already dried, you can pass a microfiber cloth to heal you in health in order to dry the area.

Disassemble the top and clean

We have come to the end of this guide on cleaning a mouse, so there is little left!

Depending on the mouse, we will have to use a screwdriver or press the back to remove the front cover. In more elaborate mice, we will have to use a screwdriver for this; on laptops or those that are wireless, you may just need to press an area.

With the top removed, we will use the swab impregnated with alcohol and we will go through the left and right clicks. Do not forget the scroll , go over that area well because they usually harbor a lot of dirt from day to day.

Finally, wait until everything dries to mount the top again.

We recommend reading the best mice

Watch out! The process will be over when you have cleaned the mouse pad with a microfiber. Here we give you total freedom to clean it because the surface of each peripheral varies a lot. As a tip, we recommend a microfiber cloth or brush to remove everything.

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