How to clean your Mouse

Mouse Problem - Mouse Maintenance - How to clean your Mouse

Everybody at some point when using a PC will need to clean the mouse, this guide will take you through cleaning a mouse step by step.

When your mouse needs cleaning you will notice it sticking while you are using it, to clean a mouse is fairly straight forward and only takes 10 minutes.

First some general information about how a mouse works.

Basic Mouse Operation

As you move the mouse on a flat surface the ball turns the rollers inside and sends signals to the computer, the computer then translates these signals into the movement of the mouse pointer.

For this reason it is important to keep the rollers inside your mouse clean, any piece of dust/debris no matter how small can make your mouse behave abnormally.

Firstly unplug your mouse from the PC and get to hand a soft tissue and suitable cleaning fluid (window cleaner is fine).
© Copyright 2001-2003 helpwithpcs.com	Back to top
Notice the removable cover on the bottom of the mouse. Turn the mouse cover anti-clockwise to release the ball, remove the cover and take the ball out.

Use the soft tissue to clean the mouse ball, be sure to remove all dust/hair/debris.

Next, notice the 3 rollers within the mouse casing, these are what we need to clean. You can improvise on how to clean the rollers, using your fingernail gets good results, if the mouse hasn't been cleaned before then you will see lots of dust on the rollers, whichever way you choose to clean them make sure you remove all traces of dust/debris as the smallest piece can cause the mouse to behave erratically. When you have removed all traces of dust/dirt from the rollers and the ball is nice and clean, simply put the ball back in and replace the cover turning clockwise to lock it in place. Plug the mouse back into your machine and turn the machine on, now your mouse should be as good as new.