How to clean a Mouse?

Your gaming mouse looks disgusting? You want to clean your mouse, but don’t know how to do it? Then you are at the right place. In this article you will learn how to clean a PC mouse properly.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a laser or an optical mouse, with our guide you’ll get them all clean. If you clean your mouse thoroughly at least once a month, you can avoid common things like sensor stuttering, double-click problems or unclean tracking. So, it’s worth it.

What do I need for cleaning my Mouse?

You don’t know it, but your hand touches the dirty mouse. Because your mouse is a real magnet for dirt and grime. But if you know how to clean your mouse, it can extend its life.

Whether it’s a rough basic cleaning or a deep cleaning with all the trimmings – we recommend the following utensils to clean your PC mouse properly:

  • 90% or higher isopropanol (cleaning alcohol): Cleaning cloths are also suitable, but this will be more thorough. The purer (more %), the better. If you don’t have that at hand, just use water. Do not use soap or anything else!
  • Toothpick: For the hard-to-reach gaps and the side keys
  • Cotton swab: For cleaning the sensor and between the buttons
  • Kitchen towels: For collecting dirt, residues and for wiping down
  • Microfiber cloth: For wiping over with the cleaning alcohol
  • (Optional): Compressed air spray for blowing out dust and dirt

1. Disconnect the mouse from the PC

First of all, disconnect your mouse from your computer. This will prevent accidents caused by electric shocks and unnecessary damage to electrical components. It will also prevent a short circuit if any liquid is spilled nearby.

If the mouse is battery-operated or cordless, remove the battery before you start using it.

2. Clean the computer mouse from coarse dirt

Next, find an open area and lay out some kitchen paper to catch the dirt. Now use a toothpick and clean the mouse from dried dirt. Keep the following areas in mind:

  • Space between side keys
  • On some mice, the grooves between the main buttons and the mouse case
  • Area between mouse wheel and mouse cone
  • Around the DPI switch (if present)
  • Bottom around the mouse feet and the mouse bottom

Just go into all the tiny gaps and corners to make sure you get all the dirt out.

If you want to be thorough, use a compressed air spray at this point. This will blow out any remaining residue from the gaps that you may have loosened with the toothpick. Just be careful here and don’t get too close.

Attention! Never blow on the sensor or handle the sensor with toothpicks! This could cause permanent damage and the mouse is scrap.

If you want to clean the mouse wheel a bit more thoroughly, you can clean it with a standard roller cleaner. This will prevent your mouse wheel from being damaged in any way. You should not use common cleaning agents like soap or glass cleaner, especially since they can damage the mechanics. Often this is unnecessary and a normal cleaning with a toothpick is absolutely sufficient.

3. Cleaning the surface of the mouse

Now we use our isopropanol. First, take a microfiber cloth and put some of the cleaning alcohol on it. Then wipe the mouse thoroughly with the cloth and remove grease, sweat residue or other dirt.

With wireless mice, you should generally refrain from handling moisture in the battery compartment. Wipes moistened with isopropanol are preferable to soapy water, since alcohol is not only a disinfectant, but there is also no danger of moisture or soap residue dripping into the inside of your mouse.

If you don’t have rubbing alcohol on hand, you can soak a lint-free cloth in a mixture of mild dish soap and warm water. Just wring the cloth properly before you start cleaning.

Then take a cotton swab and dip it in your isopropyl alcohol. Use it to go over the harder-to-reach or heavily soiled areas again. Again, squeeze the swab a bit so it’s not too wet.

4. Cleaning the mouse sensor

As an additional step, you can clean the mouse sensor, if necessary. It is very important to be very careful here.

Again, take a cotton swab and dip it lightly into your alcohol. Press it out lightly so that excess moisture does not pose a danger.

Now carefully dab the mouse sensor and the areas around it. Do not apply pressure to the sensor under any circumstances, but lightly swipe the tip of the cotton swab over it. This will remove any residue or particles that could affect the mouse’s sensor.

5. Allow to dry

Even if you use rubbing alcohol to clean your mouse as recommended, you should still let everything dry briefly as a precaution. It should not take more than a few minutes for the isopropyl alcohol to evaporate completely. You can also wipe the mouse with a dry microfiber or kitchen towel to speed up the drying process.

And that’s it – cleaning your mouse wasn’t that hard, was it? Do it once a month and your mouse and pad will be happy.

Final Words

You don’t need to unscrew your mouse to clean it. In most cases, this is absolutely unnecessary, especially since there are only a few grooves through which something could get inside the case. Besides, you can break something in the process, which really doesn’t have to be the case. With open mice, it is often enough to simply turn them over and shake them out properly.

Here a short video for the cleaning process: