Cleaning A Computer Mouse

Cleaning the mouse need not be difficult...

Cleaning a mouse can be a bit of a chore, but with the right technique will only take a few minutes and more importantly will be effective.

If you are having trouble moving your mouse accurately across the screen, then one of two things is to blame - the surface the mouse is on, or the mouse itself.

Check first that you are using a good quality mouse mat and that it is not ribbed or bumped with dirt and other rubbish that can accrue on the mouse mat over time. If it is the problem, change it - they only cost a few quid these days - and that should resolve the matter.

If the mouse mat is pretty much OK, then there are other options available for you to look into.

Here is a guide to cleaning the mouse itself:

- First, remove the ball from the mouse if it is a rollerball mouse. To do this you normally need to turn the base of the mouse anti-clockwise so that the mouse tracker ball then pops out.

To clean it use a little washing up liquid and soapy water; in fact it is often not the ball that is the main problem when having problems with the mouse but rather the contact points inside.

Therefore the key is actually to clean the rollers inside the mouse itself. You will often find the rollers caked in dirt and grime which is really affecting the action of the mouse.

To clean these you can use a cotton bud dipped in some alcohol. For those without that, you can also develop a skillful art in scraping the grime off the rollers using a screw driver or other pointed element, just don't push too hard and damage the rollers!

This is the best way to get rid of stubborn dirt, though.

Once all done you just then need to place the ball back into place and you should find that it now works fine again.

Note that if the problem is not the accuracy of movement, but rather the speed of the mouse, then the sensitivity is actually set through on screen controls and therefore you need to use your machine software to change that - it is not something set on the mouse!

For those with optical mouse or a mouse without a trackerball inside, then you should find that it is ok as long as you have it on a decent flat surface.

Author: Stephen

About the Author: Online researcher, journalist and web designer.
More About the Author >>> | My other pages >>>

Page Views: 508 | Page Ranking: 76
Popular Tags:
mouse sticking, mouse cleaning, troublesome

Last Updated: Oct 5th 2006

Ask Stephen a Question >>>

Category: Cleaning [More Categories]

Article Comments / Questions

No comments have been added to this question.
Comment on this Article