How do you clean your mouse?

[ZombieFriedNuts]

I normally just use a tweezers from my penknife but there’s got to be an easier way and it doesn’t get everything what do other people use

[Monarch]

I normally just use a tweezers from my penknife but there’s got to be an easier way and it doesn’t get everything what do other people use

You go and buy an optical that doesn't pick up dirt

lol...

[Alexanderofmacedon]

You go and buy an optical that doesn't pick up dirt

lol...

For some reason I have an optical and I like ball mice better. To clean it I just open it up, use my finger nails to loosen it, then clank it on the mouse pad. Usually it comes off right then...

[edyzmedieval]

I have an optical, but I had roll balls for many years. Pain for me to clean them.

[Zain]

The ball mice can be cleaned off by using a simple pencil eraser.

Works very well too!

-ZainDustin

[Zalmoxis]

Optical all the way! But before that, I'd use use cotton swabs.

[Seasoned Alcoholic]

I used to clean the trackball mice with something sharp, like a compass They used to pick-up so much dirt from the mousemats...

I used to play FPS' with a trackball - was a bit shocked after switching over to an optical mouse, because you can mouselook much sharper and faster than trackballs ever could do.

[SwordsMaster]

Never cleaned it. You can get the chepest mouse possible for 3 euro. So every 4-5 months or so I'd just get a new one.

[Somebody Else]

Apparently human saliva is one of the best solvents for lifting the gunk that accumulates on computer mice - the gunk being mostly made up of human skin and sweat...

To clean an organic mouse; first, extract from snake.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

I used to have ball mice (relation to ball python? ) and cleaned them with my fingers. But a $10 Logitech optical goes a looooong way.

[hoom]

I use fingernails too (one of the little advantages of fairly long nails)
Opticals of course are better (as long as they are of a design that doesn't get little hairs in the optical path)

[Reverend Joe]

Fingernail.

I will always use ball mice from now on. I had an optical for a while, but it seemed to go berzerk at random times and the cursor would jump to one corner of the screen, far off the edge of the screen, so I had to pull it back onscreen. Very annoying. So ball mice for me.

(Off topic, this seems like the appropriate place to crack a joke about not having any "balls"... but I am not that much of a nerd to actually know a joke about that.)

[GoreBag]

With my hands.

[Taurus]

I prefer ball mice to optical mice. To clean them I just use a paperclip, the only downside I have with ball mice though is the fact that the ball wares down relativley quickly.

[Ja'chyra]

I always prefer to clean my balls by hand.

But now I have an optical mouse.

[_Martyr_]

People, buying a reasonably priced optical mouse is one of the best upgrades you can do... Its such a world apart from the clunky, slow, unresponsive and work intensive ball mouse. I used to have to clean that thing about twice a week. It drove me nuts!!! Id take the ball out and wipe it down, and id use a shard implament to remove the grime from the mouse itself... HELL!

[orangat]

There is absolutely no reason to use ball tracking mice anymore.

Optical mice with no roller ball are lighter and offer superior resolution without any extra cost.

[drone]

Back in the day when I had a ball mouse, I would take the ball out, and use my fingernail to scrape the buildup from the rollers. Fortunately, I have an optical now, and no longer have to worry about this.

[Reverend Joe]

Did noone read my post? Every optical mouse I have ever owned refuses to cooperate with me. The pointer thingy keeps shooting to the corner of the screen and sticks there. This has happened, without fail, with every computer and every optical mouse I have ever owned. They SUCK. Ball mice are just fine. They have never been "clunky, slow, unresponsive" or "work-intensive". So quit the frickin' salesman routine.

[_Martyr_]

Jees mate, no one is trying to sell you anything. Chill. I used to get what you are describing with my first optical mouse, it was pretty cheap (under 10 euro). Since I bought my most recent one (actually I was given it...) I have absolutely nothing but praise for the thing, it cost about 35 - 50 euro, but to me it made almost as much diference as my 100 euro RAM upgrade I did a while ago.

Theres not really much of an argument, as orangat points out, optical mice are technically speaking, simply better. If you prefer roller mice, thats cool, but technically opticals are simply superior.

[ZombieFriedNuts]

I also had a crazy optical mouse, but I got a free ball mouse with my laptop from the DSA when i went to uni and it works better so I kept it. That’s why I want know how to clean it.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

With my thumb, it is a trackball so all you need to do is wipe off the little things that hold the ball in and every now and then wipe off the optical window thingy. Knocking it on the desk is also helpful at times, but it rarely does the trick.

[hoom]

Zorba I used to get that happen but that was a cheap one that got hair in the way of the light.
Since I got my M$ intellimouse a couple of years ago I've not had an issue with that.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
After decapitating and unskinning, straightly cut the mouse from the throat vertically down until between the aftlegs. Then take out the stomach, guts and stuff. Wash the inside with flowing water a few minutes to get rid of the blood and it must be clean.
.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Mouza do you marinate your mice, cook them, or eat them raw?

Around here we generally like to use a peanut sauce, but occasionally we get lazy, or can't get the fire started.....

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
I serve it to Miaulë. He wouldn't mind how.
.

[Lemur]

Ah, ball-based mice, that's taking me back. Here's how the lemur used to clean them:

Remove the ball. Take it to the sink and wash it with dishwashing liquid. Dry it thoroughly before you even think about putting it back in.

Now use a combination of tweezers and cotton swabs (dabbed in water) to loosen and scrape away the gunk from the rollers. Again, dry thoroughly.

By the end of this process, the mouse should behave like new.

[Zain]

I've got an optical now, so I don't even have to worry about that anymore! !!!

[Moros]

used to do it with siccors, worked quite well.