How to clean a mouse ball

from The Joker Blog

1. Remove the plate that retains the ball. Just twist it in the direction of the arrow.

2. Remove the mouse ball.

3. Keep it dust-free. The enemy of the mouse is dust. Over time, dust and lint spin into fairly solid strings that eventually gum up the mouse motion. Some mice use more spring-loading ticks than others to keep the rollers in contact with the ball, so keep an eye to see if any springs are popping out. In most cases, mice are built to be very rugged and there's nothing to hurt during a cleaning. The cup shape in the center is just to help position the ball in the mouse.


That little wheel, along with other similar wheels inside, need cleaning

4. Typically you don't need to clean the mouse ball, only the little wheels you see inside. Usually a paperclip will do, but if it's really dirty you can use a knife. Or, you can moisten the tip of a Q-tip (cotton swab) with rubbing alcohol to clean off the dirt. Use tweezers to remove any strands of hair near the wheel rollers. If there appears to be gunk on the ball, a rag and a little rubbing alcohol will take it right off.

Put it back together. After you're done, put the mouse ball back and lock it.

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Keep your mouse clean. Keep your mouse hand warm. If you get a cold mouse hand, click here.