Cleaning mouse feet

Feet on an optical mouse

Has your computer mouse got dirty feet? If your mouse has been sticking a bit, you can be pretty sure that there’s a decent amount of sticky gunk on those feet! Go on, lift it up and turn it over — I bet there’s gunk stuck to the little pads/feet underneath it. Sure, you can use a fingernail to pick it off (however, I find that a fingernail can scratch and pit the surface over time), or you can rub the feet gently with a damp cotton bud (Q-tip) with a tiny amount of detergent or cleaning alcohol on it, but the method below is quick, cheap and super easy — and it involves no chemicals or liquids.

NOTE: If you don’t want strange things happening on your computer as a result of accidentally pressing too hard on the mouse buttons/wheel etc., then turn off your computer before you do this.

1. Place a sheet of printer/photocopier paper on your desk and put the mouse on it as though the paper was a mouse mat.
2. Press down on the mouse and move it over the paper several times. (How much pressure? Not super hard, but not as light as you’d press for moving your cursor over the screen either — somewhere in between.)

The gunk on the mouse feet comes off on the paper and your mouse will have nice, clean shiny feet again!

Has this tip helped you? saved you time? saved your skin? You can thank me by clicking on the cup and buying me a coffee. (An E-Junkie shopping cart page will open where you can pay for my coffee via PayPal.)