Introduction
There are a few different ways to go about cleaning your mouse pad. If you have a wrist rest or a pad that is completely flat, any of these methods will work for you. If you can scratch your nails across the mouse pad and see traces of discoloration, then you know your pad is extremely dirty.
The best way to go about this article is to pick the method that works best for you. Again, any of these methods will work and it is a matter of convenience for your situation.
Mouse pads can actually get pretty dirty. Skin oil, dirt, sweat, and food can all make your mouse pad less effective. If you pan across the pad with your mouse and noticed there is resistance in some parts, it might be time for a cleaning! This article will show you for detailed ways to clean your mouse pad.
All of them are simple and easy to follow. Most of them relate to each other in some way but very a little bit in the actual execution. I’ll link below to some of the videos from these methods if you need a more visual representation. I tried to dumb down this process as best I could so you could look at this article and immediately execute.
Before we start, take a look at some general guidelines so you don’t accidentally make a fundamental mistake and ruin your mouse pad.
Table of contents:
General Tips Before Starting
The Laundry Powder Method
The Microfiber Cloth Method
Cleaning RGB Mouse Pads (and ones with electronics)
The Scrub Until Clear Method
General Tips Before Starting
Absolutely do not use a washing machine or a dishwasher. The chemicals used to clean the dishes do not bode well with the material of a mouse pad. You can easily ruin the texture and its original conformity. I would hate to see your premium mouse pad get bleached and scratched up from this.
Absolutely do not use a dryer either. All of the strategies and ways to clean your pad will all entail letting it sit for some period of time after manually drying it with a towel. Don’t let it completely dry in the sun either. This will cause the pad to crinkle up and become more brittle.
Don’t use scalding hot water. Coldwater is actually best or lukewarm will do just fine. Hot water also bends the elasticity of the pad on the bottom end. Higher quality mouse pads are more resistant to extreme temperatures but it’s not even worth taking the risk.
Use a sponge or a towel with the same roughness the mouse pad has. You don’t want to apply a super rough sponge to a soft mouse pad texture. The reverse is also true, so try to find one that matches the texture consistency for best results.
Anytime you’re drying your mouse pad, it shouldn’t be crunched up. It’s better to hang it up where it can remain in a neutral, flat position. If you lay it on the ground covered in a towel, make sure that it is as flat as possible while drying. Don’t squeeze it or strain it to get more water out.
Don’t leave any visible water droplets on the pad before you leave it alone to drive for a couple hours. You want the pad to be damp at best with no visible water droplets anywhere.
If you wash your mouse pad in the sink, make sure to actually wash the inner surface of the sink to remove any algae or gunk. You don’t want traces of this coming back on your mouse pad for sanitary reasons and because you want to make your pad as clean as possible.
Any concerns for the wrist rest?
There aren’t any major issues with cleaning a mouse pad with a wrist rest. The process is going to look entirely the same regardless of the type of mouse pad that you have.
If you have a pretty decent sized wrist rest, then I would avoid scrubbing the area like the rest of your mouse pad. Just wipe down the restaurants with sanitizing wipes and leave it at that. It’s OK if the wrist Rass has a little extra gunk on it or dirt. This isn’t going to affect the mobility of your hand when gaming.
If you have a pretty decent sized wrist rest, then I would avoid scrubbing the area like the rest of your mouse pad. Just wipe down the wrist rest with a sanitizing wipe and leave it at that. It’s OK if the wrist rest has a little extra gunk on it or dirt. This isn’t going to affect the mobility of your hand when gaming.
It’s more important that you thoroughly clean the surface on which the mouse is making contact. Besides sanitary reasons, you also don’t want dirt collecting in certain areas of the mouse pad, which will affect your ability to aim and use the mouse in games.
The Laundry Powder Method:
Best for cleaning large mousepads and being thorough in the process
This method is best done using the shower
You’ll need a sponge, laundry powder, and a towel.
I linked to the video because I found it really helpful and it also gives you a visual depiction of what this process looks like. If you don’t have a way or can’t watch the video, I outlined all the critical steps in the below section.
This method is very nice and very thorough. It’s easy to follow but it will require this type of powder if you have it in your home. This method is absolutely not for RGB or electronic mouse pads.
- Put the mouse pad in the shower. Sprinkle laundry powder all throughout the surface of the pad and don’t hesitate to be generous with the amount of powder applied.
. - Apply a little bit of water through the bath nozzle. Massage the powder into the mouse pad very thoroughly until all the powder is rubbed in. Thoroughly massaging the powder will get rid of all the dust particles in finer pieces of dirt.
. - Let it soak for a while in the shower, and then do another round of massaging and repeat.
. - Do not wash the base of the mouse pad. The bottom is made from a stickier and more adhesive material that can lose its effectiveness if this is over-applied to it.
. - Remove it from the shower and dab the top surface with a towel. Let it dry for a couple of hours in a room temperature setting. Do not let it dry in the direct sunlight. It’s OK to have it in the sunlight if it’s later in the afternoon and the rays aren’t as strong.
The Microfiber Cloth Method
Best for small mouse pads that get consistently dirty and have a smooth surface.
You’ll need a bowl, hand soap or aloe, a microfiber towel, and a large towel for drying. The microfiber towel is easier on the mouse pad surface and will keep the mouse pad in great condition after multiple cleaning sessions.
- Fill the bowl with Luke warm or cold water.
. - Wet the mouse pad thoroughly and then sit it on the towel with the surface facing up.
. - Now add a couple tablespoons of hand soap or aloe to bowl. Aloe soap works better because it has a moisturizer consistency that will keep your mouse pad extra smooth. It is not necessary but this is a good preference and it will do the job even better. Hand soap will also sanitize the pad.
. - Dip the microfiber towel in the bowl and begin working the soap into the mouse pad. It’s OK to put a little bit of muscle into it. Do this until the soap is completely rubbed in.
. - Dip the mouse pad back into the bowl and notice how much dirt comes out of it! Dump out the water and refill the bowl.
. - Re-soak the mouse pad in the regular water before placing back on the towel.
. - Use the regular towel to dab the top of the mouse pad and then let sit for a couple hours facing up to dry.
Important note: Don’t let your mouse pad dry on top of the towel lying face down. The water will travel from the bottom through the material to the top of the surface because of gravity. You want to go the other way so any residue on the bottom of the mouse pad is completely absorbed in the towel and doesn’t affect the adhesiveness of the bottom of it.
You might want to repeat this process a couple of times if you really are satisfied. For most cases, that should only take one run through before your pad is back in excellent condition. Run your nails across the surface and see if they leave a mark. If they don’t leave a mark, or it is really hard to see, then you did a great job cleaning it.
The I “Have RGB Lighting On My Mouse Pad” Method
RGB lighting on a mouse pad doesn’t need to be a hindrance to your ability to clean the mouse pad. There’s actually some really simple ways to go about this, so you shouldn’t hesitate if you know your mouse pad needs a good cleaning.
What you’ll need:
For RGB pads, you actually don’t need to move it into the sink or shower.
- Before you do anything, unplug your mouse pad. Leave your mouse pad on the desk.
. - Grab a soft sponge and hand soap. Get a bowl and a place soap and water into it. Soak the sponge in the bowl and start applying the soapy water to your mouse pad. Make sure the sponge isn’t too soaked.
. - Scrub the area where there are no electronic lights. Be careful when you get close to the edges but still try to clean them.
. - Once you are satisfied with the amount of cleaning, clean the sponge and strain out all the water from the sponge.
. - Scrub the RGB pad again until you are confident all the soap has diluted out.
. - Keep in mind that you can repeat this process multiple times if you’re not satisfied with the first run through. This method is a lot more considerate of the mouse pads sensitivity so you might not get all the dirt out from one attempt.
. - Dab the top of the pad with a towel and let dry for a couple hours. I will wait until you are sure it is completely dry before plugging the mouse pad back in just to be extra cautious.
Scrub Until Clear Method
Best for cleaning your mouse pad quickly.
This method works really well if you use your shower.
What you’ll need: Shampoo, big and small towel, clean sponge
- Place the pad in the shower. Turn on the showerhead and sprinkle water across the surface. You don’t need it to be completely soaked for this to work effectively.
. - Apply a couple of tablespoons of shampoo across the pad. Shampoo is another really good cleaning agent for pads because it also has a lotion/moisturizing affect on the pad. It’s not too aggressive like a dishwasher soap.
. - Scrub the surface of the mouse pad until the water coming out of it runs clear. You might need to pause and turn on the showerhead to allow more water to wash out the pad. You can leave the water running the entire time if you would like but you might also get a little wet.
. - Before drying, make sure you scrub all the soap out of the mouse pad. Do not remove it from the shower until the scrubbing only results in clear water exiting the pad into the drain.
. - To dry, put the pad on a towel on a flat surface. Wrap the towel around the mouse pad or grab a second one and place over the top. To dry, put the pad on a towel on a flat surface. Wrap the towel around the mouse pad or grab a second one and place over the top. The mouse pad should be completely flat.
. - Apply firm pressure on the towel to remove the majority of water from the mouse pad. Don’t scrub the mouse pad with the towel to make it dry faster.
Let the mouse pad sit face up on the towel for a couple of hours. If it doesn’t feel damp, then your pad is ready to use again.
Conclusion
Cleaning your mouse pad no longer needs to be or feel like a foreign endeavor. All of these methods were designed to be as simplistic as possible, and I do credit some of the helpful videos I found on YouTube that added to my current knowledge base. To keep your mouse pads consistently clean, it’s the best to clean them at least once a month depending on how much you game. You don’t always have to use the most thorough method if you are consistently cleaning it. Most mouse pads are very durable and forgiving to this process. You don’t have to follow it exactly for it to be effective.
Thanks for reading! If you have any further comments or questions, feel free to reach out to the email I provide in my other articles. I’m also currently taking article suggestions on the topics this blog covers so if you have any of those feel free to send those over my way to you. I’ll do my best to respond if I receive any of them. Thank you again for reading and be sure to check back for the next article.
This site is all about creating the most ideal home theater, man cave, and gaming desktop set up. Today is more about enhancing your current set up by cleaning your mouse pad. There are some wrong ways to go about doing this, so I congratulate you for researching this before trying.