How to Clean a Mouse pad?

Cleaning a mouse pad depends on the surface and type of the pad. If the pad is made up of fabric, then probably you can clean it with the help of a moist cloth and a little amount of shampoo. Mouse pads which are made up of a hard plastic surface can be cleaned by spraying a mild household cleaner with a sponge or a piece of cloth to clean it.

The dirty mouse pad is such a bad looking thing to have it on your work desk or on the gaming desk. The dust on the mouse pad can create friction between mouse and mouse pad which can affect your gaming performance. To bring back the old efficiency on the mouse pad, you must clean the mouse pad thoroughly. It’s recommended to clean the mouse pad once in a month, which will result in proper functioning of your mouse. Higher DPI mouse needs a good and clean mouse pad to work efficiently.

In this article you will learn how to clean a mouse pad according to its different types.  Before getting into the cleaning of the mouse pad section, first we will understand the types of mouse pad. According to its type you can select the proper method to clean the mouse pad. 

Types of Mouse pads:

Before cleaning your mouse pad, you need to know about the materials used in the mouse pad. Most of the mouse pad these days are made of spongy foam, covered with a layer of fabric or plastic surface material. 

Each type of mouse pad needs a cleaning process, but in a different way. To prevent the damage of the mouse pad you need to first identify the best solution for cleaning it. 

Mouse pads are categorized in three types:

1) Ergonomic Mouse pads

2) Gaming Mouse pads

3) Textured Mouse pads 

Let’s know about these three categorize in brief:

1. Ergonomic Mouse pads:

Ergonomic Mouse pads are made up of several layers of padding to keep the wrist muscle in the right position. This mouse pad comes in different forms, but the only motive of Ergonomic Mouse pads is to give support to your wrist and it also ensures that your wrist remains parallel to the table surface.

This type of mouse pads helps to reduce the strain on your wrist muscles called wrist tendons. Ergonomic Mouse pads can reduce the strain injury inside the muscles.

2. Gaming Mouse pads:

Gaming Mouse pads are mostly made of plastic material. Gaming mouse pads usually have bigger working areas with better ergonomics. You can use a higher DPI mouse on these mouse pads easily. 

Gaming mouse pads are generally made of high endurance gaming, giving you the best sensitivity. These mouse pads generally come with a graphical design or an image on the surface of the pad. So, you need to clean this type of mouse pad properly to avoid the damage.

3. Textured Mouse Pads:

Textured Mouse Pads are generally made up of the layered fabric. Fabric layer increases the efficiency of the mouse, especially on smooth table surfaces. Mild cushioning on this type of mouse pad gives a great experience to the user. 

These mouse pads are also made up of a low density rubber composite like butadiene rubber. Fabric is pasted on the layer of this rubber to offer a great texture on the surface of the pad.  We have seen some of the textured mouse pads that were made up of wood, silicon rubber or leather.

So, these were the types of mouse pad that everyone uses in their day-to-day life.  Now let’s see how to clean these mouse pads without any damages on the surface and inside the gaming pad.

How to clean a Mouse Pad?

The methods written below are some solutions to clean a Mouse Pad thoroughly, without getting any damages. 

Now you have understood which type of Mouse Pad you are using. So, let’s get into the cleaning process.

Cleaning a Mouse Pad in a dishwasher:

It may sound stupid, but you can actually clean your mouse pad with the help of a dishwasher. You can simply place your Mouse Pad into the dishwasher and start the wash cycle. 

Avoid using hot water and powerful detergents to wash the mouse pad in the dishwasher. Before starting the wash cycle, make sure that you wrap the mouse pad in a small towel. Directly throwing the mouse pad into the dishwasher can damage it.

Washing Mouse pad in the Washing machine: 

Washing your mouse pad in the dishwasher is not a good idea. You can wash the mouse pad in the washing machine with ease. Just wrap the mouse pad in a cloth or towel and follow the steps written below:

After wrapping the dirty mouse pad in the towel, throw it inside the washing machine.

Add a little amount of soap or detergent and use cold water. Do not use hot water; it can damage inner foam or fabric.

Set the lowest time for the machine wash and start it. 

After the washing cycle is over, air dry the mousepad. Leave the mouse pad to dry for at least a day

This is the right way to wash the mouse pad in the washing machine. 

Soft cleaning:

This is the best way to clean your mouse pad. You can clean your mouse pad by giving a nice rub, using a soft towel. By using this way you can clean your mouse pads surface only. 

For deeper cleaning you need to use different techniques depending on your mouse pads. If there are visible strains inside in the inner layer of your mouse pad then you need to clean it more sophisticatedly. Below are some solutions to clean the mouse pad more thoroughly and sophisticatedly. 

 Cleaning a gaming mouse pad:

Gaming mouse pads often come with few RGB lights. You cannot give an electric mouse pad the machine wash. So, to clean this type of mouse pad you cannot wash using water directly as it can damage the electric components of the mouse pad easily.

So, to clean this type of Mouse pad thoroughly you need to use the multipurpose cleaner or multipurpose wipes to clean the mouse pad deeply. 

Just spray the multipurpose cleaner on a clean cloth and wipe it smoothly. You also clean the RGB lights from outside using this solution. After cleaning the mouse pad with the solution, let it dry for a few hours. Use this way to clean your dirty RGB mouse pads. After cleaning it you will definitely observe a change in the sensitivity of your mouse. 

If you don’t have a cleaner at home then mix the soap with the water and clean the mouse pad and RGB lights with the help of a sponge. After soaking the sponge in the soap water, wring the sponge thoroughly to drain the excess water. After the cleaning is done, wipe the mousepad with the help of a clean towel and let it dry for a few hours. 

Cleaning a textured mouse pads:

Textured mouse pads are usually made up of rubber. So, there is a special way to clean this type of mouse pads. Textured mouse pads feature a rubber base, attached with fabric at the top. This material, due to rubber, dries fast as it does not absorb water. 

Don’t try to use acetone and alcohol based cleaners to clean the rubberized mouse pads. These two cleaners can destroy the glue layer which is used to attach rubber base and fabric top. 

To clean rubber based mouse pads, use a mild cleanser. To clean this mouse pad with a mild cleanser, follow the steps written below:

Take a bowl with warm water; add a few drops of mild cleanser.

Stir until the solution sets uniform

Dip the sponge inside the solution and wring it well.

Clean the surface of the mouse pad and try to remove the maximum amount of dirt.

After cleaning thoroughly, clean the sponge and dip it in clean water. 

Clean the mouse pad again and let it dry for a few hours.

These are the perfect steps to clean a rubberized mouse pad. Avoid machine wash for the rubberized mouse pad as it can damage the fabric as well as the glue holding the rubber materials like neoprene or butadiene. To avoid any damage follow the steps written above.

If you don’t have a mild cleanser then you can also wipe the mouse pad using the wet sponge. 

How to clean a Cloth mouse pad?

Some of the fabric mouse pads are recommended to be washed using a washing machine. But we do not recommend you wash the mouse pad using a washing machine, it can damage your mouse pad.    

The proper way of cleaning the cloth or fibre based mouse pads is written below.

Fill a bowl with warm water and add a few drops of mild liquid soap.

Make the solution uniform by stirring the solution.

Using a soft bristle brush, rub on the top and bottom surface of the mousepad. 

Throw the dirty water and again add a little amount of fresh water in bowl. Clean the mouse pad again with the freshwater.

Let it dry in a shaded area. Do not expose the mouse pad directly to the sun as it can damage the fibre layer.

How to clean a mousepad with Wrist rest?

Some unique mouse pads come with the wrist rest. Most of the mouse pads with the wrist rest are mostly covered with a layer of microfiber.  

To clean such a type of unique mouse pads you need some equipment like hand soap, a towel and a microfiber cloth. To clean this type of microfiber based mouse pads, follow the steps written below.

Fill a bowl with lukewarm water

 Dip the mouse pad inside the water and place it on the towel.

Add hand soap in the water and stir the solution. 

Now dip the microfiber cloth inside the bowl and clean the mousepad using the microfiber cloth.

Dump out all the excess water with dirt and dip the mouse pad in freshwater.

Use the towel to soak the water from the top and bottom surface of the mouse pad and let it dry inside a room.

These were the few solutions to wash your mouse pads. Cleaning a mouse pad increases the smoothness of the mouse and you can also use the mouse effortlessly. Dirt that goes inside the mouse pad creates friction with the mouse and hence you will not improve the mouse performance up to the mark. We recommend you to wash your mouse pads once in a month, don’t go beyond that. If you are living in the area where the dust formation is low, then you can wash the mouse pad once every two months. Hope you liked our article on how to clean a mouse pad.