How to clean your mouse pad: Spruce up your gaming setup

A mouse pad, which you can cleanDexerto

Wondering how to clean a cloth or fabric mouse pad? Check out these simple steps that’ll leave your setup feeling fresh and clean, and ready to game just by following these instructions.

If you’re looking at how to clean your mouse pad, which can quickly gather spills or debris from snacks or food. Even dust can wreak havoc on clean, black mouse pads, but we’ve gathered our top tips for how you could potentially clean them.

It’s something that often goes overlooked because it’s not something that you’d usually associate with having to clean. But, with mousepads coming in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and materials, it can be difficult to really nail down how to clean your particular mousepad. But, we’ve got you covered right here.

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Over time the buildup of dust and dirt could impact the surface, which is something that you want to avoid, also it’s just plain more hygienic to regularly clean your mousepad, as you should any other surface in your home. It’s also a good way to protect your mouse and keyboard, and your entire gaming setup. Nothing beats a clean setup, literally, and figuratively.

How do you wash a mouse pad?

You can wash a mouse pad with warm water, isopropyl alcohol, a microfibre cloth, a soft cloth, a sponge, and some fabric detergent. However, depending on the type of mouse pad that you own, there are a few methods that you can undertake to clean it.

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How to clean a plastic mouse pad

How to clean a plastic mouse pad

A plastic mouse pad is simple to clean, compared to its cloth-based counterparts. All you need to do is get a soft, microfiber cloth to first give the surface a dusting, ensuring that there are no particles. Then, you’ll want to get a separate soft cloth, and lightly dab it with isopropyl alcohol. Then, rub any of the affected areas, and you’ll find that the stains and dirt will lift up with ease. This method can even remove sticky stains, and you should only use moderate force while you clean.

Isopropryl Alcohol will not affect any fancy RGB that you might have on your mouse pad, however, you should ensure that it’s disconnected from your system prior to cleaning it.

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How to clean a cloth mouse pad

A cloth mouse pad

Cleaning a cloth mouse pad is a little bit tougher than the plastic one, because you don’t want to disturb the fibers too much, or affect the surface negatively. Firstly, go over the surface with a microfiber cloth to pick up any wayward particles.

Once you’ve cleaned up any of the surface mess, we’d recommend that you fill up a bowl of warm, but not boiling water. From there, pick up a sponge, or another soft surface. Then, submerge the mousepad, and use a small amount of detergent. This can be just a few drops. Then, lightly scrub the surface.

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Be quite delicate with your scrubbing, and ensure that your mouse pad isn’t stretching, or getting warped in any way during the process. Once you’re satisfied with your job, take the mousepad out, and leave it to air dry.

Then, you will be able to place it back on your desk, all squeaky clean.

Why is my mouse pad not working?

Functionally, a mouse pad is just a surface that allows your mouse to glide along the surface with little trouble. However, if your mouse pad is not working as intended, it may be dirty, or the surface may be compromised through excessive dirt, an uneven surface, or frayed fabric. In some of those cases, you might just have to get yourself a brand-new one, so we’ve listed some of our picks below.

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