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

Cleaning your mouse pad is a simple but important task for maintaining a clean and hygienic gaming setup. Here are some easy steps to help you achieve a fresh and spotless surface.

A mouse pad is one of your desk‘s most underrated yet essential accessory. Not only does it help enhance the aesthetics of your workspace, but it also ensures that your mouse operates smoothly.

Given its permanent position on your desk, the mouse pad will likely accumulate stains from food, drinks, or other accidents. Cleaning it is hygienic and crucial for preventing dirt buildup that could damage your gaming mouse or keyboard.

Moreover, it’s no secret that a malfunctioning mouse can negatively impact your gaming experience. So instead of neglecting your mouse pad, try some quick tips to restore it to pristine condition.

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.

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.

How to clean 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.

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.

• Razer Strider Hybrid Gaming Mouse Pad (XXL) – Best Buy
• Razer Firefly V2 Hard Surface Mouse Pad – Best Buy
• SteelSeries QcK Prism Cloth RGB Mouse Pad – Best Buy
• Corsair MM200-M Mouse Pad – Best Buy

Also, here is a list of some of the best guides to help improve your gaming experience.

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