Saved this mouse and other cleaning info from some site quite a while ago.
COMPUTER BASICS
Move Over, Rubber Ducky, It's the Mouse's
Turn
By KIM KOMANDO
Like anything that sits on your desk for a long time, your
Mac or PC will eventually get a little grimy. And that grime can
affect the performance and longevity of the machine.
For starters, you may notice that the mouse cursor doesn't
seem to move as smoothly as it once did across the screen.
The mouse is sensitive, and even the smallest piece of hair or
the tiniest bit of lint can make it impossible to use.
If you have never cleaned your mouse before, you will be
amazed at the amount of gunk that gets stuck to the little bars
that the ball rolls against.
To clean your mouse, pick it up and turn it over with the
mouse belly facing up. There's a plastic circle with a hole in the
middle of it. The mouse ball pokes through this hole. Next,
press with both thumbs lightly and rotate the plastic circle to
loosen the plastic circle.
Remove the collar and take out the ball and wash it with
lukewarm water. Caution: Don't use any cleaners because the
chemicals might damage the mouse. Let the ball air dry. While
this is happening, look in the cavity where the ball usually sits.
You'll see three tiny wheels called rollers. You should clean
them now too--in other words, scrape off the gunk using a
wooden toothpick. Don't use an eraser, pen or pencil, because
they can leave debris inside the mouse.
After you finish cleaning all three rollers, drop the dry ball
back into the mouse and turn the collar the opposite way from
before until it stops. That's it: Your mouse is clean again.
Special kits are available for cleaning the mouse, but most
people are content doing it the old-fashioned way as described
above.
The standard Microsoft-style mouse seems to be the worst
offender at sucking up dirt from the mouse pad. But the
Honeywell-style mouse never needs cleaning because it has
wheels that roll along a surface, and the interior of the mouse is
totally sealed from contamination. Mouse pads help prevent
dirt from getting inside the mouse. Choose one with a smooth
laminated top. Mouse pads with a fabric top tend to trap the
dust and the grime.
Keyboards get dirty real quick too. If your keyboard looks
like a mechanic has been using it, unplug it from your PC and
give it a cleaning. Use glass cleaner or warm water with a soft
cloth. Wet the cloth so it's damp, not soggy, then clean the
dirty areas. Try not to get any liquid directly on the keyboard
or underneath the keys. Let the keyboard completely dry
before plugging it back into your PC.
If the keys stick, repeat characters or don't depress
properly, unplug the keyboard and give it a good shake. Often,
the offending object will fall out from underneath the keys.
Otherwise, get a can of compressed air and blow out the junk.
You can gently pry the keys off and remove any items located
inside the key sockets.
Fingerprints and scratches can make your CD-ROMs
inoperable. Computer supply and stereo stores sell CD
cleaning kits for about $15. The kits include petroleum-based
products that clean and repair scratches on audio CDs and
often restore unreadable files on CD-ROMs.
Make sure the disc is completely dry before putting it back
in the CD-ROM drive.
If you have an ink-jet printer and notice lines or dots
missing from printed text or graphics, this is a sure sign that it's
time to clean the print cartridges. Most ink-jet printers allow
you to clean the cartridges with the printer setup software.
Don't clean the printer cartridges unnecessarily though, as this
wastes ink and shortens the cartridge life.
Look at the back of your PC and find the power supply.
(It's the part that looks like a fan.) If your power supply is
extremely dusty, unplug your PC and remove the computer's
case. Using a can of compressed air, make several short blasts
to blow the dust out.
Don't use the can like a blowtorch. As you clean off the
power supply, some dust will invariably get on the
components. Using short bursts of air, dust off the insides.
Most cans of compressed air come with a plastic straw you
can insert into the spray nozzle. Put this straw on the nozzle to
get into the nooks and crannies.
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