Whether you’re a professional gamer, a hustling freelancer, or a running 9 to 5 office person, a mousepad helps you ease your work and finish tasks faster. Coming in many forms and materials, some mousepads even have a soft cushion to protect your wrist from soreness after a long day of work. Since it’s essential for your work, knowing how to clean a mousepad is vital to ensure its excellent condition.
Unfortunately, no matter how expensive your mousepad is, the material won’t stop them from getting dirty, especially after extended use. Sweats, snacks, and grease… all of them can ruin their longevity.
As clean wipes and water alone won’t be enough, here are things to note on cleaning a mousepad to keep it pristine as ever.
Why Do I Need to Clean My Mousepad?
You don’t have to spend a fortune to buy a mousepad–you can even buy a standard mousepad in dollar stores. Therefore, why bother to clean it when you can easily replace it? Here are some good reasons for knowing how to clean a mousepad.
Less Mousepad, Less Waste
We live in an era where everyone cares about their waste, especially plastic ones. Single-use plastic chokes our ocean, and replacing your mousepad often will harm our environment further. Therefore, cleaning your mousepad indicates that you’re mindful enough to know its negative impact and, in a small way, helps the world to be a cleaner, better place to live in.
Mousepad Can be an Investment
Sure, there are a lot of standard mousepads at a low price. However, it’s better to invest in an expensive one to ensure its quality and longevity. Moreover, you won’t let your mousepad gets dirty after spending a fortune on it, will you?
A Mousepad Shows How Far You’re Willing to Take Care of Yourself
Since we don’t like a dirty home, cleaning our dishes, clothes, and furniture has become a habit. A clean house shows that we live healthily and care about our well-being. Thus, why don’t we do the same thing with our mousepad? Those who work from home spend most of their time in their desks. Learning how to clean a mousepad makes your work easier and house cleaner.
Why Do I Need to Use a Mousepad?
Before going on to clean a mousepad… you might wonder about “why” you need it at all. There are some reasons why you should use a mousepad.
Protecting Your Wrist
Do you know that the use of the mouse can often hurt your wrist if not careful? Some mousepads are complemented with cushion or wrist protector to avoid any soreness.
Protecting the Desk
Daily use of the mouse can create scratches on the furniture, especially for the wooden ones. Additionally, if you’re using a mouse with a surface veneer, the sharp surface will more likely damage your desk. Thus, a mousepad can protect your office from scratches and eventual damage.
Protecting the Mouse
If you’re using a mousepad with roll-ball or glider, you may realise that constant motion on a rough surface can reduce its longevity. A mousepad helps the mouse to slide with ease and minimise damage to the sensor as well.
What Kind of Mousepad Do I Have?
Before going on to how to clean a mousepad, you need to know your mousepad material first. A wrong cleaning method will only make your task harder.
Hard Mousepads
Often cheaper than soft mousepads, hard mousepads are complemented with a rubber backing and a plastic cover. Compared with the soft ones, hard mousepads provide more precision and works best with an optical or laser mouse.
How to clean a mousepad with this kind of type? Good for you, the plastic surface makes it stain-proof and more comfortable to clean.
Soft Mousepads
Complemented with a soft, padded backing, soft mousepads are usually made of soft cloth with fabric as a cover. It’s best used with a mouse with a roller-ball beneath it, although roller-ball mouse can be used on the hard one as well.
Due to its material, soft mousepads are more likely to absorb stains no matter how fast you clean it. In cleaning soft mousepads, you can both use your hands or a washing machine.
How to Clean a Mousepad
After knowing the different kinds of mousepads, you know that each mousepad has the other cleaning method. If you’re wondering how to clean a mousepad, these steps will show you how.
Cleaning a Hard Mousepad
This kind of mousepad is the easiest to clean. If you accidentally spill something on it, wipe the mousepad with a damp wipe or a cloth, and you’ll get it pristine clean in no time. However, make sure to clean it thoroughly to avoid any stain.
To ensure its cleanliness, make sure to wash the cloth or wipe before using it. You can also use anti-bacterial sanitiser to keep it sterile. If you think that it’s filthy, you can wash it in the dishwasher with soap. Afterwards, please leave it to dry before using it.
You need to note that this kind of mousepad can’t go into a dishwasher or a washing machine. The chemical and wash cycle will ruin the original form and make it hard to lay flat.
Cleaning a Soft Mousepad
How to clean a mousepad with soft materials? Different from a hard mousepad, cleaning a soft mousepad takes more patience and time. Since it quickly absorbs the stain, you need to prevent the paint from soaking more in-depth into the fabric soon.
The easiest way to clean a soft mousepad is by soaking it in water and washing it with soap. As cold water doesn’t help the soap molecules to work and hot water will ruin the rubber, the best temperature for your hand and the mousepad is lukewarm. Afterwards, rub the mousepad with a sponge gently until it’s clean.
If there’s a particularly stubborn grease, take time by applying soap into the spots before soaking it in the water. Wait until four until five minutes and begin to rub the areas using your hand or soft sponge in a circular motion. Check whether it’s already clean or not; if not, redo the steps explained above.
For an optimal result, air dries the mousepad for 36 until 48 hours before using it. If you have a washing machine with a low or delicate setting, you can wash it there. However, make sure to wash it with a towel as a buffer to avoid breaking the mousepad.
Additionally, no matter how stubborn the dirt or grease is, never use a bleaching product to clean your mousepad. Not only that, it will ruin the texture of your mousepad, but bleaching will also leave white spots or stain on it.
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How Often Should I Clean My Mousepad?
First and foremost, you should clean your mousepad when it’s dirty. You wouldn’t want to place your hand on a house of germs and bacteria. However, you shouldn’t wash your mousepad too often, as well as it can ruin the material.
How often you should clean your mousepad heavily relies on your habit. However, the definition of “dirty” can differ from one person to another—and no two people have the same pattern.
Do you use your mousepad daily? Do you snack and drink on your working table? Or are you having flu and coughs often? These questions can be a determiner on how often you should wash it. If your desk is a food and drink-free zone, you might not have to wash your mousepad as often.
Human sheds an approximate of 0.03 to 0.09g each hour. When you’re someone who works on their desk and uses a mousepad daily, knowing how to clean a mousepad will save you from layers of human dust that may disturb your activity.
How to Keep My Mousepad Clean
Besides knowing how to clean a mousepad, another essential thing to note is keeping it clean and dust-free! Here are some methods you can apply to.
Using a Cleaning Putty
Have you ever heard of a cleaning putty? Often used for cleaning keyboards, this slimy, sticky gel substance can be used to clean your mousepad as well. The dust and crumbs in your mousepad stick on it, and you can wash it immediately afterwards. To make it better, cleaning putty is biodegradable and affordable.
Brushing It Often
Purchase a feather duster and put it just within reach of your desk. Whether it’s dust or crumbles of snack, make sure to clean it before and after using your computer. Spending several minutes on this task will help you in avoiding budding dirt on your mousepad.
Avoid Drinking and Eating Near Your Mousepad
If you always wonder how to clean a mousepad from snacks and drinks residue, maybe it’s time to stop eating and drinking altogether on your work desk.
An easy task for some and a hard one for others, not drinking and eating near your mousepad also helps your body adjust after a long day of sitting. If anything, sitting too long will only harm your body.
Knowing how to clean a mousepad is a skill that will help you in the long run. From identifying your mousepad type to various ways to keep it pristine clean, make sure to share these “how to clean a mousepad” all-in-one tips to your friends and families.
