Since a computer's mouse is pretty much the most used peripheral, it's no wonder that it tends to get dirty. And by that we don't necessarily mean the upper surface (although that can get pretty messy as well), but rather its underside or its “feet”. These surfaces tend to get clogged with dust pretty fast, and although one might not really feel any difference during normal operation, the gaming-related performances will most likely record a more or less slight drop.

So, what are the most important steps you should carry out when cleaning your peripheral? Well, first of all, get all the necessary materials, namely two pieces of clean cloth (preferably lint-free), some alcohol and a a few cotton swabs. Moreover, you should also get your hands on an air bulb (like the ones used by photographers to clean their cameras) or a compressed-air can.

The first thing you'll have to do is clean the surface of the mouse. This should be a pretty easy task, since the surface is generally rather clean (unless you generally don't wash your hands before using it). So, all you'll actually have to do is simply get a little alcohol on one piece of cloth and gently rub the entire surface of the mouse. If you haven't managed to get all of the dirt (stains) out after the first attempt, keep going until you're completely done. Then, use the clean piece of cloth in order to make sure that no traces from the alcohol have remained on the mouse's body.

After you're done with the body, move on to the feet. Here, things will get a bit more complicated, since you'll have to be quite patient and thorough. So, you'll have to dip the cotton swabs in a little bit of alcohol, then firmly rub the surface of each foot and around it. In this way, you'll most likely get rid of that undesired (and rather ugly-looking, for that matter) dust pretty fast.

It's a better idea to leave the sensor for last, since it might get clogged with dust particles following the feet's cleaning process. However, since it's rather difficult to slip anything in that rather small opening (and doing so might actually harm the sensor), the best way to do it is to use either the air bulb or the compressed-air can in order to remove all the dust particles to be found there.

So, now that your peripheral is once again squeaky-clean, there's just one more thing to do: keep it that way.