# How To Clean Mighty Mouse Track Ball??



## Deep Blue (Sep 16, 2005)

My track ball is sticky and refuses to work at times.

Anyone have any insights on how to maintain the Mighty Mouse trackball and, hopefully, crack open the mouse for cleaning purposes without breaking it??


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

Deep Blue said:


> My track ball is sticky and refuses to work at times.
> 
> Anyone have any insights on how to maintain the Mighty Mouse trackball and, hopefully, crack open the mouse for cleaning purposes without breaking it??


Google is your friend. Do a search on "cleaning mighty mouse" or similar - lots of hits.

The procedure I have successfully followed for a truly gummed-up mouse are well illustrated at:

Mighty Mouse Repair Guide - How to Clean Your Apple Mighty Mouse

Not for the all-thumbed or the faint of heart, but it works. Tiny, tiny pieces warning!


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## Deep Blue (Sep 16, 2005)

Many thanks - I suspected this may go beyond a moist Q-tip.


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## polywog (Aug 9, 2007)

Deep Blue said:


> Many thanks - I suspected this may go beyond a moist Q-tip.


I worked some rubbing alcohol in to the trackball assembly without opening it (just dab some on and roll the ball, repeat...) Then I flipped it upside down, and rubbed it like mad on my jeans for a couple of minutes, basically until the alcohol was either evaporated or drawn back out.

Worked like a charm. Before I did this, it wouldn't work at all...


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## sAFETY (Oct 6, 2007)

For a quick fix, just put a clean piece of paper on your desk, flip over the mouse and grind the gunk out of the roller vigorously. 

Seriously, this works. You'll see all the crap than gets caught in there transfered to the paper. You may need to do this every few days (or more), but it should work until you finally give up on the mouse.


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## the.joel (Oct 4, 2009)

sAFETY said:


> For a quick fix, just put a clean piece of paper on your desk, flip over the mouse and grind the gunk out of the roller vigorously.
> 
> Seriously, this works. You'll see all the crap than gets caught in there transfered to the paper. You may need to do this every few days (or more), but it should work until you finally give up on the mouse.


This was what cut it for me, thanks a million. Seriously, it's quick fixes like this that everyone needs; not stuff like "How to take you mouse apart like the Pros do it". Turns out a lot of crap collects on the trackball over the scrolls.


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## biovizier (Dec 21, 2005)

the.joel said:


> it's quick fixes like this that everyone needs; not stuff like "How to take you mouse apart like the Pros do it".


Perhaps...

But once you do take one apart and see for yourself what was jamming things up, you will realize ultimately how futile the quick fixes are. For example, the above paper procedure is described as being required "every few days (or more)". Can you afford to drop what you are doing every few days so you can clean your mouse?

Compare that to a 15 minute take-apart once a year that takes you back to a "good as new" condition.

I'm not kidding - given its design, that scrollball is destined to fail and you would be well advised to avoid wasting your time on stop-gap measures. I curse Apple for designing such a thing and gluing it shut, promoting a "disposeable" mentality.


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2009)

Best way to "clean" them is with a really big hammer, then sweep all the little bits of broken mouse into the trash and replace it with one that can be cleaned  Sorry, I know not helpful ... but had to be said. The Mighty Mouse is right up their with the Lisa in terms of great apple hardware.


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## IllusionX (Mar 10, 2009)

hehe, at one point, i finally decided to do it the hard way... and completely disassembled my mighty mouse for a total clean up. I took care to not break the assembly and glued everything back together.

the thing is.. you'll be surprised how much dirt was still caught inside after rolling it upside down and/or using alcohol. That ball attracts dirt like those ball mice back in the 90's

I've been using mine for almost 3 years already... i might be due for a new mouse soon.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

mguertin said:


> Best way to "clean" them is with a really big hammer, then sweep all the little bits of broken mouse into the trash and replace it with one that can be cleaned  Sorry, I know not helpful ... but had to be said. The Mighty Mouse is right up their with the Lisa in terms of great apple hardware.


+1

The MM is junk - invest $30 in a decent, well designed and usable mouse that will not drive you nuts.

Same with Apple's new keyboards - absolute, unusable rubbish that doesn't even have the quality of say, the chicklet keyboard that came with the PCjr...


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

I just flip it over, run it back and forth over my knee (with jeans on of course) real good, and it works great for a month or so until I have to do it again. Someone showed my that.

Takes 5 seconds, and is cheaper than using a hammer.


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## McAfee74 (Oct 4, 2009)

That paper trick is nifty but I just did away with my wireless mighty mouse (still have it as a backup). I prefer a nice bluetooth mini-microsoft mouse. I have to replace the batteries a little more frequently with the MS mouse but haven't had any scroll issues since. I keep one set in the mouse and one set on tap as a replacement.

And now when i reach the edge of my mouse pad I can hold the button down, lift my hand to the top of my mouse pad and continue scrolling. Can't do that with a Mighty Mouse!


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