How To Clean your Mighty Mouse Scroll Ball

I love my Mighty Mouse. Like many others, my grubby hands eventually caused the scroll ball to stop scrolling in one or more directions. I tried the official Apple instructions to clean the ball, but it didn’t really work. Others have suggested compressed air and other tricks, but I didn’t have any luck with those, either.

I came across this solution out of frustration, nearly ready to give in and buy a new mouse.

WARNING: Follow these steps at your own risk. The mouse ball is a rubbery substance, and you might end up shredding it like an eraser.

  1. You will need a clean sheet of paper, along with a stack of paper or a full envelope.
  2. Place the clean sheet of paper on top of the other material on a table, so you have a slightly cushioned surface.
  3. Holding your unplugged mouse upside down, drag the ball along back and forth across the paper. I suggest working in a cross pattern (up and down, also left and right), and a circle pattern.
  4. You’ll see the gunk coming off the sensors onto the paper. I recommend avoiding to continue rolling the ball across anything that comes off onto the paper.
  5. When you’re done, be careful, that ball is probably HOT. Blow on it for a few seconds before trying out your newly cleaned mouse.
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