The best way to clean your mousepad

A mousepad or a desk mat can get dirty over time because of sweat, oils, dirt, hair, pet hairs, etc. A dirty mousepad completely ruins the work desk aesthetics and doesn’t exactly invoke the feeling of “cosy”.

It’s a huge hassle to clean your mousepad regularly once every week but you can do it once a month or two depending on how quickly your desk accumulates dirt. The trick is simple and applies to every mousepad or even desk mat except for the ones with RGB.

Things you need for cleaning your mousepad

• Mild soap/detergent
• Scrubber
• Dry Cloth
• Water

Firstly, check if your mousepad is washable. Most of the mousepads are washable but the ones that are not stitched can get damaged while washing. If your mousepad is neatly stitched on the edges, you won’t have any problems.

Second thing, check if your mousepad is machine washable. There are few brands which make mousepads that are machine-washable. In such cases, you can toss your mousepad into the washing machine and you are done.

Although the recommended method is to wash it with your hands. Follow these steps to make your mousepad squeaky clean.

Step 1: Clean the dry dirt off.

Before getting any water activities, make sure to get all the dry dirt off by cleaning with a cloth or patting it with a dry cloth. This will remove any dry dust or cat hairs off your mousepad

Step 2: Rinse it in water

Put your mousepad in water and rinse it thoroughly. Your mousepad will most probably absorb some water if it is made of cloth. Just to be safe, use cold water because hot water may damage stitches on some mousepads.

Step 3: Soapy soapy

Use bath soap or a mild detergent to rub your mousepad. Use your hands to wash the mousepad thoroughly and try to froth it. You probably won’t be able to produce much froth and that’s okay.

Step 4: Scrub it

Use a nice scrub which is not too harsh or has hard bristles. Scrub your mousepad thoroughly. Put some detergent is needed and give it nice scrubbing. Rinse it and repeat the soap-scrubbing process once more.

Step 5: Rinse it

Wash away all the soap and froth and keep it soaked in water for a few minutes.

Step 6: Dry it

You can use a dry towel to dry the water or keep it in the open to let it dry naturally. If your mousepad has a colour other than white, it is wise not to keep it directly under the harsh sun. It will make the colour fade away.

A word of advice from my own experience. DO NOT USE THE MOUSEPAD UNLESS IT IS COMPLETELY DRY. I made the mistake of using it before it had dried completely thinking that it will dry on my desk.

Big mistake! The rubber behind kind of collected all the water and it became all sticky and started to smell. 

Well, there you go! Your mousepad is squeaky clean. This method is the safest one and works for all the mousepads or even desk mats. Except for the RGB ones. RGB mousepad owners, good luck cleaning your mousepad.