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How to clean & prevent stickiness on hard plastic of mouse, in spite of no rubber coating

Product (originally available in white, now in blue only):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IX4GFMG/

Sharing original link so that one can see its construction & materials and lack of rubbery stuff to cause this.

Also, all it has done recently is sit idle on top of the top shelf (that got dusty) gathering dust, as I was using a trackpad. I was expecting dust to be easy to just wipe off with a dry & wet cloth (in spite of humidity) but was not expecting sticky grime on it that would not wipe off with moist cloth.

This is typical of tech items (as in linked threads) with rubbery surface or coating but this was a simple hard plastic, smooth surface.

How to clean this, and prevent future build up?

Attaching the current pics:

enter image description here

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  • Did you notice that the scroll wheel and bottom pads look totally unaffected? It might be that the kind of plastic used for the mouse shell is prone to this kind of issue.
    – Stan
    May 7, 2019 at 13:04
  • I just wiped it with some moist cloth so I’m not sure if that helped those parts you find as clean. But touching is more true than seeing.
    – Alex S
    May 7, 2019 at 13:06
  • I don't know if we need to touch it to understand. Your photos are pretty good at showing the nature of the problem though
    – Stan
    May 7, 2019 at 13:09
  • Does yours also come with a "smooth frosted surface" as advertised? Maybe that's a part of the puzzle.
    – Stan
    May 7, 2019 at 13:17
  • What happens if you use an abrasive (pencil eraser) on a small area like an edge or the bottom?
    – Stan
    May 7, 2019 at 13:20

4 Answers 4

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According to the information provided, it could be nothing more than simple 'grime' that has accumulated from a lot of handling over time.

Repair: use an aggressive household cleaning product for removing grime. You might find one while looking at all the products' labels in the supermarket. (avoid touching the optical sensor.)

Prevention: wash your hands frequently and work on a clean desk surface. Avoid using food and soft drinks near your work area.

Good Luck!

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  • No food or drinks were used with or near device. It was used briefly to test for travel and then went back to usual trackpad. So there’s no direct cause for it; plus unable to clean it with moist cloth- usual way. What aggressive product?
    – Alex S
    May 7, 2019 at 13:04
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I'm not sure how to clean them now, but to prevent future build-up simply keep them in sealed storage bags when not in use. I personally use "plastic zipper" bags (like Ziploc brand) all the time to keep items clean, dry, or fresh.

enter image description here

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  • 1
    I’ve had things turn sticky inspite of storing inside covers. Must be the humidity or something in the air + plastic degradation
    – Alex S
    May 10, 2019 at 2:34
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    @AlexS Interesting. The bag would keep off outside particles, but if the object inside (like the mouse) was degrading because of heat or humidity, the bag wouldn't help ... unless you add a desiccant packet into the bag to absorb the humidity. A paper towel in the bag might do the trick too!
    – BrettFromLA
    May 10, 2019 at 13:41
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For the cleaning part, I suggest you use some alcohol or lead (the pencil kind, but alcohol would be easier). You can easily search online for how exactly to do it.

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I would recommend using a mousepad. They go for about 12 USD and they are quite good looking.

mousepad

This would prevent the stickiness. To get it off, I would recommend using mineral oils and rub a rag on the sticky part.

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  • 1
    Doesn’t answer the cleaning / prevention requirement
    – Alex S
    May 10, 2019 at 2:32

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