Cleanliness is very important these days, and your mouse pad is a pretty big source of germs and bacteria. Your mouse pad stays under your hand all day as you slide your hand against it, inevitably leaving behind skin, sweat and other nasties. Here are some tips to make it nice and clean!
Washer
Most neoprene mouse pads are machine washable! If you have a washing machine, it's usually completely safe to throw your neoprene mouse pad in there with some laundry detergent to clean it. Once done, you can let it air dry. Avoid putting it in the dryer, as the high heat could damage it. This method works great if your mouse pad is sewn along the edges. If not, you may want a gentler method to make sure the fabric top doesn't start to separate from the rubber bottom.
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Hand washing
If your mouse pad is not sewn along the edges, the washing machine may be a little too rough. In this case, a short soak in a warm sink with a bit of laundry detergent, then a gentle scrubbing by hand with a soft brush to extract any dirt should do the trick. Once done, it's fine to let it air dry.
Avoid strong cleaners and solvents
You might be tempted to hit your mouse pad with some type of solvent or surface cleaner, like you would with older plastic-topped mouse pads or your desk. This practice is best avoided because the fabric top of mouse pads is usually glued in place, and strong cleaners and solvents can dissolve this glue and separate the two halves.
Cleaning your mouse pad is potentially more important than cleaning your mouse and keyboard. Neoprene and fabric retain dirt and germs much better than hard plastic surfaces. So if it's been a while since you bought that new mouse pad, it might be time to clean it up.
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