How to clean a mouse pad without damaging it

Rigid mats

Cleaning a rigid mat does not have much mystery, since they do not have material that absorbs dirt and just rub it with a wet cloth of soap and water to leave it as new, as long as we do it with some regularity so that this dirt does not end up embedded.

How to clean a cloth mat

Cloth mats, on the other hand, are more complicated to clean since they have a microfiber surface on which dirt is deposited (environmental dust, hand sweat, dirt that remains on the mouse's legs and which ends up embedding, etc.). In addition, we must take special care when cleaning them since that surface fabric layer could end up peeling of the base, making the mat practically unused.

To clean it properly, the best method (or at least the least harmful) is to use a sofa upholstery cleaner It can be bought in many stores and hardware stores. It is a fairly cheap product and it will last us for quite some time, so it is worth the investment. In addition, there are those that already come with a built-in brush, so better than better.

With the mat extended on a table or flat surface, we simply apply the product and rubbing gently with the brush (If you have not bought the product that we recommend but another one that does not have a brush, you can use a clothes or shoes brush without problem).

Rub gently and if possible in circles until the white foam that creates the cleaning product disappears. The mat will be wet, so it is recommended leave it lying for 24 hours to dry completely before using it again.

Clean a very dirty mat

Let's put ourselves in an extreme assumption: we have been using the mat for years and we have never cleaned it. Or, perhaps, we have simply spilled a soda on it and it has been completely impregnated. In that case we must go to a slightly more radical method to clean it, a method that is not recommended for regular maintenance of the mat because it can damage it, but in cases like this it is to do this, or throw it away.

The method goes through the product to clean upholstery again, but in this case what we will do is extend a layer of foam over the entire surface of the mat making sure that it has soaked well (that is, instead of throwing a little product, we take a lot more).

Once this is done, we put the mat in the washing machine, without detergent or softener, and we program a quick wash (20-30 minutes) with cold water, with temperature never higher than 30 degrees because if we do it with hot water or with detergent it is when the fabric could take off from the rubber of the base. Once the washing machine is finished, we will also have to lay the mat for about 24 hours to dry completely. It is important, of course, to do this quickly, before the soda has dried if this is the case, since otherwise the foam rubber inside the mat could absorb the liquid forever and, even if it was clean, they would stay traces of smell

It goes without saying that this method of washing machine is not recommended except in extreme cases.