How to Keep Your Mac Keyboard and Mouse Clean

The day you unpacked and started working with your new Mac marked the day your Mac's keyboard and mouse or trackpad were working at their best. From that day forward, little bits of grime, dust, and dirt have been building up on these often-used peripherals. The buildup of gunk slowly causes your mouse to feel less responsive and may even cause your keyboard to miss a key click or two now and then.

It's relatively easy to restore a keyboard and mouse to like-new condition. All that's needed is a bit of cleaning and attention.

Start by turning off your Mac and unplugging the mouse, trackpad, and keyboard if they are wired peripherals. If your keyboard, mouse, or trackpad is battery powered, remove the batteries.

Have the following items on hand:

• Microfiber cloth
• Can of pressurized air with nozzle straw
• Clean water. It doesn't need to be purified or distilled.
• Cotton swabs or similar cleaning products
• Toothpicks or similar items

No matter what type of mouse you use, the body is cleaned in a similar manner to remove any oils, such as fingerprints.

Some mouse types require additional attention.

If you use an Apple Mighty Mouse, the scroll ball also needs to be cleaned. Slightly dampen the microfiber cloth and roll the scroll ball against the cloth. You can also use a cotton swab to clean the scroll ball.

When the scroll ball is clean, use the can of pressurized air to blow out dust and dirt from inside the well where the scroll ball sits. The air also dries the scroll ball after you clean it.

If you have an Apple Magic Mouse, cleaning is vastly simplified. After you clean the touch surface with a wet or dry microfiber cloth, run the microfiber cloth along the two guide rails on the bottom of the Magic Mouse.

If your Magic Mouse seems to have tracking errors, that is, the mouse pointer stalls or jumps about, use the can of pressurized air to clean around the tracking sensor on the bottom of the Magic Mouse.

If you use a third-party mouse, follow the manufacturer's suggested cleaning instructions and clean your mouse. In general, use a microfiber cloth to clean the exterior of the mouse. If the mouse has a scroll wheel, you may find that it routinely becomes clogged with gunk. Use cotton swabs to clean the scroll wheel and the can of pressurized air to clean around the scroll wheel.

In the worst cases, you may need to open the mouse to access the optical sensor in the scroll wheel system. Not all mice are opened up easily, and some are difficult to put back together once they are opened. Don't perform mouse surgery unless you already have a replacement mouse available and don't mind looking for that little spring that sailed across the room.

If you use a trackpad rather than a mouse, you'll find they are even easier to clean:

To clean a Mac keyboard:

Keyboards and liquids don't get along. If you spill water or liquid on a keyboard, turn it off or unplug it immediately. Wipe off any visible liquid and flip it upside down to drain on a soft cloth for at least 24 hours before attempting to use it. You may or may not need a new keyboard.

If the spill is on a laptop keyboard, turn off the laptop immediately and take the computer to an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider for repair. The entire computer is at risk.

When your MacBook or MacBook Pro keyboard has an unresponsive key or one that sticks when you press it, bring out the compressed air with the straw attached to its nozzle for precision control.

This process works on any external keyboard as well.