Patriot Viper's Guide to Cleaning Mousepads

Cleaning is an ever-important part of regular maintenance for any gamer's system after use over time. Dusting monitors, using microfiber cloths on screens, using pressurized air for keycaps, wiping down keyboards and mice and clearing desks are all essential parts of the upkeep process to keeping your system nice. Moreover, keeping systems clean is also crucial to ensure proper performance and avoiding peripheral damage or misuse. 

However, there is one key part of system cleanliness that's often overlooked and can affect your mouse's performance in particular: regularly cleaning your mousepad. 

In this article, we will discuss the issues with dirty and dusty mousepads, the importance of cleaning your mousepad often and how to clean different types of mousepads to extend their lifespan. 

 

The Importance of a Clean Mousepad

Beyond the general importance of keeping a tidy space for your system to stay in, mousepads are a big part of gaming that can be overlooked easily. As we've discussed in previous articles about picking the right mousepad, the mousepad you use can be a big boost to your mouse's performance. With this in mind, how clean or dirty a mousepad is can directly affect your mouse's performance and dampen the tracking and range of motion for your mouse. 

With softer mousepads, use can create a lot of buildup from being closely associated with your hands and skins. Over time, it is common for hair follicles, dead skin cells, dust, dirt and overall grime to accumulate onto your gaming surface and mousepad. When there is debris buildup on your mousepad, one issue it causes is too much friction that can restrict mouse movement. It can also cause mouse sensor issues and latency problems if there is debris that gets in the way. As a result, both of these issues can affect both the short and long-term abilities of your mouse and dampen your overall performance. 

 

How to Clean my Soft Mousepad

Most gamers will use a softer mousepad made from a material like rubber or neoprene, such as our Viper Large Mousepad or our Viper Supersize Mousepad. Regardless of size, softer mousepads are a bigger victim of debris buildup over time than harder mousepads and experience the aforementioned issues from this. In order to fix this, we'll walk you through the best ways to clean your mousepad. 

 What to use

-Mild dish soap 

-Sponge 

-Bowl of lukewarm to warm water, sink or bathtub

-1-2 dry bath towels 

Steps for cleaning my soft mousepad 

1. Fill your bowl with lukewarm or warm water and let soak for 3-5 minutes. This can also be done in a bathtub, sink or any wider basin area with room for your mousepad. (Do note that very hot water could potentially crack or damage your mousepad if it has a graphic on its surface, so warm water will be best suited for this process.)

2. Add soap onto your mousepad. Once applied, use only the soft side of a sponge and gently rub the soap into the mousepad while still submerged in water. 

3. Once clean, gently rinse off the mousepad to remove all soap residue by running water via your sink/bathtub/shower. 

4. When all soap residue is removed, lay down one towel, put your mousepad on it and pat your mousepad dry with the other towel until the surface feels drier. 

5. After patting it dry, hang your mousepad up somewhere safe and away from the Sun, such as on a shower rod, and let it air dry. 

6. Check on your mousepad every few hours until it is dry. Once dry, your mousepad is ready for gaming again!

 

How to Clean my Hard Mousepad

Some gamers prefer to use a harder mousepad made from materials like glass, metal or a common hard plastic, such as our Viper RGB Mousepad, and that's perfectly alright. Despite the fact that harder mousepad users won't have the exact same issues with buildup, the same latency and movement issues can persist with dust and other debris. These users will undergo a different process to properly clean their mousepads than softer mousepads. 

What to use 

-Mild liquid dish soap

-1-2 soft microfiber cloth(s)

-Warm water 

-Paper towels (or towel)

Steps to clean your hard mousepad

1. If your hard mousepad is able to be plugged in, unplug it to avoid any contact with water and place it on an open surface away from your system and other electronics. 

2. Put a small amount of mild liquid dish soap in a bowl and mix with warm water.

3. Submerge your microfiber cloth into the soapy water and wring it out to avoid excess water. Once damp and soapy, thoroughly wipe down the mousepad while avoiding any outlets where it can be plugged in. 

4. Once it is cleaned, rinse off your microfiber cloth and remove any soap residue. Once fully wet and wrung out, wipe down the mousepad again to remove any soap and repeat until all soap and dirt is removed. 

5. Once done, move your mousepad to a flat surface with a towel or paper towels resting under it to let dry for a few hours. 

6. After a few hours or air drying, you can use a second dry microfiber cloth to wipe off any remaining water or to check if fully dry.

7. Once dry, your mousepad is ready for gaming again!

How often should I clean my mousepad?

We recommend a full clean every few months or about 3-4 times a year, along with regularly wiping it down every so often when necessary. Additionally, with any spillage or stains, it's important to clean your mousepad immediately to avoid permanent stain or damage. 

Overall, cleaning your mousepad is maintenance that can be just as important as cleaning the other parts of your system to ensure you get the most out of a gaming experience every time. With Patriot Viper's mousepads, you can guarantee a long life, an easy clean and a great gaming experience. Check our variety of hard and soft mousepads today!

 

Viper RGB Mousepad (Hard)
Viper Oversized Rollout Mousepad (Soft)
Viper Large Mousepad (Soft)