Question Safest way to remove dirt and brighten white mousepad?

[viivo]

I've been wanting to use my Novelkeys "Camping" mouse/deskmat again but the right side is noticeably darker than the rest due to it being used by a filthy person. It's very depressing to look at. Is there a way to restore it to a uniform color without bleach?

 

[HutchinsonJC]

Use a white wash cloth and some distilled water and scrub away. The distilled water should help pull dirt, salt, etc out of mouse pad while simultaneously not leaving a crusty dried feel to it because of mineral deposits in a harder water (sink water - calcium). You could use a bit of Dawn or preferred dish washing soap to help get oils out, too.

Beyond that, you could use a bit of hydrogen peroxide (brown bottle - store bought) and scrub for a couple minutes with the white wash cloth, and then rinse with the distilled water. Brown bottle peroxide isn't going to be strong enough to be harmful to the mouse pad's cloth/rubber backing or your hands, really (unless you have an open wound - that might sting a bit).

 

[VirtualLarry]

Shrug. I just buy new $10 on-sale "gaming" mouse pad, from Kingston, Corsair, Patriot, etc., some gaming company that sells small-med cloth pads for gaming optical mice without charging an arm and a leg (over $10 for small, or over $20 for med-large).

I also peruse Newegg fairly often, and if I spot one on sale, I grab two or three.

Not that I don't advocate cleaning off your mouse pad when it gets dirty, I do that too. I run it under water, apply a little dish soap (Dawn?), and wash and then rinse it for a while, then put it as flat as I can, into the drying rack, and leave it for a day or two.

I just mean, replace it when it gets REALLY frayed or crufty.

 

[mindless1]

Heh, "filthy person". Anybody's going to get a white mouse pad dirty over time even if it's just dust that falls and sticks to a normal level of skin oil or perspiration.

If scrubbing alone won't get it clean then you might try oxygen, like oxyclean, a whitening laundry detergent, or mixing hydrogen peroxide with dish detergent to scrub it with an extra soft toothbrush. Don't go light on the detergent because that skin oil may take a lot to cut through if it's been a long period of use.

However if you just want a uniform color, how about fabric dying it darker?

At least it's not anti-static. I have a big anti-static pad that I used to use as a mouse pad but the embedded copper mesh started turning green. That does not wash off, an attempt I made to clean it just brought more of the green to the surface.