I saw something some time ago that works for me. I take a thin piece of tape and run it under the ball. Then pull the tape back and forth. If it's bad, I do this a couple times. It works for me, and lasts a while.

Ya know, I've seen this and many swear by it, but I'll be danged if I can figure out the correct technique for successfully getting tape under that ball.

I use a variation on this tip by using a soft bristle toothbrush doused liberally with 90% alcohol, then air drying.

My favourite technique is going to the Apple store and asking for a new mouse. :)

Rub the little ball with a Q-tip doused in some kind of alcohol solution to get the large pieces and, I guess, to break down the fat that holds all this gunk together. Then, turn Mighty Mouse upside down and rub it with an anti-static dryer sheet.

Turning upside down makes a big difference. That advice is courtesy of AppleCare phone support.

isn't alcohol plus rubber a destructive thing?

besides the obvious jokes.

Wow, people still use trackballs? I went optical and I recommend it to everyone. No more cleaning hassles! I thought the mighty mouse was optical?

They're talking about the little tracking ball on TOP of the mouse used for scrolling in documents, not a ball used to track movement of the mouse.

All these hints do for me is reinforce the fact that the Mighty Mouse is a poorly designed rodent yet again from Apple. Besides some of the usage gripes I have about it (try keeping fingers touching both sides of the mouse and do a alternate click- betcha can't do it without lifting one of your fingers), the little scroll ball gets gunked up and stops working so frequently, I've written off the mighty mouse until Apple comes to their senses and designs something better.

Yes, some of us still use trackballs. In fact I use a Logitech Marble Mouse USB, and have for several years. And not only is it a wonderfully performing trackball, it's also optical.

They are talking about the ball ON TOP of the mouse

I've had very little trouble with the Mighty Mouse (I've got three). The one time I had a sticky ball, I had great success with getting a terry-cloth towel slightly damp with water (alcohol might be better, I don't know), putting it on my knee, turning the MM upside down and rubbing it on the towel with the ball being the main point of contact. Five seconds or so did the trick. I believe this is what Apple recommends, but they don't mention getting the towel wet. I feel that this not only aids cleaning the ball, but keeps any lint dust from getting into the mechanism

I agree. It amazes me that a company known for its incredible designs has failed so miserably with something basic like a mouse.

I can't think of a single Apple mouse that I've enjoyed using. Now, they've made some great keyboards in the past; I especially miss my Apple Extended ADB keyboard, and the keyboard on the Pismo I no longer own.

But I have nothing but bad memories of the classic Mac "square" mouse, their ergonomically painful later, rounder ADB mice, and the "hockey puck" that first shipped with the Bondi iMac.

While cool-looking, the original optical Pro Mouse was also ergonomically painful. I've only used other people's Mighty mice, but it seems like an updated version of the Pro Mouse, with finally more than one button. But even then, I believe the default on the Mighty Mouse's second button is a double-click, instead of the contextual menu, like you would expect. Easily fixed in the system pref pane, but come on Apple! Give us a real multi-button mouse that works like Windows and Linux switchers expect it too. Us long-time Mac users would like it too.

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If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. - Thomas Jefferson to Col. C. Yancey, 1816

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Just press hard on the ball, and roll it around a bit. Works nicely for me, requires no equipment, and takes almost no time. It's definitely the first thing you should try.

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Ian Eiloart

Instead of using Alcohol (that's for drinking I thought?) for cleaning any rubber part use a piece of adhesive tape and roll the mouses roller ball with slight pressure on it. It will take off most smear and debris. I also found this very useful with solid ink printers where taking off wax residue can be a real pain. Alcohol will not take off but rather spread things on rubber.

I think it's absolutely rediculous to have to resort to something like that for a freakin' mouse. I went through 2 Mighty Mice and I couldn't stand it. I went back to an HP with a scroll wheel and haven't had to clean it once in 6 months.

whaled upon it

I've had my share of problems with the 3 Mighty Mice I've had since they came out. I finally gave up on them altogether, but I did have some success in prolonging their lives by taking an eyedropper and putting a few teaspoons of methanol (wood alcohol; sold in auto parts stores as drygas or gas line antifreeze) into the mouse and then shaking it out and rubbing the roller ball on a clean towel. FWIW...

I've actually done something similar before!
I took a ziploc bag and poured about a 1/4 cup of alcohol in it and dumped the mouse in, give it a good shake/roll the ball, scratch at the gunky parts, and you're good after a few minutes-you can see all the crap floating around in the bag.

I once tried to use it too soon while it was sort of wet inside.. it freaked me out but now it works!

Hello, I found a very simple way to make my mighty mouse scroll ball run as smooth as a new one.

1. Use a piece of cloth soaked in alcohol to clean as much as you can.
2. Roll the mouse over a piece of glass for a minute or so.

Voila

Hope this helps

I have found that if you use a baby wet wipe placed flat on your desk, unplug the mouse, turn it over and run the ball back and forth over the wet wipe a bunch of times, your mouse ball gets super clean and works like NEW. Try it!!!!!!!!

I only had some Wet Ones around and this also works!

Reading these hints, I remembered a very easy to procure product. Just go to Radio Shack and pick up a can of Electronics Cleaner. It is an aerosol 5 oz. can of Isohexane, Carbon Dioxide and Ethanol. It dries very quickly. It is specially made for cleaning the gunk from electronics. Oldsters would call this TV Tuner Cleaner, recalling the days when television tuners were of metal discs on a shaft and needed dirt removed from the contacts. I squirted two shots of it into the roller ball and viola! it worked!

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"Experience is something you gain shortly after you need it"

What worked for me
1. moisten scroll ball against baby wipe
2. rub scroll ball against wet and dry sandpaper (the black sandpaper)

So i finally found the most amazing way to clean the mighty mouse scroll wheel...."Isopropyl Alcohol" and a lint free cloth.
All you need to do is put a small amount on the lint free cloth and turn the mouse upside down and while scrolling up and down with the cloth apply some pressure and alas, it cleans it so much better than pressurized air.
Apple support told me this method over the phone with technical support.

-Duff

The best solution I have found for cleaning the Mighty Mouse trackball is by putting a small amount of Windex on a paper towel and running the trackball around in the damp area for about 5 to 10 seconds. Works perfectly after this cleaning.