How to Fix Everything For Dummies
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Your PCs mouse and keyboard get grimy — fast — because your keyboard and mouse are continually in use, and they get pawed by human hands. Never fear. You can keep your mouse and keyboard clean and working:

  • Buy an optical mouse or trackball. An optical mouse or a trackball doesn’t need to be cleaned anywhere near as often (if ever) as an old-style mouse with a ball.

  • Give your mouse a monthly cleaning. If you’re still using an old-style mouse with a ball — how very 1980s — clean it once a month. Unscrew the retaining ring on the bottom, remove the mouse ball, and use a cotton-tipped swab dipped in tape-cleaning alcohol (which is 90+ proof and leaves no residue) to clean the rollers inside.

  • Do the keyboard shake! No, it’s not a new dance craze, but it is the best method of cleaning accumulated gunk from your keyboard. Turn your keyboard upside down and shake it vigorously back and forth; prepare to be amazed (or grossed out, especially if the whole family uses your PC).

    Do the keyboard shake at least once a month.

  • Blow out your keyboard dirt. Your keyboard can collect debris that can’t be shaken free. If so, using compressed air will likely blow it free.

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