Q: How to clean an (old, weary) mouse

You have to clean the rollers inside the mouse also. They tend to pick up a lot of dust and lint. Don't use alcohol. Follow these procedures: Cleaning your Apple products - Peripherals.

The movie link no longer works so try this one: https://km.support.apple.com/library/APPLE/APPLECARE_ALLGEOS/HT3226/HT326.mov

For more of an extreme, you could try the methods suggested on the following page:

• Mighty Mouse - gutting and cleaning: (for both USB and wireless, if you dare)

http://creativebits.org/toolbox/mighty_mouse_gutting_and_cleaning

Sounds almost like a course in taxidermy; the comment section covers other ideas

and it's best if you do not take the unit apart. My USB wired Mighty Mouse (or Apple

USB rollerball mouse) was an easy clean - however be sure to keep the keys on the

keyboard clean too, or any contamination will simply transfer back to the roller ball.

I use vinegar-based window cleaner; works OK on other surfaces too, if in moderation.

Try paper towel, a dampened area, then roll it in all possible directions and then back

over a dry area. I seldom unplug mine from the Mini, & do not shut the Mac off either.

...Also try a different finger on the roller ball. You may want to sandpaper your finger...!

My mouse was acquired second-hand and cost me 50¢ from a thrift store bin; it's an

official Apple mouse. I cleaned it up before trying it, this was after buying a newer Mac

with much later OS X than I'd been using; a scroll-wheel mouse is a near necessity in

the later OS X versions. I went from 10.5.8 to 10.9.5; and the first day, I had to buy a

'mouse-in-a-box' for $12. at a grocery store ~ or take the computer to an Apple Store or

the FedEx drop off, to return it, within days after buying it; the grocery was closer. The

Mac I bought did not ship with the OS X version I'd hoped; it was an online Apple Store

clearance model, and could've had any one of four versions OS X included.

{There used to be an even better web page (third-party) that had well-defined methods

of cleaning the mouse without take-apart, but the site is no longer hosted online.}

So the $12. 'mouse-in-a-box' is in use on my older G4 Mini (late 2005) since I'd been

using the original single button mouse, and have several spare keyboards + mice on

hand of that vintage. Figured it was handy to use the extra buttons in a newer mouse

instead of the contextual menu via keyboard. Actually the Mighty Mouse roller ball is

a bit small, though convenient for multiple direction scrolling; until it needs re-cleaned.

You can get a good condition as-new or slightly used looking pre-owned 'mighty-mouse'

from source online such as OWC macsales.com at discount, if you need a working spare.

Bluetooth example: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/MA272LLAC/ twentyfive dollars

USB example: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/MA086LLAC/ for nine dollars

In any event...

Good luck & happy computing!

Time to invest in a more modern device.

Buying a used Mighty Mouse is another option to consider. You can almost certainly find one in good condition for 50¢ as K Shaffer suggested, considering I have tried, and failed, to sell them at any price.

There are some inexpensive options, with exception of delivery charges from online

sources such as OWC, a new macally three button USB optical mouse under nine $.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Macally/ICEMOUSE2/

The site has special deals items in the expanded view (all items shown) page; if you

need a bluetooth mouse compatible with the computer's built-in BT, then be sure if

you get one it really is; not just one with some tiny module that is required for it to

work. I see those peripherals at second hand stores with the USB receiver part gone.

So you cannot buy just that tiny plug with transceiver, & mouse is useless. I have one.

I kinda like the Kensington wired USB mouse in a box that retailed for about $12. &

that kind of item should be available for less, as they're not premium; good for use

with a used computer or a kids computer where BT is a headache with batteries.

BTW: my newest Apple portable is a first-edition MacBook 13-inch 1.83GHz coreduo

with 7200-RPM HDD upgrade, and as much RAM as it can handle. It needs 10.6.8.

My oldest Apple portable is an as-new iBook G4 (last model) 12-inch 1.33GHz with

RAM upgrade; it needs a new battery, such as OWC still sells. And a PowerBook G4

someone gave to me along with two other Macs I repaired, it needs repairs outside

of my comfort and affordability zone; I did troubleshoot it & asked wegenermedia.com

about restoring it, since that model is aluminum; but not worth a whole bunch. So I

know about upgrades. Some still prefer old models with optical drive & OS X DVD.

Good luck in whichever way you need to go in this matter...!