Fixing a sticky wheel on my mouse

Boot2TheHead

OK, mice are cheap but I'm cheaper! I have a MS optical wireless mouse that I spent about $30 on a few years ago. Great mouse. Except the wheel is really sticky sometimes. It requires enough pressure to roll it that it frequently turns into a "click". I've tried 3-in-1 oil, white lithium grease, WD40, and isop alcohol (to clean up all the other crap that I put in there!) and none have helped for longer than a day.

Anyone ever taken one of these things apart? Not the mouse so much as the little wheelie thingamabob. It's one of those that scrolls side to side too. I'm sure that there's just something in there gunking up the works.

EggyToast

I'm sure it's just gunk, but you've got a two-fold problem. Mice aren't made to last forever, and gunk naturally accumulates on any frequently touched part, especially moving parts. And those moving parts are made with plastic, which will wear out when gunk increases the friction.

Not to mention wear & tear from just general use.

Are they still $30 on eBay? I'd imagine they're a lot cheaper by now. Your mouse is probably just old, and those other things aren't cleaning it so much as they're lubricating the wheel. Which is why it goes away after a day.

Boot2TheHead

And it's fixed. I took apart the whole thing, including the wheel. Turns out the rubbery piece that covered the wheel had somehow gotten just a little too large and was rubbing against all sorts of things in there. So, removed rubber thingy and mouse is fixed. Well mostly. I was in a hurry when I put it back together so now the side-side isn't working. Just didn't line things up quite right. No big, since I don't remember ever using that.