I'm as stumped as you are on that one. Cleaning the ball and picking off the dust from the rollers never fixed anything, so we just used to buy 5-packs at once. The last batch of Microsoft ball mice we had in the late 90s thankfully lasted until opticals came along.

You're generally okay getting iso alc on electronics. Actually, that's what we used in order to clean circuit cards when making a component-level repair using a soldering iron (learned it this way as part of my Navy electronics training). Nice thing is that it evaporates pretty quickly so by the time you get the device back together it's already dry. If I had to pick which version to use, I'd go with 90+%, just to avoid whatever other stuff might be in there, such as water. The other stuff might be fine but if you have both readily available and the price is a wash, then go with the more-pure 90+% version.



If you often need to clean things with lots of nooks and crannies, or gotta do some rust removal, I can't speak highly enough about ultrasonic cleaners. A good small one (liter or so) will run you $100-150. The key is to get the proper cleaning fluids for the job you're doing.

When I read the thread title I thought you have problem with your real mice and I want to say "Boil it?"

But I just woke up so my brain is still scattered.

Sweet, now I just have to buy a mouse!

Fuckin' A!