# Mouse scrolling slowly. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 27, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mouse-scrolling-slowly/847031 "2020-01-27T00:53:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mouse-scrolling-slowly/847031/1 "2020-01-27T00:53:32Z")
Occasionally, my computer mouse will scroll very slowly. When I open it up and take out the dirt, it goes back to working fine. Is my mouse just dirty, or is there something else wrong with it? I ask because the wheel isn’t dirty, so why would the mouse scroll slowly? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mouse-scrolling-slowly/847031/2 "2020-01-27T00:57:27Z")
Is it a mechanical mouse or an optical mouse? A mechanical mouse works by the ball turning a couple of rollers inside the mouse. The rollers are pressed against the ball and turn when the ball turns. If there’s dirt in there it can cause the rollers to slip against the ball, and they won’t register the full movement of the mouse. ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mouse-scrolling-slowly/847031/3 "2020-01-27T01:00:43Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Is it a mechanical mouse or an optical mouse? A mechanical mouse works by the ball turning a couple of rollers inside the mouse. The rollers are pressed against the ball and turn when the ball turns. If there’s dirt in there it can cause the rollers to slip against the ball, and they won’t register the full movement of the mouse. Optical. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mouse-scrolling-slowly/847031/4 "2020-01-27T01:08:48Z")
A mechanical mouse can act like a miniature vacuum sweeper. The internal mechanism needs to be kept very clean (use a Q-Tip+alcohol and dry it after cleaning). You might like to get an optical, wireless mouse. [Monoprice](https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=15909) has them for $10 plus shipping. There are only two drawbacks to these: (1) You need to change the battery(ies) occasionally, and (2) they won’t work on a glass-topped table without a mouse pad. Minor drawbacks, methinks. Late edit: You do know that there is a way to control the mouse movement speed in the OS, right? In Windows, it’s in the Control Panel. Could that be your problem? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mouse-scrolling-slowly/847031/5 "2020-01-27T01:46:05Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > Is my mouse just dirty, or is there something else wrong with it? I ask because the wheel isn’t dirty, so why would the mouse scroll slowly? Ok, now I’m confused. What do you mean by the “wheel”? Do you mean the scroll wheel on top of the mouse? An optical mice does not have a ball underneath so I presume you didn’t mean to refer to a ball as the “wheel”. And I’m a little unclear about what you mean by “open it up and take out the dirt” which isn’t usually necessary for an optical mouse. What is the model number of your mouse? ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mouse-scrolling-slowly/847031/6 "2020-01-27T02:05:35Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Ok, now I’m confused. What do you mean by the “wheel”? Do you mean the scroll wheel on top of the mouse? An optical mice does not have a ball underneath so I presume you didn’t mean to refer to a ball as the “wheel”. And I’m a little unclear about what you mean by “open it up and take out the dirt” which isn’t usually necessary for an optical mouse. What is the model number of your mouse? I mean the scroll wheel on top of the mouse. By “open up”, I mean lift the buttons, turn the mouse upside down, and get the dirt out. I use a Microsoft 3500.