How to clean an optical mouse?

[ms5555]

I have a razer naga mouse and love it's features, but lately it's had poor responsiveness and sometimes won't move laterally at all until I move it in circles a couple times. I have a pretty dusty house with 2 dogs, so I'm thinking maybe it's dirty. How should I go about cleaning it? Any suggestions for cleaning the mouse pad? I have the exact mat pad so it seems like water would be fine on it if it was fully dried before using again.

 

[1haplo]

I clean mine with a Q tip. I just stick it in the laser lens and twist, I do not use any cleaner. It has worked for me for years,

The sad part is I will go get a cheap mouse pad before I think about cleaning it...