I know you use control pads, and I know damn well you never clean them. Nobody does. Which is disgusting, so Iâm here to try and convince you to change your disgusting ways.
If youâve been to a show like PAX or Gamescom, and played any games, youâll have noticed that booth workers are meticulous in wiping their controllers down between use. Itâs not just a courtesy; itâs a necessity. Control pads are things we rest our hands on for hours at a time, sometimes every day, sometimes every day for weeks.
So theyâre picking up all the crap that was on our hands. And whatâs worse, that crap is being ground into the controllerâs surface as we hold them. Whatâs worse than that is that weâre usually also a a little damp in the hands, turning that crap over time in a grimy brown sludge.
If you live alone, game alone and will be forever alone, thatâs not a problem. But if you plan on sharing a controller at all, whether in multiplayer or just with partners/friends (or if yoâre giving away/selling a console), you need to start doing the right thing and cleaning your pads.
This Howtu, then, is only partially about how to clean a controller. Itâs not rocket science, what weâre about to cover. Itâs mostly a reminder. To clean your controller.
There are a few ways you can go about this. Hot water and a cloth is the easiest and cheapest, while youâll see other people get extreme and start recommending things like rubbing alcohol and taking your controller apart.
Iâm going to recommend a nice, easy middle ground. Hereâs what youâll need.
Baby wipes
Q-tips/cotton buds
Toothpicks (maybe)
Now, you could just use a soft cloth instead of baby wipes, with warm water and a little soap. I prefer baby wipes though because theyâre a bit better at actually removing the grime you get on a pad, instead of just pushing it around.
As you can see, Iâll be using an Xbox 360 controller. And this one is perfect. I found it last week sitting on top of a bookshelf. It probably hasnât been used since at least 2009, and as you might be able to make out, the grime has discoloured, attracted dust, and formed a fuzzy layer over much of the pad. Time to get it clean.
1. Surface Scrub
The easiest part is scrubbing down the general surface area. JustâŠwipe the cloth/baby wipe over the controllerâs grips, rear, etc until the bulk of the pad is clean. Remember, I already told you, this isnât rocket science.
A 360 pad, like the one Iâm using here, needs a little extra work because of its textured pattern, which holds onto the grime a little more tightly. Dualshock controllers, with their glossy finish, are a lot easier to clean.
2. Seam Clean
Now to the stuff you might overlook on a superficial clean. Most control pads have a âseamâ, usually on the sides, where two pieces of plastic are joined. This is a filth trench. Get in there by either wrapping a wipe over your fingernails and scraping it clean, or, if you canât manage that, over a toothpick. Just make sure youâre actually getting the dirt out, and not just pushing it around.
3. The Grime Abyss
The triggers, bumpers and shoulder buttons are a black hole of sludge. You need to get right in there, which means this time, a toothpick is your best bet. If you can wrap it in a wipe and get it in there, good, if not, send it in naked. A scrape is better than no clean at all.
4. The Filthy Underbelly
Even those who take the time to clean their controllers usually forget to clean under the thumbsticks. Come on. You can do better than that. If you start a job, you have to see it through.
This is where the cotton buds come in. The ones Iâm using here are the best, because theyâre shaped exactly to fit. Just wrap them in a cloth/wipe, run them around and youâll see clean plastic where there probably hasnât been clean plastic since 2007.
5. The Rest
Xbox pads have lots of ingrained text (âBACKâ, âSTARTâ, etc). A hard scrub with a wipe should get most of the gunk out, while a toothpick should get the rest. Dualshocks donât have this problem, but donât forget to do the same around the charging port and inside the d-pad.
6. Youâre Done.
Not hard, was it? Probably took you 90 seconds, and now you have a controller that looks good as new. The hard part now wonât be cleaning it again, itâll be remembering to clean it again.
That or, next time, buying a black control pad.
