[gringoenterprises]

Mine is soaking right now. Although I put the whole trackball assembly in the bath. The parts looked too tiny to risk losing any of them in my opinion. I hope I don't mess anything up. I will let you know how it goes. It was nasty, I work in a print shop and sometimes get grease or ink on my trackball.

[Thatzmister2u]

Gringo,

What say you????!

[gringoenterprises]

It did clean it up. It works alot smoother now although it doesn't seem much whiter.

[Thatzmister2u]

Grrrr! Thanks! I think I am going to just purchase a new one. I am tired of how nasty this thing looks. Maybe I will do some testing on my old one and see if I can find something that will work.

[zero7404]

ok...so now with my replacement pearl (and my other one that's now in the Buy Sell Trade area). I'd like to clean my trackball regularly with a swab (so that i don't have to disassemble my device)....

does anyone know of a solution that works to whiten the trackball when using a q-tip or something ? there has to be something out there. if i can keep it clean every 2 days, then i don't need to worry about dirt getting on the rollers.

[SanFrancisco]

Originally Posted by sakman74

ok...so now with my replacement pearl (and my other one that's now in the Buy Sell Trade area). I'd like to clean my trackball regularly with a swab (so that i don't have to disassemble my device)....

does anyone know of a solution that works to whiten the trackball when using a q-tip or something ? there has to be something out there. if i can keep it clean every 2 days, then i don't need to worry about dirt getting on the rollers.

Well what I do is two things:

1. I try to keep it clean. What this means is that I am always washing my hands [which I have done all the time, before I got the Pearl]. But the main thing I do is that if my fingers are dirty, I don't use the Pearl. And I especially try not to use the trackball if my fingers are dirty.

It's really easy to soil the trackball if you use it while munching on greasy foods, make phone calls while working on the car, or other dirty environments/tasks.

I am so cautious that if a call comes in when my fingers are dirty I use something to act as a shield between my finger and the trackball [I answer the phone by pressing the trackball].

2. I clean my trackball about three times a week by holding the trackball with a fingernail and scrubbing the exposed part of the trackball with denatured alcohol and a low lint paper towel. I rotate the ball round and round, holding it in place with a fingernail, scrub, rotate and scrub until the entire trackball is clean.

In my trackball disassembly thread you can see how my trackball looked after about 8 months use. [see pic below] Pretty clean compared to many that I have seen.

That's how I handle it.

[buggle_96]

Originally Posted by SanFrancisco

Well what I do is two things:

1. I try to keep it clean. What this means is that I am always washing my hands [which I have done all the time, before I got the Pearl]. But the main thing I do is that if my fingers are dirty, I don't use the Pearl. And I especially try not to use the trackball if my fingers are dirty.

It's really easy to soil the trackball if you use it while munching on greasy foods, make phone calls while working on the car, or other dirty environments/tasks.

I am so cautious that if a call comes in when my fingers are dirty I use something to act as a shield between my finger and the trackball [I answer the phone by pressing the trackball].

2. I clean my trackball about three times a week by holding the trackball with a fingernail and scrubbing the exposed part of the trackball with denatured alcohol and a low lint paper towel. I rotate the ball round and round, holding it in place with a fingernail, scrub, rotate and scrub until the entire trackball is clean.

In my trackball disassembly thread you can see how my trackball looked after about 8 months use. [see pic below] Pretty clean compared to many that I have seen.

That's how I handle it.

My man, how do you sleep at night??? I could not imagine doing all that just to keep it clean...its not an actual pearl.

I have had 3 blackberrys for one reason. We currently have 3 pearls and a 7105t in the family along with my friends who have them. They simply don't let us down, they are tough and I along with my family work hard. The have flown across the floor and fallen from ladders, we just pick them back up and say a few select words lol. We move equipment, working on houses, working our dogs and everyday task.

While I agree the pearl is a little more fragile than my 7105t and my 8700 was, due to the trackball and sides, I still don't think twice when I pick it up to respond to an email. RIM makes excellent products. Thats me though, I was just a little taken back how cautious you are its not a motorola man

Everyones different of course.

[Cory Scheuer]

lol ^

[zero7404]

Originally Posted by SanFrancisco

Well what I do is two things:

1. I try to keep it clean. What this means is that I am always washing my hands [which I have done all the time, before I got the Pearl]. But the main thing I do is that if my fingers are dirty, I don't use the Pearl. And I especially try not to use the trackball if my fingers are dirty.

It's really easy to soil the trackball if you use it while munching on greasy foods, make phone calls while working on the car, or other dirty environments/tasks.

I am so cautious that if a call comes in when my fingers are dirty I use something to act as a shield between my finger and the trackball [I answer the phone by pressing the trackball].

2. I clean my trackball about three times a week by holding the trackball with a fingernail and scrubbing the exposed part of the trackball with denatured alcohol and a low lint paper towel. I rotate the ball round and round, holding it in place with a fingernail, scrub, rotate and scrub until the entire trackball is clean.

In my trackball disassembly thread you can see how my trackball looked after about 8 months use. [see pic below] Pretty clean compared to many that I have seen.

That's how I handle it.

http://www.heartinsanfrancisco.com/0...lreassmbly.jpg

i know what u'r sayin' i used to do that too, i used isopropyl and a q-tip. not sure if that stuff discolors the ball ? but ever since my disaster with the lost mini roller, the only way i am going to 'thoroughly' clean a trackball again is to drop the whole assembly (metal clips & all) in the solution above, leave it in the sun for a while, then drench in lots of H2O and finally, blast like 3000 psi of air thru the whole thing to get it dry.

taking the trackball assembly apart gives me hot-flashes and nightmares......

[SanFrancisco]

Originally Posted by buggle_96

My man, how do you sleep at night??? I could not imagine doing all that just to keep it clean...its not an actual pearl.

I have had 3 blackberrys for one reason. We currently have 3 pearls and a 7105t in the family along with my friends who have them. They simply don't let us down, they are tough and I along with my family work hard. The have flown across the floor and fallen from ladders, we just pick them back up and say a few select words lol. We move equipment, working on houses, working our dogs and everyday task.

While I agree the pearl is a little more fragile than my 7105t and my 8700 was, due to the trackball and sides, I still don't think twice when I pick it up to respond to an email. RIM makes excellent products. Thats me though, I was just a little taken back how cautious you are its not a motorola man

Everyones different of course.

Well it does not take any time at all to not answer the phone with greasy/dirty fingers.

And cleaning it takes about two minutes.

End result, my trackball is clean and others are complaining about theirs being dirty. So much so that some end up buying a new trackball. And see the posts where people are asking about where to get side rails because their's have scratches that are bugging them.

And while you have had good luck with your phones [emphasis on the word luck], read the threads in here about people whom have damaged their phones when they have had mishaps similar to having "flown across the floor and fallen from ladders." Based on your experiences I doubt if many are going to agree that it's no big deal if their Pearls fly across the floor or fall from ladders.

You should not be taken aback. Some people take care of their stuff, others don't. To each their own, eh.

In fact, most of my electronics are in pristine condition. I take care of all my stuff. I am the type who parks way out in the parking lot so I don't get door dings even though, as you might say, it's just a car.

And as to time to do all this, well, I only need about 4 hours sleep daily so with all that extra time I have plenty of time to take care of my stuff.

[buggle_96]

Originally Posted by SanFrancisco

Well it does not take any time at all to not answer the phone with greasy/dirty fingers.

And cleaning it takes about two minutes.

End result, my trackball is clean and others are complaining about theirs being dirty. So much so that some end up buying a new trackball. And see the posts where people are asking about where to get side rails because their's have scratches that are bugging them.

And while you have had good luck with your phones [emphasis on the word luck], read the threads in here about people whom have damaged their phones when they have had mishaps similar to having "flown across the floor and fallen from ladders." Based on your experiences I doubt if many are going to agree that it's no big deal if their Pearls fly across the floor or fall from ladders.

You should not be taken aback. Some people take care of their stuff, others don't. To each their own, eh.

In fact, most of my electronics are in pristine condition. I take care of all my stuff. I am the type who parks way out in the parking lot so I don't get door dings even though, as you might say, it's just a car.

And as to time to do all this, well, I only need about 4 hours sleep daily so with all that extra time I have plenty of time to take care of my stuff.

Sounds like we are the two extreme's of bb users

I don't spend my time sweating the small stuff, I enjoy my 8 hours of sleep.

I don't park my $35k truck out in the back of the parking lot. But that doesn't mean I do not also wash it once a week and change the oil regularly. But its a truck and I need it to do what trucks do. Just like I need my Berry to answer phone calls and reply to emails when I need it to. That was more the point I meant to make, I probably got off on the wrong foot with you. I tell everyone BlackBerrys are tough as nails, its something to be proud of.

I came off a judgemental towards you, I did not mean to.