Syrup in the scroll wheel?

[graylocks]

from time to time, my scroll wheels start feeling like syrup was spilled into them. sometimes restarting the app, or even the entire computer helps. sometimes not. sometimes it suddenly clears up on its own. this happens with different mice on different computers - microsofts, logitechs.

why? is there some cache or something i could clear myself periodically. it's a bit annoying.