How do I clean my notebook screen?

I've used one of those feather duster things for dust, but there are a few spots and smudges on my screen. What do I use to get those off and how do I get those off? Thanks.

 

Use the microfibre cloth that came with the laptop(or you can buy one). I use a soft cloth, slightly damped with water or a lens cleaning solution.
Don't use anything that's alcohol based, though.

 

Ok thanks, but no chemicals like windex or anything?

 

I use a microfiber cloth like I use on my Canon L lens, works great. You can pick them up at any camera store.

 

DO NOT, under any circumstance, use windex or anything of the sort. It will damage your screen. Water and a microfiber cloth work wonders, and so does eyeglass cleaning solution.

 

EDIT: Windex = bad for LCD's, no need for added confusion

 

I use ShaggyMac ( www.ShaggyMac.com) OptimistPrime. Its the best solution I have used. It has left my screen spotless and in great shape.

 

Wipes work well, and so does a microfiber cloth. Sometimes i even use a dampened paper towel.

 

Definitely DON'T use Windex! It will destroy your screen.

I just use a microfiber clothe and get it a little wet with water and it works good at removing smudges.
Tim

 

I perfer to take a wet microfiber cloth first, then I go back over it with a dry one. This seems to work really well. let me point out that my screen is a Matte kind. Glossy screens require different methods to clean them good.

 

Acetone??!!!

You are kidding, right?
If you aren't, you have been very, very lucky that your laptop isn't made of (or coated with a finish) something that is even the least bit soluble in acetone. Plastics and acetone is never a good gamble.

I recently bough the cheapest "cleaner for flat screens" I could find in the electronics department of an ordinary store. It cost < 5 euros for a 150ml bottle, is made in Germany ("Dr. Beckmann" is the brand, the manufacturer's website as printed on the label is www.delta-pronatura.de) and unfortunately it doesn't say what is in it aside from "<5% non-ionic tensides".

I was pretty sceptic that it would work since my screen had almost 4 years of grime (dust, fingerprints, tobacco smoke, coughs - really, really bad in other words) on it. And had only been - unsuccessfully - wiped down with a dry microfiber cloth now and again.
But the results really exceeded my expectations. It is *almost* totally clean after just one good go at it with a rag moistened with this stuff.

So my advice would be that it is worth it to buy one of these "especially for flat screens" -cleaners, if a micro-fiber cloth isn't enough. Now with the proliferation of flat screen TVs these things are getting less hard to find, and much cheaper.

 

OK seriously almost everybody is following the manufacturers instructions, water and a soft cloth ONLY. I have used those prepackaged (1 wet 1 dry) wipes for monitors until I read the warnings WATER ONLY. I have read DO NOT USE ammonia, I have not read do not use alcohol specifically. Does anyone know what can and can't be used? Of course water is safe but if we want to go further can we use those prepackaged wipes? Or bad idea? Remember car companies tell you to follow the posted speed limit but if you go 60 mph in a 55 mph it does not hurt your car, so what gives fella's. I'm a professional cleaner when I use water it means I have to increase agitation which can't be great for a screen, any semi-volatile solution would reduce agitation. I guess, what are screens made of glossy/matte?

 

Isopropyl Alcohol ONLY

You can mix with bottled water if you want to water it down, but it is the ONLY item safe to use on plastics for cleaning.

Ammonia is used for bonding plastics by melting surfaces together in high concentration. Lower concentrations it just fogs up the surface and gives you a really bad day.

I tend to use 90% Iso-alky to clean my laptops all around because it tends to evaporate at a pretty nice rate. Less time to get delicate parts damaged if it drips in. For cleaning LCD's I use a nice towel to clean the surface with the alcohol only first. This tends to leave some streaking, so I finish it off with some good ole fashion moist breath and a dry towel buffing the surface very smoothly. Key thing is never use a lot of pressure, and never try to overdue it.

 

how many people on this thread have said "Don't use Windex" he he

 

i use dishwasher powder dissolved in water with a soft cloth almost dry.gets all the smudges of and fingerprints.then i buff with glasses cloth from optician.optician is cheaper than pc shop.

 

I bought some expensive £8.99 screen cleaning wipes from the high street couple of days ago. Not sure what's in it. Comes in unscented and 'orange' scented varieties. No alcohol. Does the job, but you need to be sure not to leave wipe marks which is almost as distracting as dirt that shows up when watching a DVD. I have a nice quick slightly angled horizontal wipe motion going on now

Hope that post made sense

 

...I bought a microfiber cloth from the dollar store and i am cleaning my screen with that. I use it for my glasses and LCD screens all over. Don't even need water (unless there's like a food stain or something along those lines).

I see screen cleaner sprays and wipes on sale at Wal-Mart for $10.

Its up to you really.

 

whats wrong with alchohol??? need to clean them germy finger mark

 

screen/finger prints somthing soft like microfiber, or a close enough thing around the house damp with a water/alchohol solution works fine.

For the dust and crap, compressed air.

not the stuff in the can tho it sucks and never cleans it very well, full blown shop quality air compresser with the air tool

It makes computers go from old to new instantly and never has caused any damage. Its a must for me since my desktop gets full of dust so fast, and its the only thing powerfull enough to clean out the heatsinks of the gpu/cpu, the fans, ect.

 

i dont use any special brand, but i use these "anti-static" wipes specially designed for LCD screens etc... it is slightly damp, but gets rid of those annoying spots...

 

what would be best fro my xa 1526 laptop?

its gloss so just fibre cloth? or water but wouldnt that ruin the coating if its got one?

cheers

 

Allready soo many posts in here for the same thing, but im gonna post anyway cause i can.

I use an lcd cleaner "kit" that I purchased for $10 U.S. at a circuit city. It consists of a microfiber cloth and a bottle of distilled water. Ill put 2-3 sprays of the distilled water on the cloth, wipe the monitor off with it, then go over it again while it is still wet with the dry side of the cloth to prevent streaks. I do this, on average, once every three-four days I use the computer, and my screen still looks as good as the day I recieved it.

Really, if you keep up with cleaning the screen, the microfiber cloth and the distilled water (or plain water in any case) should be enough to keep the screen in good shape.

PS: I have a glossy screen. The water wont ruin the screen, i just recommend you spray the water on the cloth and not directly on the screen.

 

cheers.

only asked as i bought some solution cleaner with cloths and fibre cloths and wipes all in a pack designed for tft screens which i used on my desktop setop but as some have stated it leaves smears and costs £17+

but thanks for the info m8

 

you dont necessarily need a mictofibre cloth. I use a very soft cotton T-shirt, dampened with a little water.

 

I do the same thing works every time ...

NEVER use alcohol or any other industrial cleaning agents (i.e windex) these will permanently damage your screen.

 

I just read on another forum that newspaper and rubbing alcohol works well. I won't try that.

 

A damp cloth with a hint of liquid detergent (or cheap shampoo) will shift all the dirt and finger prints. First I clean the display and then use the same cloth to clean the rest of the notebook.

John

 

I find a piece of kicthen towel slightly dampened with water works well.

 

Are there any special procedures to cleaning a glossy screen? I'd hate to rub off that finish.

 

Nothing to special.. you can use Microfiber cloths or even products made directly for laptops. Both Lappymats.com & shaggymac.com offer some good items for what your looking for.

 

I found an easy way
wet/dampen one of those red shop towels you buy at walmart, swipe the screen slowly so it waters it up, then dry with another red towel
works great