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I'm surprised that many people don't know this by now. I tell everyone I know to not use Windex, unless they want to see pretty colorful lines form from the bottom of the screen.
I'm surprised that many people don't know this by now. I tell everyone I know to not use Windex, unless they want to see pretty colorful lines form from the bottom of the screen.
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I use dirty socks and have never had any scratches. If you are applying any significant pressure, you're doing something wrong. You should be dusting your TV, not surface grinding it.
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@HIV 2 Elway: This is one great suggestion for LifeHacker. The solution makes perfect sense after reading the debate/comments!
Thanks
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@HIV 2 Elway: DIRTY socks? Really? EW! So you like having dirt and grime and stink all over your TV?
I really hope you meant clean socks.
@nakedscience: No, I've always used dirty clothes to dust. Why muck up something clean? The socks are going in the wash anyway. That said, I have a white collar job and my undershirts and socks are rarely all that dirty.
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@nakedscience: Are you planning on eating a meal off of it or something? If it doesn't smell, and it isn't filthy, it'll work.
Unless of course you're a monitor licker. or a window licker.
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@nakedscience: How dirty do your undershirts and socks get? If sitting in an office gets your clothes so dirty that it would put grime and a nasty smell on surfaces for dusting, you may be doing something wrong. Now, if you are a mechanic and you are using greasy shirts to dust, there is a problem. I am not saying I do what HIV 2 Elway does, but I can see why it goes down that way.
@b01000100: I'm just trying to do my part to help the Earth. After all…
There's a hole in the atmosphere, so the scientists say so the scientists say. Its getting hotter and a hotter and a hotter every day, so the scientists say so the scientists say.
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If you get the urge to run around naked, you can drink Windex. It prevents streaking.
Seriously though don't drink it, it will probably kill you.
Got a microfiber cloth packed in my Samsung hdtv. Surprised move manufactures dont do this.
@TheBursar: Got one with my new Vizio too. A nifty little thing that I keep tucked away in case I can't find one of my many microfiber towels around the house.
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@TheBursar: The retailers pressure them not to include that kind of stuff. If microfiber cloths are included, Best Buy loses a $20 Monster Screen Clean sale. If HDMI cables are included, another lost high margin sale.
@TheBursar: We got this also, and with a Samsung computer monitor. I guess Samsung is just cool that way.
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@morganlh85: Apple also packs microfiber cloths in with their computers. Or at least they used to, I haven't bought a new computer in about 3 years.
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That's two \"don't\" articles in a row, Consumerist. How about you stop being a negative nancy and tell me some \"Do's\"!
But water and microfibre never seem to remove fingerprints from mini-Zinhas that never seem to remember that our computer monitor is not a touchscreen.
My computer IS a touchscreen, so cleaning it is super inconvenient, because I have to turn it off.
But I always get a laugh when a bug lands on the screen and moves my arrow all over the place.
@Cafezinha: I use iklear, which is kind of over-priced, but a brand that I trust. Gets things spotlessly clean, and is alcohol/ammonia free. Just go to the Apple store and get the big bottle. It'll last for years, even with multiple screens.
Water only is problematic for oil spots. Since plastic is absorbent, if oil is left in contact too long, it will seep into the screen causing permanent spotting. This probably has no effect on the screen when its on, but its irksome and annoying to see it when its off.
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@Cafezinha: So get a screen protector overlay. A little harder to find, but they'll protect your screen.
When I worked at Circuit City we used Windex to clean the display TVs. When a manager realized they started to look like crap, we mixed it with water.
@rydel: Did you guys not sell the Monster stuff? That's the easiest sales pitch ever. No wonder CC went under...
\"We get people touching these screen all the time, kids licking them, whatever. We use this Monster Screen Clean to keep them all looking great. A bottle lasts us a month, and we clean 100 TVs a night. How many would you like?\"
Your store killed Circuit City.
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Yep. Knew this. The little fingerprints come off with very little rubbing.
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Only CR reader would have to be spoonfed this kind of information.
@nakedscience: Let's just say that CR isn't exactly well respected in the A/V industry for their electronics reviews.
@nakedscience: I didn't see myself having to ask *your* permission to post here. Go troll elsewhere.
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The Microfibers- does that include the Swiffer equivalents? We use a lot of those around the house and I bring home the stuff they pack into HP toner cartridge boxes, which seem to be the same, only orange-yellow in color.
@SteverMan: Regular swiffers should be ok, I use them lightly to suck the big dust off before I hit the prints with a mirco cloth. Also good for the bezel.
@SteverMan: Don't use the yellow wipes with orange dots, those have oil in them!!! The only thing they are good for is picking up powder like toner.
It depends on the screen. Windex (ammonia-based) is a *glass* cleaner, and works great on glass. Most laptop and a lot of HDTV screens are actually plastic, and the ammonia clouds and yellows plastic. Water is great, and if you've got a really stubborn gooey spot, some rubbing alcohol will do the trick. If you are sure you have a glass screen, Windex will still give the best results.
NOTE: If you know your TV screen has some kind of coating on it (color filter or anti-static or something), stick with water (the ammonia, alcohol, or other harsh solvent might \"eat\" it).
@David Eckert: DON'T USE ALCOHOL ON YOUR DISPLAY!!! Yes, it has to be in caps. Alcohol is a solvent powerful enough to eat away at the plastic, causing a permanent fogging of your display surface.
Only Apple puts a glass surface on their LCD's (which is a tempered glass bezel on top of the LCD panel. I don't know what proper maintenance is for that). The rest, even glossy displays, are plastic.
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@ludwigk: No it doesn't have to be in caps. Standard household rubbing alcohol will not eat away at plastic. I have used a microfiber cloth and rubbing alcohol in a small spritz bottle for over ten years to clean everything from my own glasses (which have ranged from standard lenses to expensive fancy coated ones), desktop CRT/LCD displays, laptop displays, LCD/plasma televisions... and haven't had any problems at all.
@David Eckert: All LCDs and Plasma screen have some sort of anti-glare coating or treatment. There's no such thing as just a plain glass screen on modern digital TVs.
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@David Eckert: I echo that Windex will kill plastic as plastic cycle windshields degrade over time if windex is used...
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10% rubbing alchohol, 90% tap water does the trick without damaging the screen.
Microfiber cloths are quite nice as well.
@WiglyWorm: Did you not read the article? Alcohol can damage your screen. Rubbing Alcohol is a solvent.
@Coach Cal Is My Dream Weaver: A 1:10 ratio is not nearly potent enough. It's actually what the CompTIA A+ (google it) training/exam recommend.
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Target sells those kits (microfiber and safe cleaning solution) for $5 now, you just gotta look
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@Caged Wisdom: The last time I bought a computer (2007) I didn't get a microfiber cloth with my mac, so I don't think they do that anymore. But they do it with the iPhones.
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Oh yeah, it's BEST BUY that makes those cleaning products, should you direct your anger at Billy Mays dude? Geez get off your \"Best Buy wouldn't sell me a HDTV for $10\" horse
I won't even START with the SWIFFER craze.
Personally, I use Monster cleaner. I got a whole pint of it for $79.95 and it has a lifetime guarantee against evaporation.
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@Borax-Johnson: Wait, I'm confused. Is this the same Monster that sells Monster Cable? Why would a cable company sell screen cleaner?
HAS THE WORLD GONE MAD!?!
$80 is a steal, I had to pay $80 for the starter kit and then another $50/mo for free refills.
The microfiber cloth is a given, but what I've found works really well is a little spray of Endust for Electronics on the cloth.
It really has no relation to the regular Endust (it isn't even made by the same company - they just license the brand) and it is safe for use on LCD and Plasma displays. It's cheap and readily available at most stores.
I use a product called Screen Kleen. I used to work at a computer shop when LCDs first started coming on the market and we had a partnership with the mfg to sell these exclusively.
I don't work there anymore, but I still use it to clean my laptop and various electronic screens.
Not an advert, just saying it works great. Much cheaper than the stuff BB sells and it comes with a soft micro fiber cloth.
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Duh! who didnt know that.
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Someone contact Kruger Industrial Smoothing. That'll do the trick.
I have been cleaning my Sony 20\" LCD screen with pure rubbing alcohol and paper towels and have not seen damage.
The computer lab where I used to work used to use a mixture of 50% rubbing alcohol and 50% water, and some sort of cleaning wipes. This was to clean many LCD screens.
I have heard not to use tap water though as its bad for the screen (too hard or something like that).
I bought a package of 24 LCD cleaning wipes at Walmart for 2$, so I hope those are OK for my new LCD monitor. They don't seem like they have alcohol in them, seems like they are some sort of disposable microfiber cloth. Definitely different then traditional wipes I have used over the years and I can tell there is no alcohol because they don't smell like alcohol and they don't burn my hands.
What about Eye Glass cleaner? That's what I've been using.
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I've never found a need to dampen the cloth.
I just use unscented baby wipes... they work great at cleaning screens, cases etc.
Yeah, I just use the cloth that came with my macbook for the old Plasma screen clean. LCD's are more suspect for cleaning, not a nice hard surface like the plasmas have.
My Panasonic came with cleaning directions that include a formula for making your own cleaner when needed. I believe it was 100 parts water to 1 part mild dish soap, but I don't have the manual in front of me so the amounts may not be correct. I usually put 4 cups of water in a bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon of soap. Works great on the TV and just about anything else.
tap water and some vinegar is the best glass cleaner I think. Streak free also. Cheap!
A very small amount of light (ie: Neither antibacterial nor overly creamy/greasy) hand soap can be added to the water for tough to clean grime. Remember to wipe the area again with water-only soaked cloth to remove the soap (or you'll have nasty streaks, and possibly over time it may cause damage).
I'll be using my Shamwow, on my plasma. And after i'm i can go get a hooker.
I work in video/optics and we pretty much just used distilled water and microfiber clothes. You can (look on-line) add a little alcohol to your mix to speed up drying.
I've been using KimWipes and water to clean my computer screen and SLR lenses. That's OK, right?
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For years I have always told my clients to clean with the softest, most laundered, clean used flannel cotton cloth they could get. Well used and very clean cloth diapers were great for this. Then 5 or so years ago I started buying microfibre cloths and using them... Fantastic.
Now my clients get the following advice...
1.. Warm damp microfibre cloth and very light pressure. Screen first then the rest of the equipment.
2.. Finger prints or other tenacious oily marks, touch the microfibre cloth to the dish soap nipple to get a hint of soap on it before wringing all the warm water out of it... gentle pressure...
3.. When some idiot has touched your laptop screen with their pen or marker, after beating them senseless, pull out your bottle of Vodka and a Q-tip. Pour a couple of ounces into a short glass and then dampen the cotton and hold on top of the pen mark to dissolve it. Drink rest of Vodka from glass while doing this. Then do instruction #1.
4.. Same with all TV's and other screens.
Very early in my career I had a problem with cleaning staff who, well intention, but poorly informed, used harsh commercial cleaners on CRT screens and removed the anti glare coating. Rather annoyed me since I then had to go out and buy those aftermarket anti glare screens for the staff who couldn't cope. Then again for the staff with undamaged crt's who thought they needed them too.
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Thanks for this. My laptop screen is dirty and I'm afraid to do anything to it.
#3 was not only practical, but entertaining!
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Pure water is not good for most of these kind of screens: LCD, Plasma, et cetera. Someone at CR made a boo boo.
Mix a small amount of isopropyl alcohol with water and wipe with a microfiber cloth.
Hmm funny my brand new samsung flatscreen came with a microfiber cloth and specificaly stated to use it and water to clean nothing else.
Can I use my new Sham-Wows??
Srsly.
Dumb question here...please don't banish me to the Noobish wastes!
Does this only apply to LCD or Plasma or both? I was under the assumption that Plasma TVs were glass and significantly different than LCD. If that's true isn't something like a cleaner okay to use on a plasma TV provided you don't overspray and let it drip down to the bezel?
Makes alot of assumptions. MyBoth my HDTVs are CRTs, with sturdy glass screens. Alcohol and ammonia are their friends.
I use Swiffer dusters on all my electronics, especially the PS3 because it's a dust magnet...
We call it the PS3wiffer!
@RecordStoreToughGuy
The guy at Best Buy told me that over time the conductors in Monster Cables can get clogger from poor signals from my cable box. Basically I would have 3 options: 1) replace my Monster Cables for $1,199.99 (yeah, I know, I got them on sale), 2) get a cable cleaner it for $499.99 or get the screen cleaner.
From an economic viewpoint, I figure I can put off the cable cleaning for about 18 months, so I am way $$$ ahead.
Hope that Helps.
I use a microfiber cloth and spray bottle I bought mixed with 20% isopropyl alcohol (91%) and 80% distilled water. The microfiber cloths cost me $3.00 for a four pack (these were higher quality cloths), the bottle cost me $1.00, the isopropyl alcohol $2.50 for a huge bottle and $0.88 for a gallon of the distilled water. So for $7.38+tax I have enough to last me years and years. I use this exact same mixture to clean my dvd's/cd's and it works PERFECTLY! The distilled water totally prevents any kind of streaks and there is just enough alcohol to remove finger prints and grime. Oh -- I also bought a $1.00 Tupperware type container to keep all this organized, isolated, clean and dust free.
dollar store microfiber cloths ftw ! I have a nice hdtv and didn't want to mess it up, it should be common sense to not use any chemicals on expensive electronic equipment.
1 part distilled water, 1 part 70% alcohol. Spray on a paper towel and wipe.
You can't use just water if crap is splattered and dried on the screen.
Don't waste your money on stupid gimic cleaners. I've used all sorts of various cleaners on my monitors and LCD's, and never once had any problem, including windex. There are more important things to worry about, and spend your money on.
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I was just wondering about this. I wish I still worked in printing. We always had tons of microfiber cloths around.
@nakedscience: 3M makes eyeglass cleaning microfiber cloths. You can buy them in the eyeglass/accessories area of many chain stores for $2-$3. I have like 4 of them between home and work.
I bought some of this fancy cleaner that was safe for LCDs and used it on my playstation portable. It took months to get the gumminess off it.
@nakedscience:
you can get a bag of 36 dish-towel-sized ones at costco for $15. They are great, i use them for everything.