RSS Feeds
Tips for Cleaning a Glossy-Screen Monitor
Posted by Kevin Purdy at 1:00 AM on December 25, 2007
If you've received a new laptop or LCD monitor recently (or might get one later this week), there's a good chance you received a "glossy" or "anti-reflective" screen with it—and a better chance it'll be pretty smudged by this weekend. Luckily, ZDNet's The Apple Core blog has a few tips on restoring a glossy screen's luster that apply to any system. Along with letting the monitor cool off and choosing a microfiber cloth, you should:
Clean in small sections ... Dividing the display into small areas and then polishing until the entire screen is streak-free will work better than broad swipes with the cloth.Of course, your standard LCD cleaning rules apply to any screen. How do you keep your new glossy display from looking like an elementary school tech lab system? Offer up some wisdom in the comments. Photo by gepat.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Shane
Posted 8:37 AM 24/12/07
Don't use alcohol, it will dry rot your screen! A damp cloth is the best when you don't have a specialized solution.
Shane
luke holder
Posted 9:10 AM 24/12/07
i bought the monster lcd/plasma screen cleaning kit... a soft water/cleaner and microfibre cloth. i know monster stuff is over priced but i bought it in the usa for 20 bucks when they sell it here in australia for 75 dollars!!!!!!
luke holder
Crazysamz
Posted 10:42 AM 24/12/07
I use some glasses cleaner and a microfiber cloth. The glasses cleaner works well, and I used it when I used to have a non-glossy display. My Laptop even came with it's own microfiber cloth, but for my main desktop, I just use the microfiber cloth that came with my glasses, and it works well. Don't use anything like a towel, it will scratch your screen. Also, don't chuck a cup of water on the screen either, one time I did that on my older 17 inch LCD, and it seeped down into the monitor and now it has black marks all over it, so it's useless and I had to upgrade it.
Crazysamz
Posco Grubb
Posted 11:52 AM 24/12/07
Another big vote for gentle wipes with a dry microfiber cloth. Clean the microfiber cloth with water. Just say no to expensive cleaners.
Posco Grubb
locustfist
Posted 11:31 AM 24/12/07
Microfiber is all you need if you stay on it. When it gets nasty, a little water will do.
locustfist
saleh
Posted 2:35 PM 24/12/07
Rather than polishing the screen, I get 3 or 4 long strips of Scotch tape, tape them to the top few inches of the screen, pull them off, move them down a few inches, and so on.
The Scotch tape lifts off fingerprints and dust, but runs zero risk of a piece of grit scratching the screen.
saleh
Marce
Posted 1:49 PM 24/12/07
Thanks for posting this--I'd been thinking of sending in a request for advice on cleaning my laptop screen.
Marce
infmom
Posted 7:57 PM 24/12/07
The easiest and safest way to do it is with a microfiber dust cloth. No chemicals or liquid of any kind necessary.
And the easiest and least expensive way to get one of those is to stop by the automotive department at Target. You can get a pack of five cloths for less than it costs for a pack of two in the cleaning-supply department.
infmom
Krechet
Posted 1:07 AM 25/12/07
The VERY easiest way to do this is to use a Swiffer Duster.
Krechet
fuzzymuffins
Posted 11:11 AM 25/12/07
no rocket science required....
i have used nothing but water and a decent quality paper towel or washcloth... and it works just fine.
fuzzymuffins
2-7offsuit
Posted 10:38 AM 25/12/07
How about removing minor scratches? There's a tiny scratch on my new iMac screen, but it's drving me crazy. It's the only thing I can look at when I'm on the computer.
2-7offsuit
Dooga
Posted 11:59 PM 25/12/07
I use Scotch-Brite's cleaning cloth for LCD screens, but it doesn't really make much of a difference. I guess I never got it really dirty to see the difference, since I'm paranoid and constantly clean the screen.
Dooga
dotancohen
Posted 6:13 AM 26/12/07
While spray painting my Dell's keyboard black (think Das Keyboard) I was a little careless and got some paint on the screen. A bit of thinner not only got the black off, but made the screen much less shiny. Before, it was impossible to use with florecent lights behind me. Now I can. The finish is not uniform, but it is much better than what Dell sent it as. I may be able to uniform it with some more thinner, but I'm scared of damaging the screen.
dotancohen
grancheater
Posted 1:17 PM 24/12/07
My CRT is also "anti-reflective".
grancheater
SugaredJuggler
Posted 11:01 AM 24/12/07
I use iKlear from Apple on my black MacBook and it works amazingly. The kit comes with two microfiber cloths and a special non-alcohol solution. You can also use it to clean all the nasty finger marks off the actual case of your MacBooks!
SugaredJuggler
cswinter
Posted 6:54 AM 24/12/07
I read online that one part isopropyl alcohol and one part water is a good cleaner that is comparable with the commercial cleaners.
cswinter
bimp
Posted 10:29 AM 26/12/07
The thing that works best for me is to use a diaper cloth (not used by the baby, of course) or microfiber cloth and wash them with detergent ONLY... NO washer softener (i.e., Downy) and NO dryer softener (i.e., Bounce). Then just dampen the diaper with plain, old water and wipe clean. You'll find that washing only with detergent will leave no streaks behind and using a cloth, as opposed to paper towel, will also leave no micro scratches.
bimp