The Easiest Way to Clean Your TV Screen without Ruining It

TVs are a pretty common household item and they’re often a hefty investment. Should you get an OLED? A QLED? 8K or 4K? The choices you have to make are difficult, but regardless of which TV you end up with they all share similar maintenance needs.

Televisions don’t require a lot of upkeep, but every now and then you might find yourself wanting to clean it up a bit. When that time comes it’s important to do it right, so we consulted some TV experts for some tips.

What’s the best way to clean a TV screen?

Televisions are delicate instruments despite their often bulky size. Most of the time they’ll stay pristine all year round, but if you’ve recently moved or shifted your TV unit around you might find the occasional smudge or fingerprint that needs removing.

Samsung Australia Product Manager, Aaron McNamara, told Lifehacker over Zoom that the go-to item for cleaning a TV is a microfiber cloth.

Because TV screens are made of glass you may be tempted to spray it with some Windex or glass cleaner, but this is a big no.

“Sometimes there are coatings and different reflective materials in the screen and chemicals can damage that. If you really need to, a very light spray with water should be enough to remove stubborn marks off the screen,” McNamara said.

Samsung recommends in its online cleaning instructions that you use a dry cloth where possible. However, if you have smudges and marks that are harder to remove you can spray a small amount of screen cleaning solution onto your cloth (not directly onto the screen) and go from there.

Also, remember to unplug your TV from its power outlet before cleaning and not to press too hard while cleaning or you risk damaging the screen.

As for the rest of your TV, the only major thing to be aware of is dust.

“There’s not much you need to do unless you live in a particularly dusty area in which case you might want to remove dust in the TV’s cooling vents every now and then,” McNamara recommended.

If you need to fix something more major with your TV, like scratches or cracks, it’s best to contact your TV supplier directly for further instructions or repairs.

Now go and enjoy your impeccably clean screens, friends!