Did you know you can permanently damage your expensive flat screen monitor or television if you clean it the wrong way? It's true. Most importantly, you want to avoid products that contain ammonia, ethyl alcohol, acetone, toluene, ethyl acid, or methyl chloride. These can discolor or dissolve important films on the screen.
There are some fantastic screen cleaners out there, but there's also a simple vinegar and water mixture you can make yourself that works equally as well. Simply mix filtered or distilled water with an equal amount of white vinegar.
Flat screen monitors and televisions, most of which are LCD (including LED-backlit LCD) displays, require special attention when cleaning. Older CRT screens, the kind used in large "tube" monitors and TVs, are glass and can be cleaned in pretty much the same way as you would any other glass in your home or office.
Flat screen monitor and television displays, however, are much more sensitive and are easily scratched and damaged. The same applies to your laptop or tablet screen, and often too to the screen on your smartphone or e-book reader.
Note: Plasma TVs are glass, as are many touch screens, but often also have very sensitive anti-glare coatings applied. I recommend taking the same special care with those types of displays.
Follow the easy steps below to safely clean your flat screen monitor, TV, or other device in just a few minutes.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: Cleaning a flat screen display, like an LCD TV or monitor, usually takes less than 5 minutes
Here's How:
1. Turn off the device. If the screen is dark, it will be easier to see the areas that are dirty or oily.
2. Use a dry, soft cloth and very gently wipe the screen. A great choice would be the microfiber type of cloth used to clean eyeglass lenses. A dry eraser works good too.
See Tip #1 below for kinds of cloths to avoid.
3. If the dry cloth did not completely remove the dirt or oil, do not press harder in an attempt to scrub it off.
Pushing directly on the screen can often cause pixels to burn out, especially on laptop displays, desktop monitors, and LCD/LED TV screens. This isn't so much an issue on screens designed to be touched, like phones and tablets, but be careful nonetheless.
4. If necessary, dampen the cloth with distilled water or with an equal ratio of distilled water to white vinegar.
Many companies also sell small spray bottles of special cleaner for flat screens. Ultra makes a screen cleaning solution called Hydra LCD that people seem to like but honestly, the 50/50 vinegar and water mix is probably just as effective.
See Tip #2 below for types of products to avoid.
5. The plastic edge that surrounds the screen can be cleaned with any multipurpose cleaner but take care to avoid contact with the screen itself.
Tips:
1. Avoid using paper towels, toilet paper, tissue paper, or something like your shirt to wipe the screen. These non-ultrasoft materials can scratch the display.
2. Avoid cleaning products that contain ammonia (like Windex®), ethyl alcohol (Everclear® or other strong drinking alcohol), toluene (paint solvents), as well as acetone or ethyl acetate (one or the other often used in nail polish remover). These chemicals can react with the materials that the flat screen is made of or coated with, which could permanently discolour the screen or cause other kinds of damage.
3. Never spray liquid directly on to any screen. It could run inside the device and cause damage. Spray onto the cleaning cloth instead.
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