New laptop - how to clean the screen? Is this LCD?

pparks1 · Feb 2, 2023

Winuser said:
I''m sorry but that's two things that I would never recommend.

Well, been working for 25+ years in IT and have used this solution for a very long time. shiny screens, matte screens, full size monitors, , Apple Retina displays, tv's (plasma, oled, LED), cell phones, etc. Never had a single problem.

Have you personally used something like this and experienced a problem, or did you hear that it wasn't a good idea because it's going to eat some sort of coating off the monitor.

Edit: It's also fair to say that i am not cleaning the same monitor on a daily or weekly basis either. Probably something like 2-3 times a year max. And I'm using a very small amount of spray directly on the microfiber cloth, so not getting much moisture on the monitor. the alcohol evaporates nearly instantly.

With any advice, your mileage may vary. If this makes you nervous, by all means don't do it.

Always Why · Feb 2, 2023

pparks1 said:
Yeah, that's why i just make my own. I use it to clean any and all electronics, it's dirt cheap to make. I never have problems with streaks and such my mixture and the clothes that I use.

Same here. We keep 70% Isopropyl Alcohol in the bathroom. When my cleaning bottle (about 3oz capacity) is empty I fill it 50% with Brita filtered water and 50% Alcohol. Just remember to power-off your laptop before cleaning a touch-screen. :wink:

Winuser · Feb 2, 2023

pparks1 said:
Well, been working for 25+ years in IT and have used this solution for a very long time. shiny screens, matte screens, full size monitors, , Apple Retina displays, tv's (plasma, oled, LED), cell phones, etc. Never had a single problem.

Have you personally used something like this and experienced a problem, or did you hear that it wasn't a good idea because it's going to eat some sort of coating off the monitor.

Edit: It's also fair to say that i am not cleaning the same monitor on a daily or weekly basis either. Probably something like 2-3 times a year max. And I'm using a very small amount of spray directly on the microfiber cloth, so not getting much moisture on the monitor. the alcohol evaporates nearly instantly.

With any advice, your mileage may vary. If this makes you nervous, by all means don't do it.

When it comes to your own equipment, do what you want. I would never tell anyone to do something that I know can be harmful. I use to use starting fluid to bead hard to bead tires to the rim. It works but because I know it dangerous I would never recommend it.

Edwin · Feb 2, 2023

And..., whatever best method you choose, do it cold, first thing in the morning, before you turn the unit on..., I doubt that Laptop screen gets warm but, some displays do.

Always Why · Feb 3, 2023

riffwraith said:
Hi

Just got this for my mom:

HP 17-cn0023dx Home & Business Laptop (Intel i5-1135G7 4-Core, 17.3" 60Hz Full HD (1920x1080), Intel Iris Xe, 16GB RAM, 256GB PCIe SSD, Wifi, USB 3.2, HDMI, Webcam, Bluetooth, Win 11 Pro) - Newegg.com

Buy HP 17-cn0023dx Home & Business Laptop (Intel i5-1135G7 4-Core, 17.3" 60Hz Full HD (1920x1080), Intel Iris Xe, 16GB RAM, 256GB PCIe SSD, Wifi, USB 3.2, HDMI, Webcam, Bluetooth, Win 11 Pro) with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

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My understanding is that rubbing alcohol on a microfiber cloth is good - unless it's an LCD.

How do I determine if this is an LCD?

Thanks in advance.

Sorry I didn't catch this earlier. Most laptops and desktop monitors have protective plastic coverings on the outside of the screen. Some plastic materials will react to strong cleaning solutions. Just stick with 75% alcohol or mix 50/50 with water and alcohol as mentioned earlier. If you have a touch screen it's going to show smearing from finger swipes. But that doesn't mean you need to clean it everyday. Your screen will look really nice when clean it after noticing those smudges.

tomdsr · Feb 3, 2023

Winuser said:
No!

Winuser said:
Just buy a screen cleaner kit. When you use it, spray the cloth and not the screen.

Winuser said:
Never, ever spray the device. Always spray the cleaning cloth and don't over spray.

Winuser said:
IMHO, anything in the Monster brand is way overpriced.

Winuser said:
Better yet, Don't use it. Screen cleaners aren't that expensive.

Winuser said:
I''m sorry but that's two things that I would never recommend.

If you didnt know, the little "+Multi" quotes multiples into one post, instead of 5 different posts all at once to reply to everyone you wanted to.

Click +multi on the ones you want to quote, then click the actual Quote one when you want to start the replies.

DigitalGoat · Feb 3, 2023

Anyone can see by the number of posts here that there are many methods used by people to clean screens of all types, there will also be the odd person who will disagree with every method listed. My personal experiance is that distilled water + dish soap + microfibre cloth has always worked on all screen types I have owned since 1985 (Amstrad CPC 6128) onwards.
But if you are still unsure what to use then I suggest you contact a computer or TV repair/ reconditioning shop and ask what they use, they will probably have a lot of experiance of cleaning screens of all types and all conditions.

jvickers · Feb 3, 2023

glasskuter said:
I can't say enough about a product called Screen Mom that I found on Amazon. You don't spray directly on screen but on a microfiber cloth.
It takes very little so a bottle goes a long way. My bottle has lasted 2 years. I use it on everything. TV, phone, laptop, tablet, eye glasses, mirrors. Worth every penny.

Thanks, glasskuter. I just bought a 16oz. bottle with a microfiber cloth off Amazon.

Winuser · Feb 3, 2023

tomdsr said:
If you didnt know, the little "+Multi" quotes multiples into one post, instead of 5 different posts all at once to reply to everyone you wanted to.

Click +multi on the ones you want to quote, then click the actual Quote one when you want to start the replies.

I'm a reply as I read the post type of person. I know I should read all of the post before replying but I guess I don't because it's a habit I have.

Hazel123 · Feb 3, 2023

This is useful to know as I've always used alcohol screen cleaning wipes on laptops! But sometimes just a damp microfibre cloth.

hdmi · Feb 3, 2023

Isopropyl alcohol is not the same as rubbing alcohol. It does not cause the surface to be degraded, as it also is commonly used (in diluted form, i.e., mixed with distilled water or, if you are in the US, with demineralized water or "reverse osmosis" bottled drinking water because AFAIK distilled water is relatively more expensive over there compared to in Europe) to clean things like plastic reading glasses. Just make sure that the microfiber towel is not completely saturated with liquid so as to prevent any liquid from getting squeezed into the groove around the screen edges. Also, after you wash your microfiber towel, before it starts to dry out you should give the microfiber towel a final rinse with demineralized water or reverse osmosis drinking water. Doing this will help to prevent subtle marring that might otherwise occur as a result of the microfiber towel getting a little bit abrasive when it dries out after you rinsed it with regular tap water, as regular tap water usually has too much calcium in it (which crystalizes into tiny microscopic particles, gradually, when the water dries up). Finally, if you use the kind of microfiber towel that has tiny rough (nylon) stitches around the edges, then be careful not to make any mild scratches with these stitches, as you might not notice that these can tend to be a little bit sharp.. until it will be too late.

pparks1 · Feb 3, 2023

Distilled water for a gallon over here in the US is like $1.25. 16oz of isopropyl is like $2.50. So, for less than $4, I can make a 32oz spray bottle which lasts a very, very long time.

If you google Isopropyl alcohol and computer screens, you will find people recommending against it's use. Most responses say that it damages the plastic, destroys the rubber, eats away the layers of protective coating on the screen. It seems quite a prevalent statement on the apple forums that it eats away the anti reflective coating on the screen.

In most cases I have seen, I see a picture like this attached with the question, "Did i permanently damage my screen". To me that screams that they liberally doused the rag they used and it went on super wet and left behind residue which dried on the screen.

A very small amount of spray on the rag shouldn't leave that kind of mess on the screen. Not using distilled water, and instead using tapwater can leave residue like that too.

If I ever see marks like that on a screen that I am working on, I just spray a tiny bit of my solution on a cloth, wipe the spot and then more or less buff it out with a dry portion of a microfiber cloth and it goes away.

SIW2 · Feb 3, 2023

hdmi · Feb 3, 2023

DigitalGoat said:
+ dish soap

If applied to a plastic surface regularly, detergents can cause the plasticizers to get pulled from the surface causing the surface to become brittle over time. You can add just a small drop to the mixture if needed, but you can typically avoid this because smudges are just as easy to clean with circular motions using a cleaning cloth for glasses (from an ophthalmology store).

Fabler2 · Feb 3, 2023

I use ZEISS Wipes lense cleaner.

hdmi · Feb 3, 2023

pparks1 said:
Distilled water for a gallon over here in the US is like $1.25.

Fair enough. If you already have demineralized water or reverse osmosis drinking water, though, that'll do just equally fine with isopropyl alcohol. (As long as the cloth is just damp, not soaking wet.)

pparks1 said:
If you google Isopropyl alcohol and computer screens, you will find people recommending against it's use. Most responses say that it damages the plastic, destroys the rubber, eats away the layers of protective coating on the screen.

Baloney. Poppycock. lol

hdmi · Feb 3, 2023

Here's another useful tip IMO. If the screen is fairly dusty, then first remove the dust with a Swiffer dry sweeping cloth, and, don't use compressed air for this purpose.

EDIT: But don't apply any real pressure on the Swiffer dry sweeping cloth.

tomdsr · Feb 3, 2023

hdmi said:
Fair enough. If you already have demineralized water or reverse osmosis drinking water, though, that'll do just equally fine with isopropyl alcohol. (As long as the cloth is just damp, not soaking wet.)

Baloney. Poppycock. lol

alcohol sucks the moisture out of rubber and plastics making them more brittle.

hdmi · Feb 3, 2023

tomdsr said:
alcohol sucks the moisture out of rubber and plastics making them more brittle.

Methyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol can dissolve plastic. Diluted isopropyl alcohol is quite harmless on a vinyl surface.

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