How to Properly Clean your Glossy Screen

thanks! ive been looking for a better way to clean my new 20 inch SUPER GLOSSY to the EXTREME imac, this so far has seemed to work for me!

I don’t know if I’d use furniture polish on a laptop screen any more than glass cleaner with ammonia. Anything that might strip off screen coating isn’t good, not to mention interaction of the chemicals with the screen composition. Use a cloth designed for LCD and other soft type screens or you’ll risk scratching your baby. Isn’t she worth a few dollars and some TLC?

Some screens become warm from being on, so it’s best to let it cool for at least a few minutes before cleaning. Sounds nuts, but it’ll clean more effectively.

Having a habit of eating over your keyboard can be a good thing. When you’re broke and hungry you can turn the laptop upside down, shake vigorously for five seconds, and you’ve created a quick & tasty lunch. There might be enough to feed two, depending on how long it has been since you last cleaned it. As a precaution, be sure to turn the laptop off before shaking.

all those hightech cleaning things are very usefull in the shop, but the number one is DO NOT TOUCH YOUR SCREEN!

this was a great post since i have been using the wrong thing to clean up my screen. I have been using a wet rag but has been using a little too much presure.
Your Awsome.

Thanks for the tip, I can never get my screen clean just right…
& don’t eat food over your laptop it is hard to clean out the keyboard!

Also, you shouldn’t spray liquid directly on the screen.

Good tips. I sometimes eat food near my desktop computer keyboard, and commonly use the turn upside down and shack method of cleaning my keyboard, and it works pretty well. I think I’m going to unscrew the keyboard and clean it out that way. :)

What is the advantage/disadvantage of having a glossy screen?
My notebook has a matte finished screen.

Hehe awesome thanks, i’ll try to clean my screen with furniture polish. Who knows maybe it will work out:)

I usually use Monster iClean to clean my  MacBook and iPod. It doesn’t damage any electronic parts, and it comes with a MicroFiber cloth that doesn’t scratch anything, and It isn’t even a full liquid, it’s a gel, so even if it could conduct electricity, it wouldn’t seep in-between the cracks.

To expand a little on using furniture polish; I use lens cleaner fluids, like those for glasses to clean my screen. The description on the bottle says its gentle enough to be used on plastic sun-glasses, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt my screen.

The cleaner works like a charm, I think I used it more to clean my monitor than my actual glasses; they also work well on the lid of my laptop!

Cleanliness is next to godliness. I’m obsessed with spraying my keyboard with compressed air. I have a can nearby my computer at all times. :-)

Very helpful advice….I just needed to clean the ole laptop screen

What I usually clean my screen with is with a spray of water for camera lens. This usually seems to keep my screen clean and makes it harder to get smudges.

You can usually buy a small bottle of the substance I use in walmart for about 50 cents. So the cleaning can be done if your on a budget.

Great Tips Chris these will come in handy as I have a glossy Screen myself. I have been needing to clean it so these tips on how to do it come in really handy.

Thanks again, for one more good tip I can use when I purchase my Macbook Pro. with glossy screen.

Yeah i use my eyeglass cleaner and my microfiber cloth it leaves a wonderful shine and gets rid of those greasy finger prints and what not. Thanks

Wow, Does this work for a dell 17′ flat screen? Because It is very dirty..Thanks for the great blog Chris!

Everything you said was fine. But the part that got to me was the screen protector you can buy for them. I bought one for my macbook pro which stated it would not leave any residue on the screen after being removed. When I took it off after having it on there for weeks on end it left this big sticky mark. I went to the website on the product I bought and it was no longer there… Be CAREFUL on what you buy! Research before you buy anything!!

Thanks I was looking for a good way to clean my laptop screen Because I don’t want to scratch it or scuff, it up or damage it in any way.

This is great information! Now I can rid my screen from the finger prints and dust. I tried using canned air and just buffing the smudges out, but that didn’t work out. I will post my results on this.

That’s the reason I prefer matte screens. Finger prints don’t show up as easily and it’s so much easier to clean. It’s too bad that most of the newer laptops don’t even offer a matte option.

Don’t use any solvents such as rubbing alcohol to clean the screen. The solvent will eat away at the anti-glare coating and eventually make it unusable over time. It is recommend that you use a lint free cloth and gently wipe. There’s no need to go out and buy specialty cleaning products for this as you will probably see in the owner’s manual.

Furniture polish? I don’t know if this would or wouldn’t harm a monitor, that is, I wonder what the long term effects are after use 0.o

I usually use Monster iClean to clean my  MacBook and iPod. It doesn’t damage any electronic parts, and it comes with a MicroFiber cloth that doesn’t scratch anything, and It isn’t even a full liquid, it’s a gel, so even if it could conduct electricity, it wouldn’t seep in-between the cracks.

sorry, wrong usr name

Great tips! I am so passing this along to a friend of mine who has a quite glossy laptop screen that is impossible to keep clean. But I will leave the furniture polish part out… his screen is already glossy enough.

Thanks for the tips. My hp 19″ has been dirty lately and I wasn’t sure what to clean it with. I just don’t want to do anything that might ruin it since it is fairly new.

Does this only work on the Laptop screens? what do you do with LCD, the ones that are not covered with that glas or plastic covering.

I really need to clean my screen, it is very dirty.

Thank you Chris, i love all your videos.

i think you really help and when i get money on my paypal i am definantly donating!!!

Thanks so much for this now i can clean screen and not mess it up

Thanks Chris! I just got a new laptop (from dell argh…) and I like glossy screens but it was always was a pain to clean them. I never thought about using furniture polish, I will try that next time! :)

racedude

Thanks for the help, my sis just got a “Blackbook” and she didnt know what the best way to clean it was, I showed her this and it helped her a lot.

Hey, chris, thanks so much, my laptop screen is always so fingerprinty and dusty, i’ve heard of several ways but this seems to be the most effective! I always am chatting with my friends when i eat so i get crumbs and stuff in between my keys, one time i even had to take the keys off….one bye one. Anyways, chris, thanks so much again!! Bye :-)

The glossy screen on the Black Macbook I got for school really turned me off, now, even with the proper cleaning instructions I can’t say for sure that I would keep a glossy screen next time around.

Glossy screens and the fact you get to look at the reflection of yourself all the time… uhhhgggg… does that “mirror” effect ever go away?

dang i messed up on of my other laptop glossy screen because i used windex and i pressed too hard on the screen and it creaked and it looks stuipd

Awesome Information! I have always wondered how I could go about cleaning my screen without adding some more of those horrid fingerprints. I will get to cleaning my screen soon now that I know how to do it properly. As far as adding to the list of things to do to keep your laptop clean, I would suggest one of those compressed air cans you can buy anywhere to blow some those food particles out from around your keyboard keys. Works wonders!

Hey Chris nice tips. Having a glossy is nice but it does get annoying to clean. As in my Macbook pro It has a glossy screen I clean it with monster cleaner I got from Amazon.

I have 2 LCD monitors and a Laptop and have always been skepitcal about what to use to clean it. Water, screen cleaner for Computers, what? I dont trust most brands, and nobody has really given me a good recommendation. But from what I have seen on these posts is that any Eye Glass cleaner wipes work. Great tips, keep them coming!

I don’t know if I would go with furniture polish. I found that using a good eye glass cleaning kit (from Oakley, Ray-Ban, etc….) is the best way to go! It keeps it clean and does it’s job and the cleaner used is not harmful to your screen. I have used this method on every glossy and matte finish screen i own (TV, Monitors, Cellphones, Touch Screens, etc..).

oh cool, gonna use the tips when I clean tonite.

Thank you so much! This helps for cleaning my imac :)

Awesome, I tried it earlier and it works fantastically.

Ugh, I hate trying to clean my glossy screen. I appreciate the tips, though.

Yea I don’t know if this goes to well into it, but when I clean my laptop screen I usually use Windex (r) i hate when i have to do that. but I’m not really sure if that does something to it, I actually just used water and like a paper towel before. But thanks for this guide. It really helps now.

Thanks for the tip!. Now I can finally clean my Macbook screen . I usually just clean it with water and napkin.

$5 box of computer screen cleaners from Walmart has always done the trick for me!

These tips seem very good, especially for me, as my laptop has a glossy screen. My screen is always dirty, and now I have some help in keeping it clean. Thanks.

@freshpinescent The advantage of having a glossy screen is that the colors and quality of image are much more crisp and clear.

As for cleaning my laptop screen, I use a clean, soft lint free rag with warm water and dishsoap to remove greasy fingerprints or air pollution residue, then a rinse with another lint free rag moistened with distilled water. The second wipe removes soap streaks.

Then, finally, a third, dry, lint free rag to gently buff any waterspots or steaks.

The lid of my laptop is glossy as well, so I use the same process to keep it looking shiny and new.

Yes, it’s an involved process but I don’t do it every day. I DO wipe the screen with a dry rag every day though, to eep it dust free and prevent a buildup of residue from air pollution, etc.

Those are some good tips, thanks, I’ll have to try that on my gateway laptop later. I must say that screen cleaning is something I slack on and I normally tolerate small smudges. My westing house display get so hot on the front that if anything like sillystring or anything of that nature hits my screen for whatever reason, I get up and clean it off right away because it’ll melt onto the screen, Its not so hot you can’t touch it though. I’ll try these tips some time and get back to you later.

If your animate like me about fingers never touching the screen, then you can usually get away with running one of those magic duster wands over it once in a while. But I have to agree, NEVER use any cleaner that contains solvent such as ammonia!!

Thanks i got a macbook and the screen gets dirty fast

Thanks very much chris!, i had been wondering how to do this ever since i got this new 20″ wide hp monitor at christmas. Before i just used my shirt sleeve…

I Tried it it worked thank you so much Chris you always teach me things

thanks chris this is ver helpfull i usally use an eyeglass rag to clean mine they work great!!

Great tips! I usually follow the same basic steps, except i replace the furniture polish with windex. Regardless of what you use, you definitely need to use a microfiber cloth. I’ve scratched many screens using towels and such.

These are some excellent tips, I use ‘Perfect Glass spray cleaner’ on my LCD Glossy monitor, it really does work well, and for the food, I use a can of compressed air to blow out any crumbs. Fingerprints annoy me the most out of ever, and if there are finger prints on my monitors, I simply cannot use the computer till ive cleaned them off.

well… another way to keep it clean is to NOT touch the screen. this leaves fingerprints, thus making the screen dirty!

thanks i brock my last one by puting to much water on ill have to try what u said

I never used those dry dusters… They don’t do much at all. I use regular damp cloths with circular-motions mentioned in the blog. Keep it up Chris!

Thank you for sharing this i have always been afraid of cleaning my screen thank you very much.

Great tips, I have always been extremely afraid to clean anykind of LCD screen. You just don’t get a second chance. Once you mess up, its over. Even tho these tips are great, this tip obviously will not apply to every LCD display out there. I have been doing some heavy research on how to best clean an LCD, lots of youtube videos and articles. And almost every single one is different, some articles pointing out that water is great, others saying water isn’t recommended etc. So it can be confusing.

I tried it and it worked awsome i love my laptop screen Before it was all dirtty now its clean it works really good thanks Chris

I heard your not susposed to claed your Plasma or LCD with chemicals

you know what i always wondered that and im going to try it and i hope it works because my laptop screen gets pretty dirty and dusty

I don’t get how furniture polish is good for glossy computer screens.

I also don’t get why people buy laptops with glossy screens… wouldn’t that just cause more glares?

I’m still using CRTs with the exception of my old school toshiba laptop. My suggestion for cleaning CRTs is to use windex and a paper towel. It’s as simple as that. To me this blog entry is somewhat silly, but I suppose if it’s helpful to atleast one person it is a good blog entry.

Thanks for the tips. I use isopropyl alcohol, and it really makes a difference . What really helps, is to go circular motions. Also, do not use windex, its bad for your screen.

To anyone that has banned me please hear me out, I did not finish typing down my comment. I typed down “Cheaters” in response to kat being annoyed by it. After that I was going to type “LOL, How can anyone cheat when everything in the chatroom is heavily moderated after a win.” I did not mean to offend anyone in the chatroom by that. I do blame myself on not typing the whole comment on one sentence. Sry for all the confusion, I hope this is read by someone.

Wow this will help me sooooo much! My screen is always smudgy! THANK YOU CHRIS!

I usually just use a microfiber cloth, I never use harsh cleaners. Harsh cleaners plus screen = bad results most of the time. If you are cleaning everything but your screen I actually suggest Isopropyl Alcohol. Just don’t use it on the screen. And if it gets on the screen wipe it off… ASAP!

This is great, I’ve read other ways to clean a glossy screen but out of all of them i tried and used this is the one which helped me you the most. The other ones I read about were more tips which would have damaged my screen, but these tips are great.

-aj

hey thanks chris ive been looking for a way to clean my monitor its glossy and this helped thanks

Thx for this I been wanting to know the best way to do this.

Ya I always wondered how to clean my screen. My laptop is always getting dirty. I dont know if I would use Furniture Polish though……..