We are often asked how we clean laptop screens, as we clean the screen of every laptop that comes into our computer shop for a health check. The owners are pleasantly surprised at the sometimes dramatic improvement.
 

The first bit of advice is don’t touch the screen!!
 

Grubby fingers leave all sorts of marks and natural oils on the screen which can be a real pain to remove.
 

The screen is one of the most expensive components of your laptop or desktop computer and they're very sensitive to dust, fingerprints or even when you cough or sneeze without covering the mouth and nose!

 

It is not a good idea to clean the laptop or notebook screen by wiping it with a piece of dry cloth since the sensitive display is likely to get scratches from dust particles. 

 

So how do you clean a laptop screen without buying any of those expensive LCD Monitor Cleaner solutions or Monitor Wipes available in the market?  We look at some proper methods and precautions before you clean the screen 

 

Think of laptop screens as the soft and delicate skin of a newborn baby - Be very gentle and never put even the slightest pressure on the computer screen with your hand. 

 

Second, you need to find a piece of soft cloth - old cotton or a well-used dish towel  but don't try tissue papers, toilet rolls or even shower towels as the fabric will scratch your screen permanently.

 

Turn the computer off as this will easily help you identify the dirty areas of the monitor.

 

To prepare the solution for cleaning LCD monitors, you will need deionized or distilled water and vinegar or iso-propyl alcohol - Don't use tap water or mineral water as they could leave white marks on the screen because of the dissolved salts. You can get the deionized or distilled from your local chemist or car accessory shop.

 

Dilute the vinegar or IPA with distilled water [1:1] and spray this liquid on the cloth. Never ever spray liquid directly onto the laptop screen. Moisten the cloth with this home-made screen cleaner and gently move the wet cloth in just one direction - from top to bottom.

 

Warning: Be sure that the laptop screen is 100% dry before closing it or using the computer. A good tip is to put is in the airing cupboard for an hour . Do not use any solutions that contain Acetone, ethyl alcohol, ethyl acid, ammonia, or methyl chloride. Never touch the laptop screen with your fingers as this can cause the pixels to burn out.
 

In our computer shop, we use alcohol wipes that we get by the tub load from our local friendly dental supply warehouse. The alcohol leaves no residue and evaporates even at low temperatures leaving the screen smear free.
 

The alcohol removes all the oils, grease and other unknown sticky substances from the screen and then we give it a polish (very gentle) with a soft cotton cloth. 
 

Incidentally, if your laptop is shared, i.e. you are not the ONLY user, then it is a very god idea to clean your keyboard (with the laptop turned off) regularly with an alcohol wipes as dirty keyboards are a major source of germ sharing!!