So my computer monitor has been covered in flecks of an unknown substance in my absence, possibly coughed on with a mouthful of food/drink(eww).
What's the best way to clean this garbage off? It's an IPS panel if that makes any difference, really nice screen so I want to get it pristine again without inadvertently scratching it or something.
I have an old cloth lying around that came with a laptop, so it might be a microfibre cloth? Not really sure but it looks kind of dirty too…
I got a X34 which is pretty expensive. I just use water and a paper towel. Haven't noticed any damage yet
This is one of the stupidest things i have seen in a while, and i read alot of stupid things.
And why is that stupid? Have not seen you give any suggestions
NEVER EVER put water near electronic products, its the no1 rule of IT.
Only idiots take "rules" without a grain of salt. A lightly moist paper towel that doesnt drip water if squeezed is more than adequate. If you take a dripping wet sponge to electronics, you deserve to have it broken.
Guess what solutions marketed as screen cleaners contain? Water.
@zhuang281: You know whats even better, not risking it at all. Why risk ruining expensive items like an x34 screen, what if it did drip, not everyone is as "smart" as you. Some people might follow your advice, and allow water to drip into their screen. How do you think they would feel then after following your advice. If you do not have to use water, why do it, its idiotic. Rules arent there to restrict your choices, they are there to prevent stupidly ruining your device at even the smallest chance.
and when you say screen cleaners use water, they use distilled water, not tap water, tap water is filled with heavy metals and many different chemicals, they can be abrasive, and ruin your screen. The fact that i have to explain this means you are arguing for arguments sake, and have no idea what you are talking about.
You are worried about abrasion from tap water? When you are recommending that the thin film be removed by "abrasive methods"?
Distilled water is no longer distilled the moment it sits inside a plastic container, along with "Cleaning Agents, Preservative, Fragrance, Stabilizer, pH Adjuster. SCJ Formula".
Also, did you know distilled water conducts as well? And if you mean deionised water, that state can't be maintained for a lengthy period of time in storage.
Get out of here lol. You are embarressing yourself with your stubbornness
@zhuang281: The item has moisture, but just enough to clean your screen without it dripping anywhere, they are made with a purpose in mind, you might know exactly how much water is needed so it doesnt drip, doesnt mean others will do the same. What you are suggesting is foolhardy at best, negligent at worst.
There is a good way of confirming if it will drip water : It's dripping water.
You may know exactly to wipe the screen with the wipe, doesnt mean others wont try eat the wipe instead. You are argueing inconsequential details.
I am done with you lol
@garetz:
completely not true.
Really dirty electronics is actually cleaned with water and lots of it.
dont put water near something thats powered on, yes. But you can clean electronics with water. As long as its completely dry before you connect power again.
And wipe a screen with a damp cloth is fine to do.
@garetz: both wrong. Paper towel is linty af. Never use cotton balls, paper towels or earbuds to clean pc or glass.
Most paper towel is abrasive like very fine sandpaper. It will even scratch glass. So add water and you are Wet Sanding!!! Goodluck to those who use newspaper to polish glass! Most screens have a layer of polarizing film made of plastic which must be care of gently.
Forget about supermarket wipes those are made for profit. Unless marketed for industrial use but you probably have to buy them bulk in 10000 packs.
What is a damp cloth? Wet your piece of cloth and wring it as much as you can. That's a damp cloth. ( that's commonsense )
Start with a damp cotton or microfiber cloth, wipe it down. Do not polish or buff, let the water dissolve the crap so you can lift it off. Let the moisture sit on the surface time is your friend. No good? Then try mild dish washing detergent. Most dish detergent is Alkaline and safe to use on most surface diluted. The surfactant will help lift the dirt. It's very simple to wipe down sensitive things just don't use solvent and strong acids, use common sense.
Some food are acidic and saliva has enzyme may have damaged the coating on the film. So it may etch the surface. Cleaning will not help with the damage.
Also got an X34. I use paper towels.
Add 1 drop of dish washing detergent to warm water. You can use very small amounts of soap such as liquid castile soap or just rub a bar of soap in water a little bit. Having more detergent/soap than needed won't harm anything but it can be a PITA to clean off is all.
Soak a paper towel and squeeze it out hard so there's no drips then wipe the screen until it appears clean. Wiping the screen and leaving it for a minute or two allows the detergent to loosen food from the screen.
Then get more warm clean water and add 1 drop of methylated spirits. Soak a new paper towel in that water and squeeze it out hard again and wipe the screen (this cleans the detergent/soap off).
You may need to repeat these steps if there's crap you missed.\
Then wipe it over with a dry paper towel, lightly rubbing the screen until the watermarks are gone.
I Stand corrected, the above is the 2nd stupidest thing i have read in a while.
I’m seeing a trend here with the predator users.
Seeing as your other post has you worried about the abrasiveness of tap water, it's probably fair to take your views with a pinch of salt.
I'm with Garetz. Methylated spirits on your screen is on par with our rare earth magnet hijinx on our work CRTs. We'd leave purple and green perma-gauss messages. That's when we weren't replacing the mouse balls with rolled up paper. "Oh, you forgot your mouse ball". It's too bad Youtube only took off in the optical mouse era. The small mouse ball in the bigger mouse ball socket prank was classic.
@Frugal Rock:
Sure, if that was what was happening, but Diji1 said a single drop in a bowl of water, on a wrung out paper towel.
Not the same thing as spraying a screen with metho.
you can still have fun with the optical mice. take a good photo of the underside of the mouse with it on. cut out a section big enough to cover the sensor area and stick it to the bottom of the mouse so its flush. if the picture and the cutting / sticking is good enough should look like the mouse is on. that or just stick some sort of troll picture to the bottom of the mouse.
Burn it with fire
Clean it with a wet rag. Any extra instructions are either verbiage, mercenary, or first world problems.
Do not follow the above instructions, there is a thin film over your screen that can be removed by using this abrasive methods.
buy something like this
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/492687/win…
and get an anti static cloth, dont use random microfiber.
Contains ">>>>> Water <<<<<<, Cleaning Agents, Preservative, Fragrance, Stabilizer, pH Adjuster. SCJ Formula # 35*21116."
Guess what, it conducts electricity then
If you think the possibility of food or drink being the unknown substance is 'ewww', then I won't mention what it's likely to be…
micro Fibre cloth is your friend.
For the more stubborn smudges like little shits with their pizza grease fingerprints. Use the micro fibre to get what you can off the screen then use some distilled water to lightly dampen the cloth and clean the rest off.
Don’t use alcohol or ammonia based cleaners ( windex , anti bacterial wipes etc) the screens are made up of layers of glass and light plastics the ammonia based cleaners as well as damaging the surfaces can make them go opaque. But both of these can be used to remove the anti reflective coatings ( or what ever coating is on the top layer) on the surface of the screen.
https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/clean-rang…
I use these ast work. The results are amazing.
Turn off and unplug your screen first. And make sure you spray the cloth with liquid not the screen. I've removed some pretty nasty stuff off screens at my work with this stuff. Have used it on easily 100 different screens.
Been using Windex and paper towels for 25 years. Nothing has blown up, screens have never been scratched and I'm still alive.
You'd have to be doing some hard scrubbing to get down to the IPS thin film transistor array. I'd like a car wax please, it's for a manual. :p :)
Wow… In the last few decades that I've been doing this, I've just used a well-wrung, damp cloth. Even the fancy shmancy TV screens got cleaned the same way.
The only thing I do any thing different for, is for camera lenses.
Karcher.
Use a foamer nozzle first.
It will come clean.
Also works well on keyboards.
No scrubbing.
Just use warm water and a cloth. Use a fine misting sprayer if you have it. Been doing it for years, it's fine.
Note: This doesn't mean you can throw it in the washing machine for a cycle.
If that isn't cleaning it off, get a cleaning solution with some active ingredient in it.
I have found EcoWorx to clean anything safely. It is really the only cleaner that can be used for any job. They have microfibre cloths to use with it. Not at all abrasive.
It will also kill bacteria and viruses - mice the know.
I have used it on TV, computer keyboard & monitor, mobile phone screen etc.
It was invented by 2 men from Bondi Beach & and tested by UNSW.
No I am not affiliated with them.
http://www.relyservices.com.au/commercial-kitchen-products/e…
Go to office works and get a bottle of Fellows Screen Cleaner, works a treat on the screen and the plastic as well
Comes with a cloth also
Lick it clean!
First the offical ones (For a TV which is pretty much same as a laptop now).
Sony: Wipe the LCD screen gently with a soft cloth. Stubborn stains may be removed with a cloth slightly moistened with a solution of mild soap and warm water. If using a chemically pretreated cloth, please follow the instruction provided on the package. Never spray the water or detergent directly on the TV set. It may drip to the bottom of the screen or exterior parts and enter the TV set, and may cause damage to the TV set.
https://www.cnet.com/au/how-to/how-to-clean-a-tv-screen/
I used alcohol to clean the laptop (Lenovo w530) I was given at work. It has lots of ballpen marks and was generally dirty.
I has to use alcohol because I used to keep the same laptop on bed.
If you are worried about alchohol attacking the screen, use q tip dipped in alcohol to test on a corner first.
trinkasharma is right.
Just be careful. Isopropyl or Methyl alcohol is a gamble. It can eat away the surface. Worse is window cleaner which has ammonium hydroxide. If you insist on using thee on monitors and other plastics, guitar finishes, coated optics always ALWAYS test with a TINY TINY amount first with a white tissue or q tip first towards an edge. If anything is eaten away or there is any colour coming off, immediately apply a small amount of water to remove it and limit the damage. Also test the bezel.
Soapy water is safer in that it is much less likely to eat anything away, but you can end up with residue.
Best and safest is to just use water on a damp tissue or microfibre cloth, unless there's something stubborn that won't shift. Whenever it's dirty try that first then work your way up to less safe options if you absolutely have to.
At work, I don't own the equipment so damp tissue is all I have ever used.
post on gumtree 'as new'
first to see will buy
cleaned