How to clean a laptop screen

Even if you try hard not to touch the screen with your fingers, there will come a day when you can’t put off cleaning your laptop screen any longer. Dust, dirt, or sometimes imprints from the keyboard keys will eventually appear on your screen and look especially bad when the light shines on them. It’s obvious that using a cloth dripping with water isn’t the best idea and might even ruin the whole device. So how do you actually clean a laptop screen? We have some tips for you here.

Cleaning your laptop screen is actually really quick and easy. What takes the longest time is actually the preparations i.e. the waiting at the beginning. To prevent electric shocks or damage to the device caused from it short-circuiting, you should do the following at least 30 minutes before cleaning:

• turn off your laptop
  
• disconnect the device from the power supply
  
• remove the battery if you can

You don’t have to be a tech expert to clean your laptop screen properly. But you should bear in mind that the surface of the screen consists of very thin layers. That means you have to be very careful when cleaning it. Make sure you:

• don’t press hard on the screen when cleaning
  
• Only use cleaning products intended for use on screen devices
  
• use a soft, non-scratching cloth, preferably a microfiber one
  

Are you ready to begin? First, remove any dust, visible streaks, and fingerprints. The best way to do this is with a dry, soft microfiber cloth. Use gentle pressure and circular movements over the entire screen. To avoid getting dust under the edges of the screen, clean it from the outside inwards.

The next step is to deal with the more stubborn dirt. You don’t necessarily need special cleaning agents for this because a good result can be achieved with cheaper methods. Just put a few drops of dishwasher detergent in about one liter of water, dip your microfiber cloth into the water, and wring it out properly so that it is only slightly moist. You only want to wipe your screen and not wash it so make sure no water runs down the screen and into the interior, otherwise it will damage the electronics. Now repeat this procedure with the damp cloth. At the end of the cleaning process, carefully wipe your laptop screen dry with a lint-free cloth. This is important to prevent streaks from appearing. You may have read that you can also use the damp cloths that you use to clean eyeglasses with, but this is not a good idea. If you clean your laptop screen with these, a film will be left behind which will attract more dust than before.

Is your laptop now shiny and streak-free? To help it stay that way, we have a few additional tips on how to keep your laptop screen clean:

• You can avoid prints from the keyboard keys appearing on your screen by always placing a soft cloth (a kitchen towel will do) between the screen and keyboard when folding the laptop.
  
• Alcohol-based solvents will ruin your laptop screen, as will sharp objects (including fingernails!), the scratchy side of a sponge, or paper tissues.
  
• If your laptop screen is still warm, let it cool down completely before cleaning, otherwise streaks will appear after you’ve done wiping.
  
• The corners of the laptop screen can be cleaned with cotton swabs.
  
• Never spray special cleaners directly on the screen – spray first on the cloth.
  
• Window cleaners almost always contain ammonia, acetone, or alcohol, and are therefore not suitable for cleaning your laptop screen.