On cleaning LCD screens

Colin Dunstan · 06-24-2005, 09:00 AM

Are the colors of your LCD screen rather murky at times? Chances are that you suffer from a wide-spread phenomena: dust caught on your screen. I simply hate it! Little dust particles attracted by static electricity. A quite irritating, almost every day experience. And I am not even talking about dust trapped under the screen, which would drive me completely nuts. Moosberg from WSJ has some good advises how to clean a laptop-, or more generally any LCD screen:

It's best to avoid household cleaners and common rags or cloths or paper products. I advise using a commercial product that includes a liquid cleaning solution and special soft cloths specifically designed for the LCD screens laptops use. These cleaners can also be used on flat-panel TV screens and flat-panel desktop monitors. There are a number of brands, but I've had good success with one called Klear Screen, available in stores or at www.klearscreen.com.

The same company makes a product called iKlear, which is for Apple laptops, and a Dell version for Dell laptops, but I assume the products are all basically the same, and this is just a marketing ploy. I don't believe the screens Apple and Dell use are any different from most others. They all come from a handful of suppliers in Asia.

I am curious to know how you take care of your LCD screens. Do you actually use special equipment as advised by Mossberg?

Bob Russell · 06-24-2005, 09:59 AM

I don't use any special LCD cleaning cloths, but because I wear reading glasses sometimes, I already have those single packet lens wipes for eyeglasses which seem to work great.

But I should point out I'm not too worried about my main screen because I basically only have to clean a screen protector. I don't know how people can live without one of those. Invariably I get scratches from games, or when there's grit or a scratch on my stylus. And having a permanent scratch on my screen really annoys me, even if the equivalent scratch on my screen protector is no big deal. Go figure.

Anyway, I am using a real cheap screen protector off eBay right now because I don't play games or do graffiti on my Treo650, so it doesn't really matter much to me how nice it feels with a stylus or how well it protects. In fact, I just cut one of the ones I already had, because almost all screens are bigger than the Treo screen!

Back to the lens wipes... They are supposed to not scratch eyeglass lenses. Even a cloth or tissue leaves scratches, so I agree that they shouldn't be used on a PDA screen.

The lens wipes are also not very wet, so I don't worry about drips. And I also can use it on the cameral lens, although sometimes I wonder if real lens paper would be even safer for that.

Look for a sale on a box of them if you don't have them on hand already for your eyeglasses... they can be very expensive if you don't find a bargain brand or sale price. I think WalMart or Sam's Club had them at a reasonable price if you're near one of their stores.

Alexander Turcic · 06-24-2005, 10:24 AM

I don't use screen protectors because I find them more irritating than helpful. And I've also tried those more expensive ones from Brando HK. On the other hand, I don't play games that require the stylus a lot and I am usually very careful when using it. So far not a single visible scratch on my X50v (*knock on wood*).

To clean my LCD screens (both from my laptop and my PDAs), I use a microfiber cloth with a bit of water. The cloth I bought in a home depot store for six bucks or so.

not-rlauzon · 06-24-2005, 10:28 AM

D.O.C. (the company that makes eye glasses) makes some pretty cheap cleaning wipes called WipeOuts and I found that they work very well to keep my PDA's clean.

johnsoax · 06-24-2005, 12:03 PM

I typically use this to clean my powerbook screen. For my PDA's, I just use the cloth that came with my Boxwave screen protectors. They work great.

06-24-2005, 09:00 AM	#1
Colin Dunstan Is papyrophobic! Posts: 1,926 Karma: 1009999 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: USA Device: Dell Axim	On cleaning LCD screens Are the colors of your LCD screen rather murky at times? Chances are that you suffer from a wide-spread phenomena: dust caught on your screen. I simply hate it! Little dust particles attracted by static electricity. A quite irritating, almost every day experience. And I am not even talking about dust trapped under the screen, which would drive me completely nuts. Moosberg from WSJ has some good advises how to clean a laptop-, or more generally any LCD screen: It's best to avoid household cleaners and common rags or cloths or paper products. I advise using a commercial product that includes a liquid cleaning solution and special soft cloths specifically designed for the LCD screens laptops use. These cleaners can also be used on flat-panel TV screens and flat-panel desktop monitors. There are a number of brands, but I've had good success with one called Klear Screen, available in stores or at www.klearscreen.com. The same company makes a product called iKlear, which is for Apple laptops, and a Dell version for Dell laptops, but I assume the products are all basically the same, and this is just a marketing ploy. I don't believe the screens Apple and Dell use are any different from most others. They all come from a handful of suppliers in Asia. I am curious to know how you take care of your LCD screens. Do you actually use special equipment as advised by Mossberg?

06-24-2005, 10:28 AM	#4
not-rlauzon Nameless Being	Wipe Outs D.O.C. (the company that makes eye glasses) makes some pretty cheap cleaning wipes called WipeOuts and I found that they work very well to keep my PDA's clean.

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06-24-2005, 09:59 AM	#2
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	I don't use any special LCD cleaning cloths, but because I wear reading glasses sometimes, I already have those single packet lens wipes for eyeglasses which seem to work great. But I should point out I'm not too worried about my main screen because I basically only have to clean a screen protector. I don't know how people can live without one of those. Invariably I get scratches from games, or when there's grit or a scratch on my stylus. And having a permanent scratch on my screen really annoys me, even if the equivalent scratch on my screen protector is no big deal. Go figure. Anyway, I am using a real cheap screen protector off eBay right now because I don't play games or do graffiti on my Treo650, so it doesn't really matter much to me how nice it feels with a stylus or how well it protects. In fact, I just cut one of the ones I already had, because almost all screens are bigger than the Treo screen! Back to the lens wipes... They are supposed to not scratch eyeglass lenses. Even a cloth or tissue leaves scratches, so I agree that they shouldn't be used on a PDA screen. The lens wipes are also not very wet, so I don't worry about drips. And I also can use it on the cameral lens, although sometimes I wonder if real lens paper would be even safer for that. Look for a sale on a box of them if you don't have them on hand already for your eyeglasses... they can be very expensive if you don't find a bargain brand or sale price. I think WalMart or Sam's Club had them at a reasonable price if you're near one of their stores.

06-24-2005, 10:24 AM	#3
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	I don't use screen protectors because I find them more irritating than helpful. And I've also tried those more expensive ones from Brando HK. On the other hand, I don't play games that require the stylus a lot and I am usually very careful when using it. So far not a single visible scratch on my X50v (knock on wood). To clean my LCD screens (both from my laptop and my PDAs), I use a microfiber cloth with a bit of water. The cloth I bought in a home depot store for six bucks or so.

06-24-2005, 12:03 PM	#5
johnsoax Connoisseur Posts: 65 Karma: 2418 Join Date: Feb 2003 Device: TT3(Home)&Dell x50(Work)	I typically use this to clean my powerbook screen. For my PDA's, I just use the cloth that came with my Boxwave screen protectors. They work great.

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