# Solved: How do you clean a LCD monitor?



## bonkers72 (Oct 11, 2003)

What is a good, safe cleaner to use to clean your LCD monitor screen? Kids have greasy finger prints all over it from fast food!!  Thanks.


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## kiwiguy (Aug 17, 2003)

Anyone that touches mine lose their fingers.

However the commercial cleaner that I use is white Vinegar, water and Isopropyl alcohol, quantities are not given but assume the order means more vinegar than water and a bit of IPA.

But just Vinegar and Water is OK, just check it on Google if you don't believe me.

The most important thing is that the amount of liquid should NEVER be such that it can run down the screen, as it will get into the electronics at the base, then it's all over.

A moist lint-free cloth (not a wet cloth) is all that is needed.

Otherwise moist disposable wipes made for the task are available at computer stores.

Never use glass cleaners.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

http://www.klearscreen.com/ has lots of kits for cleaning screens too if you want to go this way to clean things.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

One point. Do _*NOT*_ use paper products to clean the screen, they will scratch it! Use a soft cloth.


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## Bluetiger0990 (May 18, 2006)

I heard that distilled water with a soft cloth works?


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

That works unless the greasy fingerprints won't come off.


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## DarqueMist (Jan 16, 2001)

over a year and so far all thats touched mine is my swiffer duster


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## Bluetiger0990 (May 18, 2006)

Is there anything i could do if the screen lost its shine?


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

How did it "lose it's shine"? If it was "cleaned" with abrasive materials like paper or the wrong kind of cleaning solution, the answer is most likely no.


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## Bluetiger0990 (May 18, 2006)

I cleaned it with a damp paper towel. There isn't anything i can spray on or rub on to get it back...how does factory do it?


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I doubt you'll recover. Like I said, paper products are abrasive, and will damage the LCD screen.


> how does factory do it


They manufacture the screen and then they don't clean it with paper products.


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## Bluetiger0990 (May 18, 2006)

oh well....i might just go and buy a new one


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

Wow i never knew that and im glad i am reading this thread now. My laptop lcd monitor has been wiped with a damp paper towel scince i got it and recently, a closer look now reveals small surface scratches in it. I know now how to take a bit more care of the thing and will think about buying a spray bottle, filling it with a vineager/water mix and then spraying the screen down with it to clean it off and then wipe it with an eyeglass cleaning ragthat can be gotten at any eyeglass store. Plus i would also like to keep the pc new-looking for a good while so it would not be a bad idea. Thanks for the tip guys! .


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## lexmarks567 (Aug 13, 2006)

I use computer wipes made for screens.there most wipes although they dryed up on me


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

You'd be amazed at the number of LCD screens that have been destroyed or seriously damaged using paper towels. They're not your living room window, and you can't treat them as if they were.


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

At least i caught myself at an early stage before any real damage was done! . Also i know alot of times paper smudges the screen and here i am scrubbing away to clean it. Maybe the water, vineager, and rubbing alchohol mix may do the trick to get the grease up rather than pushing it into the corner of the monitor. Maybe another idea would be to cover the screen in a transparant wrap to protect the original surface and if that gets messed up, just take off the wrap and reapply and no damage to the screen. .


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## Knotbored (Jun 5, 2004)

My glasses have an anti-reflective coating. I destroyed it within six months on previous lenses and was going to opt-out because it was so sensitive to scratches.
The eye doctor informed me that toilet tissue was the cause-never EVER use any paper product to clean plastic or coated lenses. It is abrasive. Use cloth only.


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

I think older pairs and my current pair of glasses have taught me that as well as they have all been scratched by using tissues to get them cleaned. Just use the soft cloth the eye doctor gives to you with the glasses and you will be fine.


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## thecoalman (Mar 6, 2006)

Here's a quick tip to bring those dead pixels back to life. I haven't done this myself (I don't even have a LCD) but seen it mentioned on another forum with comments from people that tried it that it worked. Gently "massage" the area where the dead pixel is, you may even have to repeat it a few times. As it will come to life then go dead again but if you keep after it for a while it will eventually stay alive...

No kidding, seen a few people comment about doing this sucessfully.


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## imidiot (Dec 2, 2005)

CPR for a dead pixel.....how cute.


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

How is this idea, when the screen is full of fingerprints, try using a cotton swab w/ rubbing alcohol to clean it. That way, you clean AND disinfect the computer at one shot!


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

"rubbing" alcohol has bad stuff in it, it's ethyl alcohol as a rule, along with some oils and other additives. Read the label before you clean your display with it. What you want for cleaning is 99% isopropyl alcohol and water.


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## Guyzer (Jul 3, 2004)

JohnWill said:


> What you want for cleaning is 99% isopropyl alcohol and water.


99% isopropyl will leave a very slight haze on whatever you apply it to. I use it for cleaning my scanner glass as well as other items and that's what I noticed. If you find a light haze just wipe it with a very soft lint free cloth and it's gone. I would suggest trying to clean a very small corner of the screen prior to the entire thing just in case.


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

I think lex has the best idea, use wipes that are made for the screen. There only a couple bucks and will do it safely and quickly.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Normally, you want to mix the 99% isopropyl alcohol with water in about a 25%-75% alcohol to water ratio for cleaning the screen. That's what I use, and there are no scratches on any of the LCD's here.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

I bet distilled water would be best too because even at 25% water if yours is like mine it is very hard water and distilled water is cheap. Plus your have other things it can be used on or in.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Yep, distilled water is desirable, though I just use it out of the tap.


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

Hey yeah today i tried one of these cleaning things i got from the eye doctor and that helped my screen however, now i noticed this before and did not think much of it but there is a dark corner of the screen that has just a black spot in the same area. Could that already be a dead pixel or just somthing on the screen as the screen seems pretty clean. The spot has been on the computer for some time and always thought it may just me monitor gunk. But the monitor is clean. So maybe a dead pixel or somthing...?Just one tiny spot so no real big deal though.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

JohnWill said:


> Yep, distilled water is desirable, though I just use it out of the tap.


Well water here is way to hard and you get the build up on everything.
But it makes great coffee. :up:


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## erick295 (Mar 27, 2005)

new tech guy said:


> Hey yeah today i tried one of these cleaning things i got from the eye doctor and that helped my screen however, now i noticed this before and did not think much of it but there is a dark corner of the screen that has just a black spot in the same area. Could that already be a dead pixel or just somthing on the screen as the screen seems pretty clean. The spot has been on the computer for some time and always thought it may just me monitor gunk. But the monitor is clean. So maybe a dead pixel or somthing...?Just one tiny spot so no real big deal though.


Well... if the dark spot is a pixel... then yes, it's a dead pixel. If it's a piece of dirt, then yes, it's a piece of dirt. I think you're the only one who can answer that


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## Who's Me (Aug 29, 2006)

Has anyone tried plastic polish?
I have seen it work on car plastics but I have no idea what it would do to a monitor, maybe if someone has one that's trashed anyway they could try it.
Thanks for all the tips on cleaning I've had mine for a year now and have been too scared to touch it.


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

Im not sure what it is honestly. Although it is such a insignificant spot and yo really gotta look to see it so i dont think it is a super big deal. The screen is lcd lighted by led lights and the lights will dim and stuff in a few years and may very well get a new monitor then anyway but it is not the end of the world anyway.


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## cwwozniak (Nov 29, 2005)

new tech guy said:


> The screen is lcd lighted by led lights ...


Wow!! What kind of laptop do you have. I had thought that most laptop screens still used CCFLs for the backlight.


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

Well im pretty sure that is how they are lighted....


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Who's Me said:


> Has anyone tried plastic polish?
> I have seen it work on car plastics but I have no idea what it would do to a monitor, maybe if someone has one that's trashed anyway they could try it.
> Thanks for all the tips on cleaning I've had mine for a year now and have been too scared to touch it.


Plastic polish would be VERY BAD! Remember that the LCD screen has a satin finish for low reflectivity, it's not a highly polished surface. Any sort of polish will fill the small voids and screw up the surface reflectivity at the very least.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Actually, the only LCD's I've ever seen with LED back-light are used in aerospace applications. They use a combination of the CCFL and LED's. One thing about the CCFL lamp is you can only dim it so far, in a night cockpit or for night-vision equipment, you need much finer control of the dimming. At about 10% brightness, the CCFL lamps are turned off and the LED's are used for the fine control of the dimmed display below that threshold.

I don't know of any standard commercial LCD panel that uses LED's to illuminate it.


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

Hmm never knew that. Thanks for clarifying johnwill.


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## cwwozniak (Nov 29, 2005)

JohnWill said:


> I don't know of any standard commercial LCD panel that uses LED's to illuminate it.


Most, if not all, cell phone and digital camera displays use LEDs for the LCD panel backlight. The last that I read, on a strictly final Bill of Material cost of the end product, CCFL backlighting is still cheaper to implement on laptop displays and computer monitors while LEDs are cheaper for small displays up to 3.5 inch diagonal and pretty soon up to 5.7 inches diagonal.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Well, we were talking about LCD displays, not cell phones. I agree, they probably are used in the small displays.

The 15" panel that I've actually had a part for aircraft cockpit use had 50 LED's for the low level illumination with a special light diffuser, not exactly something you'd want to pay for on the budget of a desktop display.


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## bonkers72 (Oct 11, 2003)

Went out and picked up the little monitor wipes ESPECIALLY FOR LCD'S. {Walmart} $1.97 for 24 wipes. Works like a champ!!!!! Highly recommend!!!! Case closed!!


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## SouthParkXP101 (Jun 2, 2006)

paper towel may have scratched it


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

I found a fix for mine and fourtunately, mine is not scratched, just buff marks. Thank goodness. . So i found a solution. Just wet the screen with a wet paper towel, then just wipe them with a soft towlette that came with my eyeglasses and that cleans them without a scratch. .


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

You still keep using paper products on the screens.


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

Well how else am i suppose to get the screen wet? Answer me that.


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## lexmarks567 (Aug 13, 2006)

spray bottle and give it a light mist


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## SouthParkXP101 (Jun 2, 2006)

i use a fluffy rag on mine that is damp works as good as anything else


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

Thanks lex! Sounds like a good idea! Now why i did not think of it, i do not know. I have a spray bottle that goes with my disk doctor that is kept filled with distilled water that will work fine . Thanks guys! .


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## Frank4d (Sep 10, 2006)

If the LCD shows darkened areas even after cleaning it may be caused by "image persistance". It usually occurs where icons or windows have been sitting for a long time. (Similar to "burn in" on CRT monitors but different).

No amount of cleaning will remove it. Solution is to turn on a WHITE screensaver (either all white, or a lot of white text moving all over the screen). After several hours the "image persistance" problem will be gone.


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## cwwozniak (Nov 29, 2005)

Frank4d said:


> If the LCD shows darkened areas even after cleaning it may be caused by "image persistance". It usually occurs where icons or windows have been sitting for a long time. (Similar to "burn in" on CRT monitors but different).
> 
> No amount of cleaning will remove it. Solution is to turn on a WHITE screensaver (either all white, or a lot of white text moving all over the screen). After several hours the "image persistance" problem will be gone.


That's news to me. It was my understanding that any kind of image burn in on an LCD usually indicates a failure of the voltage switching circuits in the LCD panel itself. The electrodes get slowly etched away until they open circuit and the sub-pixels go black. An all white screen would just spread the problem across the whole screen.

EDIT: Are you sure you are not thinking about a plasma flat panel display and not an LCD? The older plasma units were notorious for burning in static images.


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## SouthParkXP101 (Jun 2, 2006)

cleaning a lcd moniter, dont touch it, dont clean it


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

new tech guy said:


> Well how else am i suppose to get the screen wet? Answer me that.


You can't use a wet cloth instead of paper? It's always worked for me.


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## SouthParkXP101 (Jun 2, 2006)

JohnWill said:


> You can't use a wet cloth instead of paper? It's always worked for me.


thats what i use , a damp cloth


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

True too. Would a washcloth work or a towel?


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## SouthParkXP101 (Jun 2, 2006)

washcloth is what i have allways used


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I use old diapers, but not everyone has them handy.


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## SouthParkXP101 (Jun 2, 2006)

JohnWill said:


> I use old diapers, but not everyone has them handy.


 you must have a crappy moniter


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

SouthParkXP101 said:


> you must have a crappy moniter


They were old diapers because they sameones his mom used on John when he was a baby.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Nope, the cloth versions of Depends.   Actually, this is where a grandson comes in handy.


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

LOL well i dont need to clean mine often so its no big deal.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

JohnWill said:


> Nope, the cloth versions of Depends.   Actually, this is where a grandson comes in handy.


So who uses the Depends first?


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