Keeping your LCD screen clean reduces eye strain. It may also allow you to run with reduced backlight brightness. That translates directly to longer battery life – the backlight is a heavy consumer of your power budget. So, how do you effectively clean it without causing scratches or other damage? Here’s what I do.
You’ll need some special cleaning fluid. Sure, you could go buy a bottle of LCD cleaner from your favorite office supply store. But I use isopropyl alcohol diluted 50% with spring water. Look in your medicine cabinet, I’ll bet you have some isopropyl on hand already. Next you’ll need a soft cloth. A perfect source is an old, well-washed and worn out cotton t-shirt that’s destined for the trash. Cut two pieces that have no printing – you want plain, unadulterated cloth with no printing, decals or other abrasive matter. Remember, you’ll be rubbing soft plastic so anything abrasive will cause scratches!
Wash your hands. Shut down your laptop; you don’t want it to accidentally power up while you’re working. Dip a corner of the cloth in your solution then squeeze most of it out between finger and thumb. You want the cloth to be well-moistened but not dripping. You do not want droplets of solution to sneak under the bezel.
Pick a corner to start and lightly scrub the screen with the moistened cloth. Then, before the area dries in the air use your dry cloth to polish it dry. Periodically re-moisten your cleaning cloth as needed, and don’t forget to shift to an unused area of the cloth as it becomes used. And don’t let it dry out!
Work your way over the entire screen surface a few square inches at a time. Resist the temptation to do more square inches than you can comfortably clean before it dries in the air on its own. Overlap your cleaning areas slightly and you’ll find that you’ll polish/dry the area’s edges seamlessly. Take your time!
You can use the remaining solution and your cloths to clean the other plastic surfaces of the laptop. Pay attention to the keyboard and other buttons, palm rests and the track pad surface (if you have one of those).
Now that your screen is nice and clean, how do you keep it that way? I keep a can of compressed air nearby to blow the dust off every now and again. You can also use a small camel hair brush – like what photographers to brush their lenses – to gently brush dust off as it accumulates. Never touch the screen with your fingers! You’ll leave oils from your skin which will trap dust on the surface. With a little care you can avoid time consuming whole-screen cleanings for months and months.
