How to clean an LCD monitor or laptop screen

Here's how to simply and easily clean your LCD monitor's screen without damaging it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• lint free paper towel
• isopropyl alcohol

1. Isopropyl alcohol First make sure your materials are correct. The paper towel simply needs to not be too abrasive and not leave link behind while wiping. That covers pretty much every type except really cheap ones in public bathrooms and super fancy, high end types. As for the alcohol, yes isopropyl alcohol is technically rubbing alcohol but a lot of rubbing alcohol may have additives that are unsafe for cleaning electronics. Luckily every major drug store and grocery store has isopropyl alcohol available. It's cheap too. Walmart has about a half quart for under a dollar. It should be between a 50% and 91% alcohol mix with 75% being the best to use. You want a lot of alcohol in it because that dissolves dirt and ink and pretty much anything else but the water traps it and lifts it off the screen into the paper towel while the alcohol just dissolves and leaves the dirt on the monitor. If you could only find 91% alcohol and want to water it down slightly, do not add tap water as that will leave streaks. Add distilled water if you have any or bottled water with no minerals or additives.
2. Normal cleaners with ammonia, soaps, or any acids can damage an LCD screen so that's why it's not safe to just spray Windex on your screen like you could for those big, glass CRT monitors. Isopropyl alcohol is safe for all metals and plastics so that's why it's the only recommended thing to use. So fold the paper towel over itself a few times until you have about a 2x2 inch square that's a several layers thick. Open the bottle of alcohol and put the paper towel tight over the mouth. Then tip the bottle upside down for about a second so some soaks into the paper towel.
3. Then gently rub the wet paper towel up and down the screen until you've covered every part of the screen. After that rub it around in small, quick circles like you’re waxing a car. This pattern will prevent streaks. Make sure to get the inside of each corner too.
4. Flip the paper towel over to the dry side or use another dry one if it soaked all the way through and dry it in the same circular pattern before all the alcohol and water can dissolve. This will pick up all the dirt and dust and grime and whatever else was on the monitor.
5. If there are streaks or any remaining residue, repeat the process with a fresh paper towel and more alcohol until it’s completely clean.