Travel Technology - How do you clean your laptop screen?

I can't seem to do it right. I am willing to buy supplies. Thank you.

I use my finger.

$19.95 plus S+H ;)

This simply cannot be beat!

http://www.cleanscreen.info/

YYCollie, you propose an innovative and attractively simple method. But I have tried it, and it left smudges.

Birdstrike, thank you for your typically helpful reply. I thought you were going to suggest that I get my Thinkpad drycleaned. Anyway, I am not willing to lay out $300 for one of these screen cleaners, nor am I willing to pay for the extensive maintenance they require.

Yesterday I tried toilet paper with a lot of water, and it smudged.

Does anyone want to be my real friend?

I've got a Thinkpad T42p, and besides needing to have my screen cleaned, I've also got hand-oil? smudges on the top (opposite side of screen) -- if anyone could provide an answer for that I'd much appreciate it as well. Thanks.

I've got a Thinkpad T42p, and besides needing to have my screen cleaned, I've also got hand-oil? smudges on the top (opposite side of screen) -- if anyone could provide an answer for that I'd much appreciate it as well. Thanks.

I'm a Thinkpad devotee, and I know those smudges well. I think I once used a wet cloth and some liquid soap on the case.

I would take a staged approach.

First I would use a dry microfibre eyeglass or lens cleaning cloth. Not pressing too hard since the screens can crack.

Next I would moisten a clean lint-free cloth with Windex and wipe the screen down. You could buy special lens cleaning liquid, but for a laptop screen I wouldn't bother.

When travelling I use Zeiss Pre-moistened Cleaning Cloths (http://www.optics4birding.com/pre-moistened-cleaningcloths-1117.html ) for just about everything optical.

I've got a site bookmarked somewhere that has them much cheaper than the site I just referenced. I'll dig it up if you are interested.

Ah, here it is. (http://www.minimus.biz/SearchResult.aspx?KeyWords=zeiss)

http://www.minimus.biz/ has cool travel sized stuff.

Great idea. Thank you, birdstrike. I'd like to do this now-ish, so maybe I'll go look for a camera store that sells such things.

I use a swiffer....

...Does anyone want to be my real friend?

We'll get back to you on that one, but in the meantime try distilled water :D

Windex and a paper twoel. I have an IBM T40...works just fine, screen not scratched by it.

At home, I use the lens cleaner and microfiber cloth from my optometrist.

We also have a bucket of "computer screen cleaner" towlettes in the little square packets at work - I pick one of those up every once in a while for my laptop.

Fingers? Water? Windex? 300 for a cleaning???? OMG you are all making me shudder. About to call PETL (People for the Ethical Treatment of Laptops) and report you all *smile*

Laptop screens are a whole different "beast" than desktop screens and can be EASILY destroyed, particularly with water or windex. The $300 cleaning probably works but save yourself $297. Go to staples or office max. They have special bottles of laptop screen cleaner (in the same area of the store as the compressed air for cleaning the keyboard of a laptop). Comes in a small spray bottle. It is best if you can use lintless "tissues" (also carried in that area of the stores) but if not a normal kleenex will do. Just make sure it is NOT a tissue with lotion built into it. It is better if you spray the substance on the tissue/kleenex/cloth and then clean the screen with it than spraying it directly on the screen. Particularly if you do not have one of the new sealed keyboards.

RadioShack sells a kit that contains "PDA Cleaning Solution" (Cat. No. 25-939) and a small cleaning tool that's sort of like a squeegee, but with folded soft flannel-like material instead of rubber. I use it to clean my laptop screen as well as the screen on my Pocket PC/phone. A few drops of the quick-evaporating cleaning solution is applied to the flannel material and wiped gently across the screen. Removes fingerprints and dust easily and efficiently.

The little finger wipe packets that you get at Hooters work great. Just ask for an extra one next time you get some wings.

Saliva. Human.

Goodness, some people here really want to kill their laptop screens!

I have investigated this question (with Samsung, in relation to their flat desktop screens) and have been told by the manufacturer that the only approved cleaner is water. On applying pressure to them they admitted that I could use water with a touch of dishwashing detergent, and to make sure that no liquid got inside.

I use a soft cloth dampened slightly with clean dishwashing water, then use another soft cloth slightly dampened with water, and a third to dry it off. Gets everything off perfectly. Use distilled water if you have it.

I would never use any other chemicals - those wipes all contain alcohol or strong detergents and could easily damage the screen. And Windex? That's for glass windows, not for the plastic surface of a screen!

I hvae seen screens that have been cleaned with a powder bleach product meant for cleaning sinks. It's not pretty.

Personally, I avoid touching the screen at all, and just dust off lightly with a kleenex. (Dust heavily and you may scratch the screen.)

Audrey

When it gets dusty, I clean my ThinkPad T42 this way:

--Moisten a washcloth in the hotel where I'm staying
--Wring it out thoroughly
--Wipe in a single direction across the screen, usually two passes, one for the top half, one for the same direction for the bottom half
--If I did a good job and really, really wrung out the washcloth, I'm done; if not, I make a second pass across the screen in a a single direction with a dry washcloth

When I'm at home, I just blast the thing with compressed air.

P.S. The very slightly damp washcloth works great for the keyboard as well.

Monster iClean with the included microfiber rag. Use it on all my LCDs.

Klear Screen (http://www.klearscreen.com/). I've been using this for a few years. 2-part cleaning, you have to get part 1 off before it dries (you can re-wet). That's my only caveat

Monster has a product here in Canada that is probably the same thing that SEA_Tigger suggests, just with a different name called Monster ScreanCleaner.

It is definitely the best product I have ever used, I use it on my LCD TV's also. We can buy it at Best Buy here.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/multimedia/products/large/10060866.jpg

Works well here. All you have to do is to wash it in hot water every so often when it gets dirty (but no dryer sheets on the dry cycle).

I've used it on several laptops, including my Thinkpad.

Comp USA description/cost (http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?ref=cnet&pfp=cnet&product_code=310822)

Another vote for Klear Screen. I also keep one of their micro-chamois between the keyboard and screen when I travel to prevent the marking of the keyboard on the screen.

Endust for Electronics - can be hard to find, sometimes at office supply stores. That and a clean cloth, safe on the screen, doesn't leave a film, not too expensive.

I use it on my X31, cell phone, blackberry, etc.

Walmart lens cleaner... I carry a dozen little packets or so in my briefcase. You can also clean your sunglasses with them. ;)

Remember: protein gets out protein.

Following Alan's homoerotic bent, I obtained screen wipes by the brand name of Fellowes. Very sadly, they only made a big smudgy mess. Time to try a soft washcloth and water.

Costco sells a box of those individually packaged wipes - good for computer screens, camera lens, eyeglasses, etc. Non-abrasive, alcohol-based solution.. manufactured by one of those optical solution companies (Alcon?)..

klear screen...

Only because my laptop doesn't fit in the top rack of my dishwasher, and it takes up too much space on the bottom. :p

This thing is the best there is:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7022107&type=product&productCategoryId=cat08067&id=1099394387854

A lot of you are recommending alcohol-based cleaners. That's fine for glass computer screens, but definitely not for plastic. Haven't had a time to do the water-and-washcloth bit yet.

A lot of you are recommending alcohol-based cleaners. That's fine for glass computer screens, but definitely not for plastic. Haven't had a time to do the water-and-washcloth bit yet.

The stuff I recommended is a water based cleaner, that and the special cleaning head it comes with do a good job every time.

A lot of you are recommending alcohol-based cleaners. That's fine for glass computer screens, but definitely not for plastic. Haven't had a time to do the water-and-washcloth bit yet.
I have used the RadioShack kit I mentioned earlier on my Sony VAIO laptop screen at least once a week for the last 19 months, with absolutely no adverse effect.

I want to thank everyone that has posted here so far ... I'm still puttering around, unsure of which cleansing solution to go forward with. Guess I will wait for a little while longer....

Boy is my screen getting dirtier with every passing day. I swear it's that NYC pollution. :o

iKlear (http://iklear.com/)

I just used Windex on my laptop screen, again.

I'm an amateur astronomer, birder, and photographer. My investment in coated optics and exposed CCDs far exceeds what I have tied up in computer equipment.

I'll use the fancy cleaning compounds on my laptop because I have them around, but Windex is more than adequate.

Don't spray the device and dribble liquid into the keyboard, just dampen a cloth or paper towel and wipe down the screen.

It is called consumer electronics for a reason.

A lot of you are recommending alcohol-based cleaners. That's fine for glass computer screens, but definitely not for plastic.

That's why I drink all of my Popov as soon as I get it home from the store! It would be a shame if it escaped its plastic bottle. :p Thank god it doesn't come in 2 litre containers.

I made it half way through this thread before I felt the compulsion to clean my laptop screen immediately!

I use one of those chamois cloths that my optician gives with glasses.