Cleaning Your Flat Screen TV

Almost every home and office has them at this point, and they all get dirty. It doesn’t matter if the screen is plasma, LCD, LED, a large touch screen or anything else. Any of these sensitive surfaces will need to be cleaned sooner or later, and it is not quite the same as your old, clunky tube television. For this reason, most people are unsure of the correct way to clean their flat screen, so they end up getting duped into spending a bunch of money on fancy supplies that are not even necessary. You do need to use the right tools and techniques in order to do it safely, but it does not have to be expensive or complicated to remove fingerprints, dust and caked on dirt from any flat screen TV.

In this article we will go over an often recommended traditional method as well a faster, easier and safer simplygood method. The old school method probably sounds familiar, and may get your TV clean, but it seems pretty risky, and it may take extra care or effort to get the results you are after. Or technique utilizes better tools in order to reduce risk and make it easy to get any flat screen monitor or TV super clean.

Traditional Method

Supplies

• rubbing alcohol
• distilled water
• cloth

Step By Step Instructions

1. Mix up a solution of half alcohol and half water. Make sure to use distilled water and not some from the tap.
2. Pour your mixture into a spray bottle. Recycling an old one is the ideal, low cost choice, and it should provide you with a nice spray pattern.
3. Spritz a small but even amount onto your cloth. A soft, lint-free variety is ideal so you don’t trade dirt for little white pieces of lint that are equally annoying. An old t-shirt or car washing cloth would be a good choice. A larger cloth may make it easier to reduce streaking by eliminating moisture and reducing pressure.
4. Use a circular motion to gently wipe the whole surface.
5. Apply even pressure and work from one side to the other. Be careful not to press too hard or scrape the screen with your fingernails or anything else.
6. If there is residual moisture after wiping, use a dry cloth, or a dry portion of the original one to soak it all up.

Things To Think About

• Spending money does not guarantee results. Don’t just grab a fancy bottle of the shelf at the store because they are usually just selling the same mixture of water and alcohol. Some will even contain extra substances like ethylene glycol, which is fine to use on glass, but should not be used on your flat screen TV.
• Always use distilled water to avoid mineral spot or hard water problems.
• Don’t use tissue or toilet paper or paper towels because they will leave lint and could scratch.
• Never use too much cleaner. Too much moisture can be a problem, so dry it up immediately if you accidentally add too much.
• If you prefer a store bought mixture, look for CD/DVD cleaner because it is safe for plastics, and is pretty similar to the mixture above.

Some Precautions

• Don’t use Windex or other glass cleaners. The ammonia will definitely cause problems. It’s cool for glass, and was OK on your old TV, but do not use it for your flat screen.
• For safest cleaning, be sure to shut off your TV. Take it one step further by unplugging it from the wall.  This reduces the possibility of damage just in case you have an accident.
• If you aren’t sure, test a small area first.

Safe & Easy Simply Good Method

What You’ll Need

• High Quality Microfiber Cloth
• Warm Water (optional)

Steps

1. Most cleanings will only require a dry cloth. When dry, you can remove fingerprints, smudges, dust and light dirt.
2. For stubborn grime, or stuff that seems to be glued on, add water to the cloth to increase cleaning power.
3. To get the cloth wet use warm or hot water from the tap. Fully saturate the cloth and then wring until it no longer drips. You only need a small amount of moisture, and it will not require an amount that can cause damage.
4. Wring it out until it is no longer dripping, and is only damp
5. To clean, Gently wipe in up and down or circular motion or one long continuous motion.
6. Work from one side to the other, top to bottom, or outside in. Keep wiping until all dirt is removed and your screen looks new and polished.

Advantages

This method is low water, so your screen dries in seconds and you don’t have to worry about moisture damage. Superior microfiber cleaning cloths make it easy to clean without streaking or leaving behind lint. Your screen will be left clean, streak-free and polished. You never have to worry about scratching or buying, mixing or using special solutions. A high quality microfiber cloth and possibly water is all you need to clean any flat screen TV.  Lower quality cloths may just smear stuff around or glide right over it, but the ones we sell will cut through and lift up anything on there. Don’t be fooled by some fancy version that comes with some fancy spray. Most times those solutions are there to compensate for a cloth that does not work alone. Tiny wedges skim the surface, lifting up dirt and lock it in the fibers. Cleaning is fast and easy no matter how dirty it is. Safe for any TV surface and guaranteed to work better than what you are using now.

Just because a traditional method has been used forever does not mean that it is best. Why risk adding moisture to a delicate electronic when you could use a tool that produces better results in less time.

Flat Screen Cleaning Cloth

Large Polishing CLoth

Multipurpose Microfiber Cloth