How to clean a laptop screen without streaks or damage

Step by step: how to clean a laptop screen without streaks or damage

Safety first. Shut the laptop or monitor down and unplug it before you clean. Liquid sprayed onto a screen runs down into the bezel and can damage the electronics, so always put water on the cloth instead.

1. 1

   Shut down and unplug

   Power the laptop or monitor off completely and unplug the charger or power cable. A black screen also shows smudges and dust far better than a lit one. Let a warm screen cool for a minute or two.

2. 2

   Dust it with a dry microfiber cloth

   Wipe the whole screen gently with a clean, dry microfiber cloth in broad strokes or circles. This lifts dust and grit first, so you do not drag it across the coating once the cloth is damp. Do not press; laptop panels flex.

3. 3

   Dampen a corner of a second cloth

   Put a few drops of distilled or tap water on one corner of a second microfiber cloth. It should feel cool and barely damp, never wet enough to drip when you squeeze it.

4. 4

   Wipe the smudges gently

   Work the damp corner over fingerprints and spots with light pressure, starting at the top and moving down. Go over sneeze spots and dried drips a few times rather than pressing harder. Keep the cloth away from the gaps at the edges.

5. 5

   Buff dry right away

   Turn to a dry part of the cloth and buff the screen until no damp streaks are left. Streaks that appear now usually mean the cloth was too wet or dirty.

6. 6

   Treat stubborn marks only with an approved cleaner

   If water does not shift greasy marks, check your maker’s guidance. Apple allows a cloth moistened with 70 percent isopropyl alcohol on Mac displays, but Dell says not to use alcohol on its monitors, so the answer depends on your screen.

7. 7

   Let it air dry, then clean the frame and keyboard

   Leave the screen open for a few minutes until it is completely dry before you power on. Wipe the bezel and the keyboard deck too, since that is where skin oil transfers to the screen when the lid closes.

How to clean a MacBook, Mac or iPad screen

Use a soft, lint-free cloth dampened with water only, and keep moisture out of the openings. Apple’s cleaning guide says that for stubborn marks you can moisten the cloth with a 70 percent isopropyl alcohol solution, and that you should never spray cleaner directly onto the Mac or use bleach or hydrogen peroxide.

Nano-texture glass is the exception. Apple’s nano-texture instructions say to clean those displays (on some MacBook Pro, iMac, Studio Display, Pro Display XDR and iPad Pro models) only with the polishing cloth that came with the device, moistened with 70 percent isopropyl alcohol for hard-to-remove smudges. Hand wash that cloth with dish soap and water and let it air dry for at least 24 hours before reuse. An ordinary cloth can damage the etched surface.

Close the lid gently with nothing on the keyboard. Crumbs or a stray earbud between the keys and the screen leave marks in the coating that no cleaning will remove.

For an iMac or other Mac desktop, Apple’s guide starts the same way: shut down the Mac and unplug the power cord before you wipe it with a damp, soft, lint-free cloth.

How do you clean an iPad screen? Unplug any cables and turn the iPad off, then wipe it with a soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth, keeping moisture out of the openings. Apple notes that the iPad screen has an oil-repelling (oleophobic) coating, so a soft cloth alone usually lifts fingerprints, and that abrasive materials wear the coating down and can scratch the screen. Apple also rules out window cleaners, household cleaners, compressed air, aerosol sprays, solvents, ammonia and hydrogen peroxide.

How to clean a monitor or computer screen

Clean a desktop monitor the same way as a laptop: power off, dry microfiber first, then a barely damp cloth, then buff. Most monitors have a matte anti-glare coating that solvents strip, so they need more care than a phone.

Dell’s screen cleaning advice is to wipe in broad circles with a dry microfiber cloth, use a corner dampened with distilled water for stubborn marks, and let the screen air dry before you turn it on. For persistent marks it allows a 50/50 mix of distilled water and white vinegar, applied to the cloth and never sprayed. Dell’s monitor damage article lists detergents, benzene, thinner, ammonia, abrasive cleaners, alcohol and compressed air as off limits and says damage from them counts as customer-induced and is not covered by the standard warranty.

For an all-in-one PC or a monitor from another brand, check your manual: rules on alcohol and vinegar differ. For a TV, see our guide to cleaning a TV screen.

What not to use on a laptop or computer screen

Skip anything abrasive, anything with ammonia or solvents, and any spray aimed at the screen. These are the usual culprits and what they do.

Mistakes to avoid

• Spraying cleaner straight onto the screen so it seeps into the bottom edge.
• Wiping a lit, warm screen, which hides smudges and dries cleaner into streaks.
• Pressing hard on a stubborn spot until the panel shows ripples or dead pixels.
• Using a regular cloth on a nano-texture display instead of the polishing cloth.
• Reusing a dusty cloth, which drags grit across the coating.