Last week we started looking at spring cleaning your PC. We will continue this week with monitors, notebooks and tablets.
Get a soft lint-free cloth. Use a microfiber cloth like you could use to clean you glasses and maybe some Isopropyl alcohol.
Do not get any abrasive cleaners, glass cleaners (including none of the blue glass cleaners), no online monitor cleaners no matter how good the price, dish detergent, (well maybe but more on that later) no water, or paper towels.
First, and very significantly, disconnect ALL cables/wires, especially the power cable from your monitor. Electrical shocks are not good for you or the computer!
Use your compressed air can mentioned last week and blow all of the grit and dust off of every part of your monitor. Now use the microfiber cloth and clean the "glass" part first. Wipe it well but lightly if there is something stuck to it or something that will not easily go away. You can do the same with the exterior monitors of your notebook and/or tablet including the glass and Smart TV.
If you have a spot or an area where you have a smear of something try this. Get warm water and very lightly moisten one of your microfiber cloths. You will need a dry one later to dry the surfaces. Use the slightly moistened cloth and see if that takes care of it. After it is clean use your dry microfiber to dry it all up. It should not be a dripping mess with water running down the monitor, if so you could damage the monitor or notebook. Be sure it is just moist, not wet. Do not spray the water on the monitor either.
But what if you have some real dirt buildup on the monitor, say something the warm moist cloth could not remove? This calls for a nonabrasive dish detergent. Dawn and Joy are often recommended. Fill a cereal bowl with warm water. Put in one drop of detergent and only one drop, not a squeeze. Mix it together, slightly moisten the microfiber with the mixture and clean again. Once you are done, rinse out the cloth very well with clean warm water and get all of the soap out. Wring it out thoroughly and get as much water out of the clean cloth as possible. Remember always moist never wet. Use this cleaned cloth to wipe the gadget down to remove all soap. Finally use your dry microfiber to buff off the monitor, tablet or Smart TV. This last step should get rid of any dry swipe marks.
Your last resort on a bad spot is Isopropyl alcohol. Very lightly wipe and then dry with microfiber as before.
If you think you see me in a coffee shop using a napkin to clean my notebook…that is most definitely not me!
