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Clean the screen - with what?

S

Skybar

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 16, 2010
87
0
As many of you know, the screen gets dirty. Especially on a laptop where the fat from your fingers gets on the keyboard, and when you close the lid.. yeah, that fat gets on the screen.

A buddy of mine recommended the cleaning solution "iKlear", which he bought on Applestore. But they don't sell that anymore, and I have no idea where to buy it in Europe. Sure I could order it from their site, but it takes time to ship from the US and the shipping cost is higher as you can imagine.

So, question 1: Does anyone know where you can buy this in Europe or Sweden?
or, question 2: Does anyone know of a different solution that works just as well? (and ships within Euro/Swe)
 
Most people just over complicate screen cleaning.
Really all you need is a wet cloth. kitchen paper works too. You only need to be smart enough to only get it a little wet or squize it enough so no water might run down the screen and damage something.
If it is so greasy that a wet cloth doesn't help all you need is to mix in a little random dish-washing detergent, or some lemon juice.
It is no different than cleaning a window just more delicate with the matte screen.

I cleaned my displays without some special iKlear like nonsense for years and never had a problem.
 
Thanks for the replies. I just figured it'd be a lot easier to spray something on and then wipe it off, but yeah a moist cloth might work just as well.

What is this microfiber cloth you are talking about? Is there something special to it than a normal towel?
 
microfiber is a very soft towel that will not scratch, also they are generally lint free
 
Like others, I use a damp microfiber cloth to wipe, and buff dry with another. I buy mine in packs from Target. They come in blue, orange, and white.
 
Micro fiber cloth is a plus, don't use your shirt. As far as paper towels, most of them wont scratch the screen, but some will.
 
smcbaird said:
Spray windex on paper towel and voila.
Note, if you ever use windex, don't spray it directly on the screen.
Click to expand...

NOOOOOO!!! the alcohol in windex will remove the glossy coating on the screen. Either use a dry cloth (microfiber is nice) or use a non-alcoholic glass cleaner.

That being said OP windex is fine for yours because it is a glass overlay.
 
If you can find Klear Screen, it's the same product as iKlear, just not marketed targeting Macs.

Do not use Windex. Do not use paper towels - paper can scratch.

Use what Apple recommends, which is a dampened lint-free cloth (micro-fiber or soft cotton, the former being preferred) or iKlear/Klearscreen. You should be able to order directly from the Klear products site: http://www.klearscreen.com/
 
Alternatively for those of you with a new machine, wondering what to get, dont get anything.

Just clean your screen at least once a week with the fiber that comes with the mbp, and that should be enough to keep away the mess that needs to get clean with special liquids.

Cheers
 
mac00l said:
Alternatively for those of you with a new machine, wondering what to get, dont get anything.

Just clean your screen at least once a week with the fiber that comes with the mbp, and that should be enough to keep away the mess that needs to get clean with special liquids.

Cheers
Click to expand...


So true. People with OCD issues might not like this answer, but if you refrain from sneezing on your screen and if you put some kind of thin cloth over the keyboard every time you close it (I use the piece of foam that came with my MBP) then you can get away with wiping the screen once a week using the microfiber cloth that came with the MBP. Dampen it with water in extreme cases. That's all.

In other words, Apple gave you all you need. Don't complicate your life so much :)
 
AWallen90 said:
NOOOOOO!!! the alcohol in windex will remove the glossy coating on the screen. Either use a dry cloth (microfiber is nice) or use a non-alcoholic glass cleaner.

That being said OP windex is fine for yours because it is a glass overlay.
Click to expand...

Yes this is true, but i forget to mention that you use the non-metho based windex cleaner. Sorry! Forgot to mention that!
 
Skybar said:
on a laptop where the fat from your fingers gets on the keyboard, and when you close the lid.. yeah, that fat gets on the screen.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how heavy you are, maybe your fat leaks out, but finger oil/sweat/grease isn't exactly fat.


I used to use iKlear until my bottle ran out. The stuff was great. Now I just wipe down my laptop every couple of months with a moist towelette.
 
Skybar said:
Thanks for the replies. I just figured it'd be a lot easier to spray something on and then wipe it off, but yeah a moist cloth might work just as well.

What is this microfiber cloth you are talking about? Is there something special to it than a normal towel?
Click to expand...

Don't spray anything onto the screen! Doing that will be a recipe for disaster as you get fluid inside of the computer
 
TuffLuffJimmy said:
I'm not sure how heavy you are, maybe your fat leaks out, but finger oil/sweat/grease isn't exactly fat.
Click to expand...
I'm not a native english speaker, so I just chose the word closest to what we use in sweden. You understood what I meant though, mission accomplished.


So many great tips in this thread, I am really grateful! I will get my hands on a microfiber cloth and see how that works out. Just a question though: When you say it should only be dampened, how exactly do you do that? Whenever I have to wet a cloth or paper it always get superwet, and if I try to only put a little bit of water on it its like spots of water here and there, no continuity really :eek:

Sorry if I seem totally behind on this, its my first laptop so I've never really had to clean my screens before.
 
Use a barely damp papertowel, but do not drench the thing. Squeeze as much water off of it as you can before wiping anything with it.
 
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