Best Tips for Safely Cleaning Your MacBook Screen

[Zupi]

Hi everyone,

Yesterday, I cleaned my MacBook screen using an ultra-fine microfiber cloth. Here’s what I did:

1. I first wiped off the dust using the dry cloth.
2. Then, I dampened the same side of the cloth with water and continued cleaning the screen.
3. Finally, I flipped the cloth to a dry side to wipe the screen dry.

Now, I’m worried if using the same side of the cloth for both dry dusting and damp cleaning could potentially scratch the screen. Can dust particles cause scratches when the cloth is dampened?

I’d really appreciate your insights and any additional tips you might have for safely cleaning the MacBook screen.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Fishrrman]

My "best tip":

DON'T CLEAN IT.
(or at least, only do so when necessary)

Instead, modify behavior (if required) to prevent the display surface from getting dirty in the first place.

REASON WHY (for above):
The surface of the display has a VERY thin sprayed-on anti-glare coating.
Almost anything you do to the surface starts "to wear on" this coating.
"Clean it" too much, and you may end up with portions of the coating "flaking off".

Hence, the term known as "StainGate".

Apple has improved the anti-glare coating over time, but I would still consider it to be fragile and I try to clean (or even touch) the display as little as possible. Mine still looks good.

 

[Zupi]

My "best tip":

DON'T CLEAN IT.
(or at least, only do so when necessary)

Instead, modify behavior (if required) to prevent the display surface from getting dirty in the first place.

REASON WHY (for above):
The surface of the display has a VERY thin sprayed-on anti-glare coating.
Almost anything you do to the surface starts "to wear on" this coating.
"Clean it" too much, and you may end up with portions of the coating "flaking off".

Hence, the term known as "StainGate".

Apple has improved the anti-glare coating over time, but I would still consider it to be fragile and I try to clean (or even touch) the display as little as possible. Mine still looks good.

I had to clean the screen because a lot of dust had accumulated, but I made sure it wasn't food debris, etc. Can these dust particles scratch the layer on the screen? I think I wiped the screen quite gently, but the cloth still had dust particles from previous cleaning.

 

[BoxsterRS]

I use a microfiber cloth and water in a bottle with a mist atomizer attachment to clean my MacBook Pro. I make sure not to touch the screen directly. Additionally, I still use the delicate lint-free paper that came with the MacBook Pro packaging, which helps minimize about 98% of the smudges from the keyboard and dust on the screen.

 

[hobowankenobi]

It's funny, if you think about it:

Mac "screens" are very tough gorilla glass, so hard to scratch/damage. But...the glass has a coating that helps reduce reflection that is easy to scratch/damage. So, even though the glass is very durable, the coating is not.

Having cleaned lots of Mac labs for many many years, I have never seen an issue with water or water+mild soap to cut the nasty greasy build-up, followed by a microfiber cloth the get rid of smudges.

I have seen folks use glass cleaner, but I don't recommend it, as it might (eventually) degrade the coating. This is the thing to consider with cleaning all Mac screens.

Years ago, Apple had a recall for peeling coatings. I have seen those too (out of coverage) and was able to polish the rest of the coating off the entire screen, using Windex and a mild scrubbing pad. The screen looked perfect once complete...and the coating was fully removed. Yes, it was more reflective, but not a huge difference.