Cleaning the 27" 2011 iMac screen

[mannyo1221]

Had what I can only call a sinking feeling earlier, luckily it was not as bad as I thought.

Noticed a mark on the outside of the screen, so grabbed damp cloth and gave it a wipe. After a few moments it was pretty clear that all was not well as it looked like I had scratched the screen, so I got some screen cleaner and another microfibre cloth and no matter what I did nothing would shift what looked like a scratch. In fact things got worse, so bad that I thought the screen was ruined by the cleaner as there were marks everywhere I could not shift.

In desperation, I disconnected all the cables and laid the iMac flat, back down on my bed and grabbed at the screen edge and managed to overcome the magnets and remove the screen. I then moved to another room, to avoid dust, and went over both sides of the screen. The marks disappeared, put the screen back on and all is good again.

The marks were apparently on the inside, I think caused by static buildup on the front causing dust that had go into my iMac to become attracted to it and stick to the inside of the screen. My iMac is 14 months old, and used in a fairly dust free environment.

Now to the question, what does everyone use to clean their screens. After todays happenings, I don't want to scare myself like that again.

 

[Elsmar]

I just use regular glass cleaner like Windex. Works fine for me.

 

[Cockney Rebel]

All I have ever used on the screens of my devices (iMac and iOS devices) is the microfibre cloth which comes with the iMac.

No water ... nothing. I just wipe from left to right over the whole screen, and I also wipe the backs and sides to remove all dust to help prevent it making its way into the vents

Don't simply wipe round and around as all you will do is move the dust around. Going from left to right (or right to left if you are right handed) will simply wipe the dust off of the machine. I do this every morning and my iMac looks like new.

I never, ever touch my iMac's screen so there are no fingerprints etc therefore there's no need to use any cleaning products. On the vary rare occasion that I have managed to touch the screen I would simply exhale onto the spot in question then wipe away any marks with the microfibre cloth.

Be veeeeeeeeerry careful with regards to removing that glass panel as once dust gets in there (no matter how careful you may think you are, it's almost impossible to prevent dust from completely making its ways in there) you can never get it all out. You may not even notice it straight away but then a few weeks down the line it will appear to haunt you - ha!

Just keep it simple with this one ...

 

[mcpix]

Or you can do like I did and remove the outer glass screen entirely.

I know it freaks some people out, but I clean the "naked" LCD screen with iKlear and it works fine.

 

[Elsmar]

Or you can do like I did and remove the outer glass screen entirely. <snip>

Ditto. I also clean the screen in the iMac at the same time. I do it about every 6 months.

There is a recent thread here about cleaning the screen. It is really easy to pull it off and clean it, once you get over the "fear factor".