SS screen staining (possible due to COVID related hand washing)

[lk400]

Is anyone else experiencing screen staining as a result of increased hand washing since COVID-19 began?

I live in an area with hard water, and have noticed staining around the area that (probably) gets wet when I am washing my hands. This doesnt come off through any usual means of cleaning (e.g. with microfibre cloth). It only seems to have become an issue recently, and I am guessing it has to do with much more regular hand washing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

[MacCheetah3]

I'm not seeing anything on my SE. Maybe soap interacting with, breaking down, the oleophobic coating.(?)

The only thing I could find even resembling the subject is this older thread.

Apple Watch Sapphire wears stain

I have this weird stain on my series 0 Apple Watch. I have had it for 1,5 years now and over the course of last month, this weird stain has shown up and has been growing ever since. Has anyone experienced this as well, and does someone know how to remove it?

forums.macrumors.com

 

[lk400]

I'm not seeing anything on my SE. Maybe soap interacting with, breaking down, the oleophobic coating.(?)

The only thing I could find even resembling the subject is this older thread.

Apple Watch Sapphire wears stain

I have this weird stain on my series 0 Apple Watch. I have had it for 1,5 years now and over the course of last month, this weird stain has shown up and has been growing ever since. Has anyone experienced this as well, and does someone know how to remove it?

forums.macrumors.com

Thanks! I couldn’t find anything much online either.

I have rubbed some toothpaste on it lightly (as the coating is obviously toast anyway). It helped a little. I’m going to try some of the citric acid we use to descale things here due to the hard water. It’s supposed to be safe and not damage rubber seals etc.

 

[schlupps]

tooth paste? citric acid on a watch glass? 😮i highly doubt, that this is a good idea.
please keep in mind, that the SEs glas is no sapphire! But to be honest, i am unsure how even sapphire would behave/react to citric acid/tootpaste =/

 

[lk400]

tooth paste? citric acid on a watch glass? 😮i highly doubt, that this is a good idea.
please keep in mind, that the SEs glas is no sapphire! But to be honest, i am unsure how even sapphire would behave/react to citric acid/tootpaste =/

Toothpaste is mildly abrasive so can get rid of hard water build up or stains, however is not abrasive enough to damage sapphire. It will take off the oleophobic coating though. My coating is already gone from the looks of things.

Citric acid is often used to take hard water stains off glass (mirrors etc), or to descale coffee machines and the like. Again would not damage the sapphire, and is safe for rubber gaskets and so on, but likely to strip coating.

Obviously would not use on a display in good condition, but mine is quite badly stained so worth trying it out.

 

[iamMacPerson]

I had similar issues on my S3 before Covid. Not sure how, we have a water softener but whatever. I tried using alcohol and other things to get it off and/or take the rest of the coating off to no avail.

When I got my S5 during Covid I put a screen protector on it until this all over since I disinfect it after going to a store.

 

[lk400]

I had similar issues on my S3 before Covid. Not sure how, we have a water softener but whatever. I tried using alcohol and other things to get it off and/or take the rest of the coating off to no avail.

When I got my S5 during Covid I put a screen protector on it until this all over since I disinfect it after going to a store.

Interesting - thanks for sharing. Which screen protector did you use, and how do you find it?

 

[iamMacPerson]

Interesting - thanks for sharing. Which screen protector did you use, and how do you find it?

It’s from AUDON on Amazon. It’s okay. It kinda messes with the digitizer and makes it hard to tap around the edges. It also gives the watch the look of old iOS devices before the laminated screen. Once this is over it’s coming off. I can’t stand it lol

 

[vmac556]

Thats why you should get sapphire

 

[iamMacPerson]

Thats why you should get sapphire

I had sapphire on my S3. Doesn’t matter.

 

[lk400]

Thats why you should get sapphire

Mine is stainless steel which has the sapphire glass.

I live in an area in Japan which is known to have hard water (think natural hot springs etc), so this may be more of an issue for me than others with different water types.