- So in a recent video here on the channel
the amazingly talented one, Carlos, back now
AKA Some Gadget Guy walked you through cleaning the dust
and associated bunnies from your TV,
gaming console and streaming appliances.
Keeping with the theme of spring cleaning,
I'm going to get my hands dirty
and tell you what you shouldn't be doing
when cleaning all of your displays,
then best practices to get those TVs and phones
and i maxs and tablets back to day one perfection.
Let's get dirty.
I mean clean.
Let's get dirty, getting clean.
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Let's begin with what not to do
because you're probably already doing these things
and shortening the lifespan of your devices.
Number one, don't use paper towels
or napkins to clean any of your screens.
They can be abrasive and potentially scratch
and over time wear down any special coatings
your display may have.
This is especially true for high-end displays
like those on some of Apples displays
which may have a nano-coating.
Next up, never use any cleaning product
like Windex or Formula 409.
Hey, is 409 still a thing?
Oh, it is.
I'm told 409 is still around and kicking,
so avoid that and stay away from rubbing alcohol.
Well, actually there's one instance
where isopropyl alcohol is actually recommended
but we'll get into that in a bit.
You don't wanna use those liquid cleaning products
for the same reason as staying away from paper towels.
They can damage coatings or in this case
if they run down the TV or monitor
they can get inside and muck things up a bit.
And I know, you're now screaming at the screen, but Tshaka,
how do I rid myself of any caked on, baked on messes?
I eat at my desk and have some spaghetti sauce
and stains and I drink soda and have some sticky spots.
Don't we all?
Well, dear slovenly viewer, I'll have the answer
to that in a moment, but it doesn't include a step.
You may already be taking spraying cleaner
directly onto the display.
Never do this.
You don't spray anything directly onto the monitor ever.
No bueno.
That's right up there
with like eating another man's French fries.
You never touch another man's French fries
and you don't spray anything directly on your monitor.
But what can you do?
Well, here are my best practices
for tidying up the displays in your home.
The only prep work you'll need to do
to kick off this Spring Cleaning is unplug any monitor
or display you're going to clean before you get started.
With that said, let's start with choosing the right tools.
The most important tool used for keeping displays clean
is the proper cleaning cloth.
In this case, that's going to be a microfiber.
You can use the thin kind
that comes with glasses and glass cases
when you get that new prescription
or buy a pair of sunnys or you can pick up
one of the larger thicker brands on Amazon.
I use these large blue cloths for all my various displays
from the smallest to the largest.
The great thing about the larger ones
with larger fibers than the type that come with glasses,
is that they're excellent at trapping dust.
They're also great because you can dampen them
and clean off most dirt and muck
without the need for anything stronger.
If you're going to dampen them,
I recommend using distilled water to do so
because tap water may have minerals and microparticles in it
which can be abrasive to sensitive displays over time.
If you need something stronger, there are cleaners
like these that you can pick up on Amazon.
These both handlike tens of thousands of reviews
and both of these are actually kits
which come with the spray and the microfiber cloth.
And speaking of liquid cleaners for displays,
I know I told you not to use alcohol
but Apple never wanted to follow,
actually suggests you do use it
for your Apple Studio Display, Apple Display XDR,
or an iMac like the one I have right here.
Straight from Apple's own support site,
for infrequent cleaning of hard to remove smudges
you can moisten the cloth
with a 70% isopropyl alcohol solution.
Notice the use of the word infrequent.
Most of the time, just use the cleaning cloth
that came with your Apple display
and that should remove most dirt and smudges.
For the Apple displays which don't have a nano-texture,
Apple says that you can even use 70% alcohol wipes
or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes.
Yes, Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, who knew?
Caveat to all I just stated, don't press too hard.
I mean don't really scrub at the thing
while you're trying to get those stains
and those soda stains off the monitor.
Use the lightest amount of pressure you can
to get the job done.
And that goes with any display, your TVs
your phones, your laptops, and computers.
Another option for your computer and TV displays
is to use a can of compressed air.
Hold that can around 12 inches from your display
to keep from getting any condensation
inside the displays components.
If your display is just layered with dust,
maybe you were out of town for a couple of weeks,
I'd use a microfiber instead, because you're gonna blow dust
into the air and unless you have an air filter
like Juan suggested in his coverage,
you've now got an allergen issue in your home's atmosphere
and if you're someone with asthma or allergies
that could prove problematic.
But for light dust,
without needing to pull out your cleaning cloth,
the compressed air can at a distance
with your display on plugged, is your friend.
And that's really that simple.
That's all you need to know to get your displays,
your phones, your tablets, your computers, your TVs,
all covered, all cleaned, Spring Cleaned.
Am Tshaka Armstrong, your cleaning feed for Reviews.org.
I don't take it lightly that you spent your time here
with us today and I will catch you on the next video.