Dust and small particles in the air can stick and contaminate the touchscreen screen on a laptop. Dirt that accumulates on your touchscreen display can interfere with the visual experience and touch sensitivity on the touchscreen display.
Cleaning a touchscreen laptop screen is not as easy as cleaning a regular laptop screen. In this case, there are many things that need to be considered, both in terms of the cleaning agent, the water used, or the right method for the cleaning process.
In this article, we will explain effective ways to clean the surface of a touchscreen laptop so that it will provide clean results and keep your laptop screen safe from interference.
Cleaning the Dust
Using the Microfiber Cloth
The microfiber cloth is designed to remove dust and dirt without creating lint or scratching smooth surfaces. Microfiber cloths are generally used by people with glasses or photographers to clean glasses or camera lenses. However, this cloth can also be used for touchscreen laptops.
To clean a touchscreen laptop screen, the steps that can be taken are as follows:
- Turn off the Laptop: This step aims to avoid the dangers of electricity when cleaning the laptop screen. In addition, this stage can also help you see dust more clearly.
- Pressing the screen gently: In this step, try to wipe the surface of the touchscreen in one direction. Do not wipe in a circular pattern as doing so can damage the screen or only move dust particles around the screen.
- Wipe the screen free of dust.
Using the Feather Duster
There are several types of feather dusters that can be used, but avoid feather dusters. A feather duster can only push dust into the air, and the dust can return to the laptop screen.
Use a duster capable of collecting dust. And one thing to note, don’t forget to turn off your laptop screen.
Clean Up Dirt That’s Hard to be Cleaned
Sometimes not all dirt can be cleaned with a microfiber cloth, and it will actually cause the cloth to become dirty. The way that can be used to clean dirt that is difficult to remove is with a wet sponge.
The wet sponge used must be a new sponge, with distilled, deionized, or filtered water. Do not use tap water, because the mineral content in tap water can scratch the laptop screen.
The steps that can be taken are as follows:
- Turn off the laptop and remove the battery if possible (or try to unplug all power sources). This step is useful to avoid a short circuit during processing. If needed, you can put something light and waterproof on the keyboard so that water does not fall on the keyboard.
- Wet a sponge with water and wring it out to remove any drips.
- Wipe the screen that is stained with dirt. Watch for water drops and if possible clean immediately.
- Wait for it to dry. After the screen is clean, wait for the screen to dry completely before closing the laptop or restarting it.
Cleaning Oily and Sticky Objects
If the method with a microfiber cloth or sponge does not work to clean the surface of the touchscreen laptop, you can use a safe screen cleaning liquid spray. But not all chemicals are safe for touchscreen displays.
Some chemicals can scratch the surface on your touchscreen laptop screen. Some substances that need to be avoided include acetone, ammonia, ethyl acid, ethyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, methyl chloride, toluene, window cleaners, and other corrosive substances.
Make sure the cleaning fluid you buy does not contain the ingredients listed above. Or if you want to make your own cleaning fluid, you can do it with a mixture of:
- 50% distilled water and 50% vinegar
- 50% distilled water and 50% isopropyl alcohol
- 100% distilled water and a drop of dish detergent
Here are the steps to clean the touchscreen laptop screen with cleaning fluid:
- Turn off the Laptop and unplug it from the charger
If possible, remove the battery as well to prevent electrical problems. Don’t forget to provide a thin and waterproof layer to protect the keyboard.
- Pour and spray the cleaning liquid onto the microfiber cloth
Make sure the cloth is not wet, but only damp. Do not spray the cleaning liquid directly on the screen, as doing so can be potentially damaging even if it evaporates quickly.
- Gently rub the surface of the touchscreen with a cloth
This time, rub in a pattern of small circles to avoid streaking. Do not press too hard, as this may interfere with the liquid crystal molecules on the screen and could potentially distort the screen.
- Repeat the process until the screen is completely free of moisture
Also make sure that no liquid does not get into other hardware devices, such as mice, flash drives, or anything connected to the USB port.
Let the screen dry for half an hour. If it’s dry, you can close it and turn it on.