Although modern flat-screen TVs are not dust magnets like CRT monitors with their static charges, your TV will still collect dust and dirt over time. This is not only bad because it reduces picture quality, but also because dust and dirt that make their way into your TV can interfere with its normal operation and shorten its life.
So, you need to clean your TV like everything in your house, however If you do it wrong, you risk making things worse or even permanently damaging them. So let’s get the basics right and bring that image back to perfection without doing anything unfortunate.
Cleaning instructions specified by your TV manufacturer Always take precedence. If any advice you read below conflicts with what the manufacturer recommends, follow what the manufacturer says.
The first thing we need when cleaning a TV (or monitor) are tools. You need a soft dusting cloth that won’t scratch your screen or duster. In addition, you need about three high-quality microfiber cloths. If you don’t want to clean your glasses or expensive eyeglasses with this cloth, it will have nothing to do with being near your TV screen. If you need to use a liquid to clean your screen, you need to use it distilled water.
Do not use tap water or any drinking water. Although the minerals in drinking water are good for you, if you wipe your screen with tap water, it will leave behind mineral residue when it evaporates that appears in horrific streaks. I made this mistake once in my life with an LCD computer screen, and was never able to properly get rid of the metal spots on it.
Do not use alcohol, ammonia, household glass cleaners, or rough paper towels on the screen surface. I like to use a dedicated LCD screen cleaning solution for this purpose, which comes with a microfiber cloth.
A cleaner once sprayed furniture polish directly on the screen of one of my old LCD TVs, and it wasn’t pretty. We were able to improve things by wiping it down with LCD cleaning fluid, but it didn’t look right again.
If you choose a specialized LCD cleaning fluid, carefully read reviews from people who have used it. Like any product, not all are created equal.
Prep: Power down, unplug, and position
Once you have all the items you need to clean your TV, turn it off and unplug it. Check the darkened screen for any stains or residue that may need special attention. I use my smartphone’s flashlight, which shines off-axis to detect fingerprints and smudges on my TVs.
Depending on how you arrange your setup, You may want to move the TV to a location that is easier to clean Or see what is on the surface of the screen. For wall mounted TVs, I just clean them in place.
Step-by-step cleaning technique
Using a dry microfiber cloth or soft duster, begin by removing dust from the screen surface. Don’t press too hard on the screen, for many reasons, but partly because you don’t want to scratch it with dust particles or anything hard that might be stuck to the surface of the screen. Gently wipe the dust from the top of the screen to the bottom.
Never make circular motions on the screen, no matter what type of cleaning you are doing. Excess dust should accumulate in the lower frame, where I usually gently wipe it away in one horizontal motion.
If, after removing the dust, you can see smudges, oily fingerprints or anything like that, you can proceed to wet cleaning the screen. If you don’t see it, just stop there.
Moisten a clean microfiber cloth with distilled water, or LCD cleaning fluid, and then wipe the screen down gently With wide vertical strokes from top to bottom. When you’re done, you may want to take a clean, dry microfiber cloth to repeat the same process but dry up any excess liquid. never Spray water or any liquid directly on the TV.
You can now restart the TV after placing it in its normal position.
Schedule maintenance and quick repairs
If your TV is nice and clean, and you’re careful not to touch the screen directly with your fingers, all it needs is a light wipe weekly with a clean microfiber cloth.
If you see “spots” on your TV that don’t go away after wiping them with distilled water or LCD cleaning fluid, you may have a damaged surface coating or another problem that cleaning can’t fix. This is a good time to contact customer support for some advice, although in practice the best you can do is learn to live with it.