How To Clean Touch Screen Laptop

Whether for professional purposes or personal entertainment, your touchscreen devices are constantly swiped at; and that too, by not the cleanest hands all the time.

It is thus not surprising at all that over time, your laptop’s touchscreen gets cloudy and dusty thanks to all the fingerprints and dust accumulating.

This can be quite the nuisance, blurring the images you’re viewing, deteriorating your overall experience. Also, a risk remains that sharp dust particles such as sand can even damage your touchscreen with scratches, permanently ruining your precious device.

Hence, it is important to clean your laptop periodically to not only keep it looking shiny and new for longer but for protecting it as well. So let’s check out how to clean touch screen laptop in all the simplest of ways all by yourself!

How To Clean Laptop Screen At Home?

How To Clean Laptop Screen At Home?
How To Clean Laptop Screen At Home?

You can effortlessly keep your touchscreen laptop clean and good-looking right in the comfort of your home-and that’s the beauty of simple tools available nearby.

Depending on the type of detriments that settled on your device, you’d need to adopt various cleaning methods. Don’t get intimidated already as each method is as simple as the next!

Dust

In order to clean dust from your touchscreen laptop, all you need is a microfiber cloth. For those of you who are unaware of what this is, it is a super-smooth and thin piece of cloth that is used for cleaning sensitive surfaces.

If you’re someone who wears glasses, you already know what this cloth is. It either comes with the box of your glasses/sunglasses, or you buy it separately for cleaning them. This cloth is also used for cleaning camera lenses.

  • Turn off your device. This is compulsory for any method of cleaning not only for safety but also for better visibility of the dust
  • Press very gently and wipe the screen clean with the microfiber cloth
  • Avoid circular motion as it will only be causing the dust to move around without getting off. Continue wiping in one direction until the screen is clean

Feel free to use a mild solution of screen-safe soap/ and water. Commercial disinfectant wipes are also a great alternative.

Dirt And Grime

For when your device is heavily unclean with dirt and grime, microfiber cloth alone won’t work. What you’d need is a brand-new sponge that’s used for household cleaning, and some filtered or distilled water.

  • Dampen the sponge with water and wring it out as much as possible to remove excess water
  • Gently wipe the touchscreen to clean up all the grime and dirt
  • Keep a close eye out for any drips and wipe them off immediately
  • Wait a few hours until your laptop is completely dry before firing it up for use

Sticky And Greasy Substances

When the above two cleaning methods fail to entirely clean your device, it’s probably because of something sticky or oily still stuck on your touchscreen.

In that case, you need a screen-safe cleaning agent along with a microfiber cloth to get the job done. For example, if you’re wondering how to clean HP or Dell touch screen laptop via this method, follow the simple steps below-

  • Spray the solution into a new microfiber cloth
  • Wring it out to remove excess solution so that it’s damp, not wet
  • Start wiping from the center of the screen in a circular motion outward, reaching the corners in the end
  • Be delicate with the pressure you exert while cleaning and continue until the device is entirely clean

How To Clean Laptop Screen With Water Safely?

Unless you are just cleaning dust, more extensive cleaning involves water directly or water-based solutions. The process of cleaning your laptop with water is as same as we discussed above, and here are some safety precautions you can follow.

  • Tap water is to be avoided at all costs as its mineral composition may end up scratching your laptop screen
  • Never spray or pour water or cleaning solutions directly into your device. Soak the microfiber cloth or sponge
  • Wring out the cloth/sponge as much as possible so as to ensure the removal of excessive water. It should be damp, not wet
  • Since the cloth/sponge is initially damper as you start wiping, avoid starting at the corners of your laptop touchscreen to prevent water from seeping in
  • To prevent moisture to seep into your keyboard keys, you can cover the keyboard with a light, water-repellent material for extra safety
  • Avoid using any solutions that are not safe for your touchscreen
  • Don’t exert too much pressure on the screen when cleaning
  • You can use some sort of safe disinfectant after cleaning is complete
  • Your device should always be turned off before you start cleaning. If possible, remove the battery for extra safety
  • Allow ample time for your laptop to dry up completely and don’t start using the device until then for a few hours

What To Use Or Not Use For Cleaning A Touchscreen Laptop

What you clean it with, is as important as cleaning laptop screen. This is because if you choose the wrong substance to clean up your device, you’d end up doing it more harm than good.

Safe Products

Examples of some screen-safe cleaning substances are as follows

  • Isopropyl alcohol solution under 70%
  • Distilled water and white vinegar in a 50-50 ratio
  • Distilled water and a tiny amount of dish detergent
  • The bleach used in households with a concentration of 1/3 cup bleach in one gallon of distilled water
  • Screen-safe cleaning solutions/kits
  • Screen-safe disinfectant wipes

Unsafe Products

Examples of some substances to avoid at all costs are:

  • Tap water
  • Any alcoholic solution stronger than 70%
  • Detergents with ammonia or fluoride
  • Acids
  • Ethyl or methyl solutions stronger than 35%
  • Abrasives or detergents and sponges with abrasives
  • Benzine or thinners
  • Wool, steel, or even ordinary cloth/sponges
  • Makeup removers/sanitizers
  • Glass cleaners

How To Clean The Laptop Keyboard

Now that you are all done cleaning up your laptop screen, all that’s left is to clean the keyboard.

Since the keyboard keys have more open spaces for liquids to pass through, liquids should be avoided as much as possible. Instead, compressed air is used to remove dirt and grime for the difficult nooks and crannies that your microfiber cloth cannot reach.

  • Wipe out the keyboard to remove in a single direction with a microfiber cloth to remove the dust, dirt, and grimes as much as possible
  • Spray compressed air as instructed by its manufacturer to clean out the hard-to-reach areas
  • If there are sticky stains such from soft drinks, juice, or food spilling, a damp microfiber cloth can be used to wipe them off
  • Disinfectant the keyboard after the cleaning is complete and let it fully dry up

How To Maintain The Cleanliness Of Your Touch Screen Laptop

  • Clean it on a regular basis to prevent it from getting too dirty
  • Close the lid when not in use
  • Keep away from direct sunlight as too much UV radiation will damage the screen
  • In case of spills and stains, try cleaning up as soon as possible; preferably within 30 minutes

Conclusion

Cleaning the devices you use every day is an important task that shouldn’t be underestimated.  It is a major booster to not only your user experience but also the appearance and longevity of your device.

But cleaning electronic devices such as a touch screen laptop is a sensitive matter that requires the utmost carefulness and safety.

Hopefully, after going through our detailed walkthrough, now you knowhow to clean touch screen laptop, and apply it to your convenience.

About Dror Wettenstein

Dror Wettenstein is a software engineer and entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience in the industry. He is the founder of TechTreeRepeat, a company that enables technical writers to publish their work faster and share it with readers across the globe. Dror has a master’s degree in computer science from San Diego State University and a bachelor’s degree in physics from UC Irvine.

When he’s not working on software projects, Dror enjoys writing articles and essays on various topics. He also likes playing guitar and spending time with his wife and two young children.

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