[mattskee]

Any good suggestions on how to clean the macbook glossy screen?

i recently tried to clean my macbook screen first using soft dampened kleenex and gently wiping off the screen dust and such and then afterwards drying the screen with dry kleenex . The problem w/ my method is that it left a sort of "residue" on the screen as if i had taken my macbook to the car wash and it did not get thoroughly dried off, even though i tried to wipe off this so "residue" several times with my handy soft kleenex probably just making things worse and creating more "residue" or smudges or whatever you want to call it.

Oh, and i don't think the kleenex has any kind of moisturizer (aloe vera or lotion) in it, so that should not be why this "residue" occurred. Also, i don't notice anything when the computer is turned on and i am browsing the internet for instance, i just notice the smudges when the computer is in sleep mode or off.

MY QUESTION: Should i buy some iKlear or some special cleaning solution to clean off the my macbook screen again, or have i already screwed up my new macbook screen by listening to apple's suggestion of cleaning the screen with soft cloth and water? What would you suggest?

Sincerely,
Matt

NOTE: i realize that a Kleenex is not a soft cloth, but i would think it would be better than most paper towels and many so called soft clothes. Then again, maybe i am wrong about this.

[mattskee]

oh, i forgot to say that i DID NOT spray and water and then wipe off moisture. i first dampened my kleenex before applying it to the macbook screen.

I just followed these rules below found here:

i have also already read this

Cleaning Your MacBook Display
Follow these general rules when cleaning the screen.

* Shut down your MacBook, detach the power adapter, and remove the battery.
* Dampen a clean, soft, lint-free cloth or paper with water only and wipe the screen. Do not spray liquid directly on the screen.

[ghporter]

I use a slightly dampened high-quality paper towel to clean ALL my LCD screens. High-quality paper towel leaves almost no lint or residue. Using it slightly dampened (it should feel damp throughout but not drip at all) means that it can dissolve gunk on the screen and wipe it away at the same time. DO NOT use Windex or anything other than plain (maybe filtered) water! There are coatings on LCD screens that you can mess up with chemicals. I have used alcohol prep pads (those little squares they use to clean your arm before you get a shot) on heavy gunk, but only in extreme situations (having a user sneeze his brains out at the display is gross, but it happens). Kleenex and other tissues are right out because by being so cuddly soft, they are high lint materials.

ONLY water, ONLY lintless products and ONLY when the machine is unpowered are the three rules to remember.

[frankthetank966]

Hmmm GHPorter I would say thats kind of risky.

Heres what I do to clean the screen

• Get a good micro-fiber cloth (can be found at office supplies stores such as Office Depot and Staples in the Laptop/Computer accesories section)
• Buy some eye-glasses cleaner (mine is from Sears Optical but I am sure if you go to Len Crafter you can buy some cheap stuff in large quanity, unless you want t just for out some money)
• Spray the micro-cloth with the glasses cleaner so it is damp.
• Use the cloth to clean the screen left-right and top-bottom.
• To try and prevent streaks make straight movements

[mattskee]

thanks for the helpful tips everyone. for the record, i have a new macbook (2.16 GHz CPU etc.) w/ glossy screen.

i went ahead and got some IKLEAR from klearscreen.com i believe. i did not wait to hear a response from you guys - sorry. thank you!

i wanted some peace of mind after i had created streaks or as i stated "residue" from trying the water on a kleenex technique that did NOT work so well for me. please DO NOT use kleenex to clean screen. probably not the worst thing in the world, but not the best. i freaked out a little about it, which was unnecessary.

Get a nice micro-fiber cloth to clean your LCD screen.

the IKLEAR stuff seems to work really well. I believe my screen is LIKE NEW AGAIN (Thank God!) except for maybe a slight smudgy spot, but not even sure it there it is so hard to see. (on second thought read post below about kleenex) i believe the MICRO-FIBER POLISHING CLOTH that comes w/ the iklear kit is the key, because it gave me the confidence to wipe a little bit more vigorously horizontally and vertically as suggested (not circles like the karate kid). Plus, the micro-fiber cloth just cleans better and is so soft.

i am not sure if it matters which direction you wipe or rub the screen, but this very nice n' pretty micro-fiber cloth gave me much more confidence to rub the screen more forcefully while securing / or holding the back of the screen. i was surprised i could wipe the screen as hard as i did. DON'T RUB TOO HARD, but you don't have to treat it like it is the declaration of independence either.

if i had read the above tips, i may have just gone ahead and used a high-quality paper towel, which seems like a pretty good idea with some less-pricey eye glass cleaner perhaps or something without hurtful chemicals in it (as stated above). DO NOT USE WINDEX.

not sure which cleaning solution would best match the iklear solution, but this stuff definitely works well. iklear is a bit pricey. they should lower price a few bucks at least.

moral of story. iklear worked well for me and got me out of my water-streak-residue-jam, but the above mentioned should work well too i would think. just don't use kleenex like i did. oh, and try not to freak out about the screen not being perfect, like i did. you can still fix the water streaks (assuming you just used a dampen cloth and water to clean with and had streakiness like me).

[mattskee]

ok, actually, DO NOT EVER USE KLEENEX USE MICRO-FIBER CLOTH.

it is now the next day and i am seeing the screen better and i still see some "smudges" or whatever on my screen that i believe were basically caused by me trying to clean my macbook LCD screen w/ kleenex and water. granted i was gentle and careful, but i would recommend (based on my experience) not doing that. so my macbook screen is not exactly like new as i stated above. When the computer is on, the screen looks good enough to me, but it is not perfect, that is for sure, so this is a warning for those perfectionists.

1) maybe the water was not clean enough - not filtered
2) maybe i should have waited longer after powering down my macbook before cleaning
3) i did not take out my battery before cleaning the screen - doubt that makes any different? but maybe it does?

[PartialPants]

Oh Man. Windex. Use it on your rashes and itches, and bruises, not your Mac. (Don't use Windex on yourself and hurt yourself k?) Don't use Coke either. It maybe good for toilets, but not your Mac.

I love iKlear. It's some good stuff. Polish it longer with the supplied cloth and your Mac gets happier and happier.

[PEPPERRULES]

Don't fall for the gimmicks. A simple micro-fibre/optical cloth and some water shall suffice.

[PEPPERRULES]

By the way, If you are paranoid, then use distilled water.

[PartialPants]

iKlear isn't a gimmick. I promise you.

Water has nothing on the iKlear magic juice.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by frankthetank966 

Hmmm GHPorter I would say thats kind of risky.

What is risky about it? Particularly what's more risky about barely damp, lintless paper towel over chemicals that are not intended for LCD screens? I say this because Apple says to use a "soft, lint-free cloth or paper with water only" to clean LCDs. And page 60 of the MacBook manual echoes this for the entire computer.

There are a bunch of chemicals in eyeglass cleaners that could be problematic. What works for glass may not work at all for coated LCDs or computer cases.