How do you guys clean your mbp's Screen?

[CowZ]

I'm referring to the unibody macbook pro w/ the glossy screen. I've got quite a bit of dust and some smudges on the screen now after a few months worth of use. What would you guys suggest thats cheap and good?

 

[mugs]

I just use a damp (with water) paper towel

 

[Ka0t1x]

That's probably the best way right there, the screens are pretty rugged, similar to the iPhone.

I use a damp microfiber cloth (the glasses cleaning kind). Run through water, wring out water.

They're a couple bucks at WalMart or wherever, good to keep around in the laptop bag.

 

[CowZ]

oh okay good thing they're rugged like the iphone then. Does simply wiping the screen with the microfiber clean the grease off the smudge marks too though? Thanks guys for the response!

 

[TheStu]

It is a piece of glass, use glass cleaner.

 

[Tyranicus]

Glass cleaner works quite well for me.

 

[KeypoX]

Originally posted by: mugs
I just use a damp (with water) paper towel

just a warning, any paper product will scratch glass. Paper towel, tissue, all have wood/paper fibers that will scratch.

Best to use microfiber made for cleaning glasses.

 

[loomfarkle]

Originally posted by: TheStu
It is a piece of glass, use glass cleaner.

Really bad advice. Most glass cleaners use either ammonia or alcohol, both of which are solvents. Apple specifically warns against using solvents as screen cleaners. If you aren't getting results you like with a damp microfiber cloth, pick up a cleaner such as iKlear.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: loomfarkle

Originally posted by: TheStu
It is a piece of glass, use glass cleaner.

Really bad advice. Most glass cleaners use either ammonia or alcohol, both of which are solvents. Apple specifically warns against using solvents as screen cleaners. If you aren't getting results you like with a damp microfiber cloth, pick up a cleaner such as iKlear.

All I know is, they are using glass to cover the screens on the Unibody MacBook Pros, to clean glass, one uses glass cleaner. It is glass, you aren't going to doing anything to it with paper towels and some glass cleaner.

 

[KeypoX]

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: loomfarkle

Originally posted by: TheStu
It is a piece of glass, use glass cleaner.

Really bad advice. Most glass cleaners use either ammonia or alcohol, both of which are solvents. Apple specifically warns against using solvents as screen cleaners. If you aren't getting results you like with a damp microfiber cloth, pick up a cleaner such as iKlear.

All I know is, they are using glass to cover the screens on the Unibody MacBook Pros, to clean glass, one uses glass cleaner. It is glass, you aren't going to doing anything to it with paper towels and some glass cleaner.

except scratch and degrade lol.

It prob works great for you, but you shouldnt advise anyone else to do it. LCD cleaner is just as cheap as glass cleaner and you dont have to use a lot. The crap i bought was only a couple dollars and has lasted about a year and has about 90% left. I have 2 screens and 2 laptops i clean regularly.

Also water, and you dont have to buy some fancy cleaner icleaner or something.

 

[TheStu]

Glass is a 7 on the Moh's scale of hardness. As someone who has been dealing with glass and glass products since, well, as long as I have been alive, and have been using who knows what to clean the glasses I wear on my head(?) and I remember reading that the iPhone has optical quality glass on it, I would not be surprised if the MacBook Pro was the same, and have never had a problem. I have never observed or heard of paper products scratching glass.

After hearing you mention it, I did find someone else, on another forum that also mentioned it, but again he seemed to be the only one that had heard of it. Tyranicus has one of the new Unibody MBPs, uses cheap paper towels and has no problems at all. Furthermore, if it is the same glass as the iPhone then it is of very high quality and withstands scratches fantastically.

What I shouldn't advise others to do is juggle chainsaws, or sumo wrestle with toddlers, or bathe in chicken noodle soup. Using glass cleaner and paper towels to clean glass, you know the same way that 99% of people do it, doesn't even come close to something that i shouldn't advise.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

i lick my screen gingerly from corner to corner. nothing but the finest saliva for my baby.

jk, distilled water and microfiber cloth.

 

[fatpat268]

Originally posted by: TheStu
Glass is a 7 on the Moh's scale of hardness. As someone who has been dealing with glass and glass products since, well, as long as I have been alive, and have been using who knows what to clean the glasses I wear on my head(?) and I remember reading that the iPhone has optical quality glass on it, I would not be surprised if the MacBook Pro was the same, and have never had a problem. I have never observed or heard of paper products scratching glass.

After hearing you mention it, I did find someone else, on another forum that also mentioned it, but again he seemed to be the only one that had heard of it. Tyranicus has one of the new Unibody MBPs, uses cheap paper towels and has no problems at all. Furthermore, if it is the same glass as the iPhone then it is of very high quality and withstands scratches fantastically.

What I shouldn't advise others to do is juggle chainsaws, or sumo wrestle with toddlers, or bathe in chicken noodle soup. Using glass cleaner and paper towels to clean glass, you know the same way that 99% of people do it, doesn't even come close to something that i shouldn't advise.

Except that the MBP's screen really isn't glass, at least not the same type of glass that you see in windows. The glass you're thinking of is silica glass. The glass on a MBP is actually acrylic glass.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: fatpat268

Originally posted by: TheStu
Glass is a 7 on the Moh's scale of hardness. As someone who has been dealing with glass and glass products since, well, as long as I have been alive, and have been using who knows what to clean the glasses I wear on my head(?) and I remember reading that the iPhone has optical quality glass on it, I would not be surprised if the MacBook Pro was the same, and have never had a problem. I have never observed or heard of paper products scratching glass.

After hearing you mention it, I did find someone else, on another forum that also mentioned it, but again he seemed to be the only one that had heard of it. Tyranicus has one of the new Unibody MBPs, uses cheap paper towels and has no problems at all. Furthermore, if it is the same glass as the iPhone then it is of very high quality and withstands scratches fantastically.

What I shouldn't advise others to do is juggle chainsaws, or sumo wrestle with toddlers, or bathe in chicken noodle soup. Using glass cleaner and paper towels to clean glass, you know the same way that 99% of people do it, doesn't even come close to something that i shouldn't advise.

Except that the MBP's screen really isn't glass, at least not the same type of glass that you see in windows. The glass you're thinking of is silica glass. The glass on a MBP is actually acrylic glass.

Could you link to where this information is? After handling Tyranicus' MacBook Pro, i find this hard to believe, it looks, feels and sounds (tapping against it) like what I would expect a piece of silica glass to look, feel and sound like at that thickness.

 

[loomfarkle]

Originally posted by: TheStu
Glass is a 7 on the Moh's scale of hardness. As someone who has been dealing with glass and glass products since, well, as long as I have been alive, and have been using who knows what to clean the glasses I wear on my head(?) and I remember reading that the iPhone has optical quality glass on it, I would not be surprised if the MacBook Pro was the same, and have never had a problem. I have never observed or heard of paper products scratching glass.

After hearing you mention it, I did find someone else, on another forum that also mentioned it, but again he seemed to be the only one that had heard of it. Tyranicus has one of the new Unibody MBPs, uses cheap paper towels and has no problems at all. Furthermore, if it is the same glass as the iPhone then it is of very high quality and withstands scratches fantastically.

What I shouldn't advise others to do is juggle chainsaws, or sumo wrestle with toddlers, or bathe in chicken noodle soup. Using glass cleaner and paper towels to clean glass, you know the same way that 99% of people do it, doesn't even come close to something that i shouldn't advise.

Hardness and scratch resistance have nothing to do with the glass cleaner. Let me repeat: most glass cleaners contain alcohol or ammonia. Alcohol and ammonia are solvents. Apple specifically warns against using solvents on the MBP screen. While I acknowledge the years of experience you've gained by cleaning your glasses, I think I'll stick with the chemists and engineers at Apple for my information.

 

[mmntech]

You're supposed to clean the screen?!

I use the same stuff I use to clean my glasses. Lens cleaner and a microfibre cloth.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: loomfarkle

Originally posted by: TheStu
Glass is a 7 on the Moh's scale of hardness. As someone who has been dealing with glass and glass products since, well, as long as I have been alive, and have been using who knows what to clean the glasses I wear on my head(?) and I remember reading that the iPhone has optical quality glass on it, I would not be surprised if the MacBook Pro was the same, and have never had a problem. I have never observed or heard of paper products scratching glass.

After hearing you mention it, I did find someone else, on another forum that also mentioned it, but again he seemed to be the only one that had heard of it. Tyranicus has one of the new Unibody MBPs, uses cheap paper towels and has no problems at all. Furthermore, if it is the same glass as the iPhone then it is of very high quality and withstands scratches fantastically.

What I shouldn't advise others to do is juggle chainsaws, or sumo wrestle with toddlers, or bathe in chicken noodle soup. Using glass cleaner and paper towels to clean glass, you know the same way that 99% of people do it, doesn't even come close to something that i shouldn't advise.

Hardness and scratch resistance have nothing to do with the glass cleaner. Let me repeat: most glass cleaners contain alcohol or ammonia. Alcohol and ammonia are solvents. Apple specifically warns against using solvents on the MBP screen. While I acknowledge the years of experience you've gained by cleaning your glasses, I think I'll stick with the chemists and engineers at Apple for my information.

I took this straight from the MacBook Pro User Manual (the 13" one, to ensure that it was for the glass covered Unibody model)

"Cleaning your MacBook Pro
When cleaning the outside of your MacBook Pro and its components, first shut down your MacBook Pro and unplug the power adapter. Then use a damp, soft, lint-free cloth to clean the computer?s exterior. Avoid getting moisture in any openings. Do not spray liquid directly on the computer. Do not use aerosol sprays, solvents, or abrasives that might damage the finish.

Cleaning the MacBook Pro screen
To clean the MacBook Pro screen, first shut down your MacBook Pro and unplug the power adapter. Then dampen the included cleaning cloth with just water and wipe the screen. Do not spray liquid directly on the screen."

So, it looks like they want you to use water to clean the screen, and the included cloth. They do not caution against solvents on the screen.

They do caution against it on the exterior, as well as abrasives, which I find interesting since i know for a fact that Apple Geniuses use Magic Erasers to clean black macbooks (at the very least, I don't know what else they clean with them) and that could be considered an abrasive given how it cleans.

So, this seems to settle it, glass cleaner is not the officially sanctioned method from Apple, but I still don't feel that I was wrong in recommending it. To do so would be like feeling wrong about recommending toothpaste to clean teeth.

 

[sjwaste]

I take it into the Apple Store weekly for a screen cleaning. They use a microfiber cloth and some solution. It's not bad, it's about $10 for the service.

But seriously. I use Windex. And a paper towel. It works GREAT.

 

[MrX8503]

Really the safest way to clean a monitor is with a microfiber cloth with just plain water. Distilled water would be even better.

Unless its made out of diamonds, I wouldn't wipe it down with a paper towel either. Even my eye glass doctor told me not to wipe my lens with a paper towel.

I also read that a 50/50 solution of water/alcohol works too.

 

[alevasseur14]

Originally posted by: MrX8503

I also read that a 50/50 solution of water/alcohol works too.

Finally! A use for that liter of Everclear I stupidly bought years ago!

 

[mmntech]

Originally posted by: sjwaste
I take it into the Apple Store weekly for a screen cleaning. They use a microfiber cloth and some solution. It's not bad, it's about $10 for the service.

But seriously. I use Windex. And a paper towel. It works GREAT.

For $10 I hope one of the lady Geniuses suggestively licks your screen clean. lol

 

[kreidel]

Originally posted by: TheStu
What I shouldn't advise others to do is juggle chainsaws, or sumo wrestle with toddlers, or bathe in chicken noodle soup.

Thanks TheStu!!!!

 

[MrX8503]

Originally posted by: alevasseur14

Originally posted by: MrX8503

I also read that a 50/50 solution of water/alcohol works too.

Finally! A use for that liter of Everclear I stupidly bought years ago!

Uh not that kind of alcohol. lol. If you don't want it, send it my way.