Any parent knows that children are fingerprint and germ factories. Mix with this the fact that they have a lot more shiny things to touch these days, like phones, screens and remote controls, and you have a constant cleaning problem. What can you do? Make your own screen cleaning kit. Here’s one way to do it, for about the cost of an App:
1. Find a clean spray bottle and rinse with distilled water
2. Fill with a 50% mixture of rubbing alcohol and distilled water.
3. Find a good rag. A 100% cotton T-shirt or diaper works best.
Other Tips:
• Clearly label your bottle of solution, and keep it far from your children. While it isn’t poisonous, it is not the kind of thing you want a child using as a squirt gun. Make sure the alcohol is clear, and not mixed with a color lubricant, like glycerin. I used 70% Ethyl Alcohol labeled “rubbing alcohol.”
• Avoid ammonia-based glass cleaner on plastic screens. For glass screens like older CRT screens, old fashioned TVs, you have no worries. Today however, cleaning a plastic screen is more complicated. They range in size and material, and plastic scratches easier than yesterday’s glass. Plus ammonia-based glass cleaners like Windex supposedly cause plastic screens to yellow over time.
• Don’t use paper towels. You’re supposed to use a 100% cotton cloth, instead. Besides being bad for the environment, paper towels might contain bits of wood that could scratch or dull the screen’s surface.
• Keep permanent markers, crayons and sharp objects away from your kids and screens. Out of site, out of mind.
• Don’t soak it. Liquids and electronics don’t mix. Start by turning off your monitor or computer, and then spray a lightmist of cleaner that you dry off quickly.
• Use dry before wet. A dry feather duster (I purchased 5 for $4) can remove the lint or dust first, minimizing the contact of potentially abrasive particles.
Pour yourself a drink. At http://bit.ly/530bOj, Jackmakrl writes: “Here’s how I clean my laptop screen. The first thing I do is fix myself a drink in a clean glass with lots of ice. Then I get a microfiber cloth and dip the corner in some 91% isopropyl alcohol and rub that around the screen trying to get all the oily bits off. Might have to do it a couple of times, the alcohol evaporates pretty quick. Then I wipe another corner of the cloth on the distilled water that has condensed on the outside of my glass and use that to rinse off any residue. Semi-vigorous rubbing with a dry part of the cloth eliminates any streaks.”
I used rubbing alcohol/distilled water in my experiments and not isopropyl alcohol, which has a different carbon structure. I also did not personally try vodka, as it was above my price formula. However, a few sips would make me care much less about a slightly dusty screen.
In Extreme Cases:
Crayons: Live with a toddler? Besides being sleep-deprived, you may wake up one morning to find crayon marks all over your 52 inch screen. To remove wax (or glue), you need to melt or dissolve it. You can use warm baby oil (or cooking oil) to melt the wax and rub it off with a cotton cloth. Clean the remaining oil streaks with your alcohol/distilled water solution.
Permanent makers. You wake up from your nap to find that your young artist has drawn a smiley face on your monitor, with a permanent marker! What to do? As quickly as possible, get your rubbing alcohol and start rubbing. The alcohol will (hopefully) dissolve the ink. If that doesn’t work, you might want to squint whenever you use your monitor, and pretend you don’t see it.
Scratches (or worse). There’s obviously nothing you can do after the fact. But you can prevent scratches or dents from happening in the first place. Consider a screen protector. TV-Armor is one such brand, that ranges in price from $70 to $290, depending on your screen size. You can also make your own, by simply velcroing a slab of plexiglass over the screen, to form a clear, crayon-proof barrier between your child on the screen. If a child gets loose with a pair of scissors, a marker or a blow torch, simply replace the plexiglas and call it a day.
Just make sure you measure carefully, and remember that you’ll pay a price in image quality. The extra surface adds an extra layer of glare.