Cleaning Your Mac's Screen: The Most Excellent Cheap Way!

What is going on with the cost of computer screen cleaners? I was in the Tips n' Deals area at Other World Computing, a great place to be, and had an aneurism when I saw the price of iKlear Apple Polish Wet Dry 10 packs: $7.50. ChaChing. That's 75¢ per wipe. No tanx.

There is a cheaper, drastically cheaper, method of cleaning that works wonderfully. Go buy Pledge Multi Surface spray and use a clean, lint-free pure cotton cloth. I use ripped up old cotton towels. In the USA you can get the small size bottle of Pledge Multi Surface at Family Dollar for a low cost. Today at DrugStore.com they're offering the 16 oz size on sale, BOGO, two for $5.29. That's 32 oz, enough to clean your screen hundreds of times, for several years, for less than the cost of a mere 10 iKlear cleaning packs. Deal.

How to use: First, turn off your computer. If you are using an external monitor, turn it off on its own. Never spray the screen. Only spray your cloth. You don't need a lot of spray, otherwise you get a wet mess. Once the cleaner has been applied to your screen by your cloth, wipe the cleaner off with a second clean dry cotton cloth. Don't scrub your screen. Use a very gentle polishing motion until your screen is shiny and clean.

What you NEVER want is anything with alcohol or ammonia. They ruin plastic. I've investigated all the common cleaners available at the grocery stores these days in my part of the world and only Pledge Multi Surface qualifies. (There used to be a similar cleaner from Dow, but the formula was sold off to another company and contaminated with alcohol). Also NEVER use paper. I don't care what anyone, including Apple, say to the contrary. Paper is a great way to scratch your screen. Read ahead to learn why.

What does Apple say?

How to clean an LCD panel
Cleaning your computer screen

For many years Apple has suggested everything I suggested above. The only difference is that they currently say to use 'a clean, soft, lint-free cloth or paper'. This is remarkably vague and in my humble opinion includes bad advice. 'Cloth' could include materials that can scratch plastic. Paper naturally contains a component of plants called lignin, which itself can contain minerals, and minerals can scratch plastic or sometimes glass. So stick to the clean, soft, pure cotton on my advice.

Apple also suggest water as an option. If you use water, another personal suggestion: Don't use tap water. The problem again is minerals. Stick with distilled water. All scratchy minerals have been removed. It is as pure a form of water as you can buy in the store. And for all you scientists out there, deionized water does not qualify. Sorry.

I of course cannot guarantee the results you will get from my money saving advice. But I've been using this method since 1992 on all my Macs and have had only excellent results on both glass and plastic surfaces.
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