Screen Sprays and Cloths

A soft cloth first

The screen is the part of a laptop people most want to clean and the easiest to damage. Laptop screens have coatings to cut glare and resist fingerprints, and rough cloths or harsh cleaners wear those coatings away for good. Every laptop maker starts in the same place: a dry, soft, lint-free cloth, wiped gently. Often that is all a screen needs. Pressing hard can harm the display underneath, so let the cloth do the work.

What is in this range

• Microfibre cloths in packs, from small 15cm squares that fit a bag pocket to 40cm cloths for a large monitor or TV, and individually wrapped cloths that stay clean until opened.
• Screen cleaner sprays with a cloth, in small bottles for the desk or the bag. Several are described by their makers as alcohol-free, and one as ammonia-free.
• A non-drip gel spray, made to cling to the cloth rather than run.
• Pocket spray-and-cloth sets made mainly for phones and tablets.

Using a spray safely

Spray onto the cloth, never onto the screen. Dell, Lenovo and Apple all say so: liquid aimed at a screen runs down into the gap at the bottom edge, which is where it can do harm. The cloth should be damp, not dripping. Before using any spray, read what is in it, and leave it on the shelf if it contains ammonia, bleach, hydrogen peroxide or acetone, which appear on the makers' lists of things to avoid. Dell suggests a cleaner made for LCD screens rather than window or household cleaner; Microsoft says never to use glass cleaner on a Surface screen, and not to use disinfectant wipes on any Surface touchscreen.

Plain water on the cloth is safe for every laptop, and it is what Apple recommends for MacBook screens. For stubborn smudges, Apple and HP allow a cloth moistened with 70 per cent isopropyl alcohol, and Microsoft 70 per cent or less. If your MacBook has nano-texture glass, follow Apple's own page for it. Give the screen a last pass with a dry cloth and let it dry before closing the lid.

Looking after the cloth

A cloth that has picked up grit will scratch, so keep it in its pouch or a clean drawer, and wash it when it looks grubby. The cloths here are sold as washable and reusable.

Questions people ask about screen cleaning

Can I use kitchen roll or a tissue?

No. Apple and HP both say not to: they can scratch screens and leave lint.

Do these work on a screen protector or privacy filter?

Yes. Clean a screen protector or privacy filter the same gentle way.

More to look at

• Laptop cleaning kits
• Keyboard brushes and cleaning gel
• Laptop screen protectors
• Laptop privacy filters
• Portable monitors
• Guide: How to clean a laptop safely
• Guide: Privacy and protection: filters, screen protectors, skins and locks