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How to Clean Your TV Screen

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Much like anything in your home, TV screens get dirty with fingerprints and dust and require a periodic cleaning. Keeping your TV screen clean is essential for ensuring a clear picture. However, cleaning the front of your TV is not something that should be left for the cleaning lady. The use of certain cleaning products and solvents can damage the front of your TV screen. Special care must be taken in order to make sure that your TV screen is cleaned properly.

Every kind of TV has different steps for proper cleaning. If you are unsure what kind of TV you own, consult your TV user's manual to ensure that you are using the right cleaning method. 

  • Direct-View - Older direct view TV's can be cleaned with glass cleaner and a paper towel. Newer tubes that may contain any special coatings, like an anti-glare coating, should be cleaned with a damp cotton cloth. If you are unsure if you have any special coatings, it is best to be safe and use the damp cloth.
     
  • CRT Rear-Projection - Before you can begin cleaning, you need to determine if you do, or do not have a screen shield. A screen shield is a hard plastic cover over the front of the TV screen. If you can't tell, give the front of the TV a light tap. Another way to tell is to check for ridges in the screen area. If you can feel ridges on the screen, then you do not have a screen shield. Rear projection TVs without a screen shield require a special kind of cleaner and rag. These are available for purchase at your local TV service center. Those that do have a screen shield should be cleaned with a dry or damp soft cloth. If it's extremely dirty, a mild soap may be used. Do not use paper products, such as paper towels, to clean the screen shield. Paper products can easily scratch the surface of the shield. Screen shields can have a tendency to streak while cleaning. If this happens, use a dry cloth and buff the screen in a small circular motions.
     
  • Microdisplay Rear-Projection - All microdisplay TVs have some sort of screen shield on the front. These TVs should be cleaned with a damp cloth. Microdisplays with a shiny screen shield can be cleaned with a mild soap if extremely dirty. Those with a flat screen shield should not be cleaned with any cleaning agents. Do not use paper products to clean the front of the TV because they could scratch the screen surface.
     
  • Plasma - Plasma owners should clean the front of the TV with a soft, damp cloth. The use of a mild soap for heavy cleaning is acceptable. The use of heavy cleaning agents could strip the special coatings on the screen, and paper products can scratch the front of the TV.

  • LCD Flat Panel - Be careful with flat panel LCD TVs! Use a slightly damp soft cloth to clean the LCD screen, then immediately dry with a soft cloth. Do not press hard on the screen during cleaning. Doing so could cause severe damage to the display. Do not use any cleaning solvents, such as glass cleaner or soaps, to clean the LCD screen. Paper products could scratch the front of the screen. If you have a pet or child that rubbed something on the screen that you feel could stain or damage it, contact your local TV service center for assistance. 
When dusting the TV cabinets, dust with a damp cloth or a mild cleaner. Paper products can scratch the surface of high-gloss cabinets, so avoid paper products. Heavy cleaners can strip the finish off of TV cabinets over time. When cleaning speaker grilles, dust with a dry cloth. Wet cleaners could stain or damage the grille cloth.

Read more in: Televisions and Projectors

Discussion:    Add a Comment | Comments 1-14 of 14 | Latest Comment

July 14, 2006 9:08 PM

Is there a way to get liquid out from behind a nylon screen....at least I think it is a nylon screen.

My 2 yr old got something on the tv and it seeped behind the screen..please help.

July 14, 2006 9:09 PM

To clearify the last question, it's a flat screen tv...if that makes a differance.

August 11, 2006 9:07 AM

What type or brand is it and a model # if you have it?

"Those who do not know their opponet's arguments, do not completely understand their own".

August 11, 2006 9:55 AM

samsung... It has on it 1080 monitor.  I hope this helps...Obviously I didn't buy the TV.

August 11, 2006 9:58 AM

Matt, if I may add something to this. I have in the past, on tube type sets, found intermittent ,damaged and corroded front mini switch in the front of the TV behind the on and off switch, the volume up and down switch, as well as the channel up and down .switches. What we found what causes this is when the consumer sprays a cleaner directly onto the surface of a tube type TV set. The liquid leaks down the front of the set and sits on the printed circuit boards and switches. Over time this causes the board and the switches to corrode. The normal complaint would be the buttons are hard to use as you have to push real hard on them, or the set turns off and on all by itself, or the buttons don't work at all but the remote does. The only way to prevent this from happening would be that if your going to use a cleaner, spray it onto the cloth and never over do it as you don't need too much. Gently wipe off the screen and use a dry cloth to finish it off. On rear projection sets, some .have two piece lenses that makes up the screen assembly. One piece is what's called a Lenticular lens, and the other piece is called a Fresnel lens. If you spray the cleaner or water directly onto the screen, it sometimes seeps in between the lens and you get an ugly spot on the screen. This sometimes can also happen when a person or little one spills something or splashes the front of the TV with a liquid The only way to fix this is to take out the screen assembly, cut the tape holding together the two lenses and separate them and clean them. Now on these projection sets we do not want to clean both surfaces the same way. The inside of both screen pieces, the two sides that go together, will be plain and smooth, and they can be cleaned gently with a normal shammy cloth and make sure you get all the dust off of them. The other side of the inside lens facing the inside of the TV will have a circular pattern on it. This is the Fresnel lens, just like they use in a light house's to amplify light and also because it has a short focal length. This lens should only be cleaned, if needed, without any cleaner and only a damp shammy cloth in a circular motion only. Then take a dry shammy and repeat the process. The outside surface has a vertical pattern of lines with a faint hint of black on the sides of these vertical lines. This is like a light blocker from the outside of the set so very little light can get inside the set and affect the reflected picture. This is the Linticular lens. This lens also amplifies a light source at different angles. The lens should only be clean lightly again with only a damp shammy and only in an up and down motion. Then you lay the rear part down, put the other screen or lens on tope and re-tape the ends with a cloth base tape. Wipe off the Fresnel lens again and reinstall the screen assy. If a consumer can do this when the set starts to look dull, they can save, a lot of times, a service call and labor to clean the screen. Now some projection sets has a lens or screen assy made all together in one piece. You would clean the inside and outside the same way. Hope this helps.

"Those who do not know their opponet's arguments, do not completely understand their own".

October 17, 2006 1:30 PM

How do I clean inside mirror for my Toshiba 65hdx82?

October 22, 2006 8:48 AM

Michael,  You really should invest in a service manual to see the exact disassembly process, as you do not want to just start taking out screws.  Find out in the manual how the screen comes out, and clean the mirrors and the lens the same way you would the screen, with a soft clean shammy cloth.  Never spray anything onto the mirrors or lens,as most projection TV mirrors have the silver coating on the outside of the glass and not on the reverse surface to prevent  reflections.  Good Luck and let us know how you made out.

"Those who do not know their opponet's arguments, do not completely understand their own".

November 7, 2006 5:08 PM

My roommate took my tv apart and cleaned the inside of the screen with soap then windex and papertowels,what can i do to fix it?

November 8, 2006 3:13 AM

Whats the screen look like now?

"Those who do not know their opponet's arguments, do not completely understand their own".

January 31, 2007 8:56 PM

Larry, I used toothpaste to polish out a scratch in my son-in-law's Sony KP5140something.  It left a large patch where I rubbed out the anti-reflective coating which you can see. especially when the TV is off.  This is a plastic screen cover.  So what do I do?  Rub it all off, or is there a product to restore the coating?

February 1, 2007 3:40 AM

No sorry, you will have to replace the screen.

"Those who do not know their opponet's arguments, do not completely understand their own".

March 24, 2007 12:19 PM

What do you recommend for my Mitsu WD-65831, if I don't want to go to the Electronics store and buy their recommended stuff?

Do you have a Sansa MP3 Player? Then Click here to see all the Sansa news

July 21, 2007 9:21 AM

I have a sony 60" rear projection tv. It has one of those like plastic screens with the little squares. Well we bought it from a friend of ours. Its in mint condition except one of their kids wrote on it with crayon. How do I get the crayon off of the plastic screen. Could I use a very soft bristle brush? If ya need more information please let me know. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. Smile

May 13, 2008 10:28 PM

Brandon C. said: What do you recommend for my Mitsu WD-65831, if I don't want to go to the Electronics store and buy their recommended stuff?
My wife just brought this up again. Any suggestions?

Do you have a Sansa MP3 Player? Then Click here to see all the Sansa news

Discussion:    Add a Comment | Back to Top | Comments 1-14 of 14 | Latest Comment

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