Cleaning Computer Screen and Base

There seems to be lots of products on the market aimed at cleaning your computers screen, we have all types of wipes and various sprays, but are these really necessary?

Yes and No

For just dust then in my opinion water and tissue is usually fine, but for those screens with various drink splashes or greasy finger marks then yes.



If your computer has a dusty screen and most do get dusty as the screen attracts dust. The easiest way I have found to clean my own screens is simply clean damp kitchen tissue (not so wet as to drip).

Fold it into a small square, wet the tissue and then wipe slowly and gently from the left to the right of the screen progressively moving down, this will leave a slightly damp screen but will evaporate very quickly if the computer is in a warm environment.

If you need to remove grease or other such marks then specialized screen cleaners should be used for this, but even then make sure you don’t apply too much pressure.

One issue I have found with certain specialised screen cleaners is the white chalky marks that some leave behind, this can be especially noticeable on LCD type screens; if you get chalky marks a damp piece of kitchen towel as above should save the day.

When cleaning computer screen unless you’re very sure of the substance don’t use anything apart from water or specialised cleaning products.

I have seen people using everything from general window cleaning products, vinegar (which is acidic) and even white spirit..

Keeping Computer Clean
An easy way to clean a computers base unit is to use foam cleaner; just make sure you apply it to the cloth and not directly to the computer as the sprays do have a tendency to go everywhere.

Make sure you always use a clean cloth; dirty cloths will smear dirty marks making them harder to remove. I always use a good kitchen towel as its cheap and disposable, but some may find this tears too easily.

Cleaning the Keyboard

We have a complete article on keyboard cleaning here.

Cleaning inside the Computer
Should we clean inside a computer? Certainly not for cosmetic reasons, but a computer by design actually sucks air through its case helping to keep it cool, but this does also have a negative side in terms of what gets sucked in too, this includes dirt and dust which can impair this airflow clogging up cooling vents which can attribute heavily to a computer overheating.

Any computer that has been used for more than a few years is bound to have a build up of dirt and dust. 

Always make sure you are earthed when working with computer components to prevent ESD or Static damage to them.

We always clean out our computers every so often, for desktops we remove the power cable then remove the case cover, then using a small paintbrush agitating any dirt and fluff and hoover away this as we go along, this way there is no need for the hoover to ever touch any part of the computer. Always make sure the hoover has a plastic attachment.

When cleaning laptops we never open the case to simply clean them, using a hoover and a small paint brush agitate any dirt or dust around the laptops vents removing it as we go so it does not drop into the laptop.

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