Your Window on the Digital World
During my recent site visits, I was also flabbergasted to see so many dirty monitors. That we would find dirt inside computers is understandable, after all, it’s out of sight, out of mind. But it’s incomprehensible that a content creator (or anyone, really) would sit all day long in front of a large, dirty, and usually expensive display.
Of course, pulling out a bottle of Windex or other household glass cleaner isn’t the answer. While most technical web sites suggest otherwise, glass cleaners with alcohol or ammonia can degrade or remove the antiglare coatings found on the top-grade CRTs sold to content creators. These products can come in metal pouches or spray bottles and often contain warnings of flammability, or “to avoid prolonged skin contact,” and to “use in a well-ventilated space.”
“Manufacturers of professional displays have gone out of their way to decrease glare,” Seppala said. He previously worked for display-maker Mitsubishi Electronics, and mentioned that such monitors feature glare-reduction coatings on both the inside and outside surfaces of the glass. He said there’s no one fix for glare; rather “it’s all additive.”
Stripping off the coating with an ordinary glass cleaner won’t alter the transmission of colors but it will cause more glare on the screen, which can affect our viewing and evaluation of colors. Seppala said most consumers wouldn’t notice the difference, but content creators most likely would.
I use a water-soluble polymer-based cleaner called Klear Screen from Merridrew Industries. The product both cleans the glass surface and leaves a clear anti-static, protective coating. It is also suitable for cleaning LCD screens, camera lenses, and glasses, and once resurrected a dirty trackpad on my notebook computer.
In addition to employing the proper chemical cleaner (and avoiding the wrong ones), you should use the correct cleaning material. Kleenex or paper towels (horror!) can scratch the coatings or the glass itself. Such paper products also will generate a cloud of lint particles that will quickly shroud the screen.
Merridrew sells special lint-free, optical-grade polishing cloths. They are designed for polishing rather than absorbing liquid, so working the Kleer Screen liquid into the display can take some time. They are very lint-free.
Some professional photographer’s I’ve spoken with prefer special optical-grade chamois, which is reusable and absorbent. When I used a sheet of this, I worried that some piece of grit could get caught in the sheet and then scratch my lens. But it never happened and I was told at Comdex once that it was used to buff the Hubble telescope’s lens. The chamois was recently incorporated in a screen-cleaning beanie baby. Go figure.
Several years ago at a printing convention, I acquired several cartons of Webril Wipes, which are made of soft, lint-free cotton and cost about a penny a piece. I’ve used them, at times, especially to clean my the bed of my scanner.
When was the last time you cleaned out your CPU or polished your monitor? Six months? A year gone by?
According to the sage Israel of Ruzhin, “It’s harder to break bad habits than split rocks.” That also includes procrastination. I suggest that you schedule these cleaning chores in your calendar program and set plenty of reminders.
This article was last modified on January 6, 2023
This article was first published on June 6, 2002
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