What do I use to wipe my Sony E400 monitor screen?

[Nerd]

I heard if you use just simple soap and water that you can take off the film or whatever they have on the screen. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[DARRIN]

I usually use a little glass cleaner on a paper towel to clean my monitor.

 

[MichaelD]

Hi there,

You heard "half-right". Yes, soap can damage the anti-glare/static coating. So can alcohol...and I'm not talking about accidently spilling a beer on your monitor (uh, that would be bad though!). I'm talking about those "anti-static wipes" that you can buy. They have alcohol in them, don't use them. The best thing to use is a dry, clean towel. I wipe my screen once a week, to keep the dust buildup to a minimum. If for some reason you get spots on the screen, (usually spit, from yelling out loud after getting fragged into a million pieces in my case) use a slightly moistened as in barely damp clean towel.

My old monitor (Dell, excellent 17" unit BTW) had a regular CRT as opposed to the FD Trinitron. I used the alcohol wipes on it for two years with no discoloration or ill effects. My Micron MX900 (Sony FD tube) came with a big (two feet by one foot...no joke) yellow piece of paper taped to the top of it distinctly and in very definite language telling you NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES to use any kind of alcohol or caustic cleaner (they're talking about Fantastik/409 type stuff) on the screen because the anti-glare/static coating could be damaged. I doubt that just a few applications would hurt anything, but why chance it? Dry or slightly damp towel. That's the only way to go. Oh yeah, vacuum the top and sides of it every month to prevent dust buildup too.

 

[AmazonRasta]

Use Windex! It's designed to clean glass! Works like a charm too.

 

[EvilDonnyboy]

argh. Don't use windez. MichaelD just said that Monitors have anti-glare/anti-static coatings on the glass. Ammonia or Alcohol can disolve the coatings. Thats bad. Windex and eye glass cleaners have ammonia and alcohol in them.

Just use a dry towel like MichaelD said. If you have to, use a slightly damp towel. If you really mucked up your screen, use a very small amount of dish soap (not hand soap or car wash soap or any other crap) diluted in water. use the solution to clean the muck off the screen with a soft cloth, then wipe clean afterwards with a slightly damp (water) cloth.

 

[Howard]

Rasta, plate glass (the stuff windows are made of) aren't coated.

 

[duragezic]

Use Windex! It's designed to clean glass! Works like a charm too.

Yeah it works on the anti-glare coating well.

Evildonnyboy seem to hit it right on the spot. Use a slightly dampened, soft towel and if really needed add a small bit of soap diluted with water.

 

[superbaby]

I use hand-soap and a couple dry towels to wipe the screen on my E400. It works fine, the anti-static/glare coating is still there and the screen looks like new!

 

[Lvsheng]

I used a wet towel (but not too wet) to wipe the screen, and my FD trinitron coating still perfect.

 

[PliotronX]

I just use a 100% cotton 100% ripped up t-shirt

 

[bacillus]

a slightly damp lint free cloth works for me!

 

[spamboy]

I use sandpaper. Oh, wait a monitor, not a heatsink.

I'm such a card.

 

[chasm22]

I use the same little bottle of stuff I clean my eyeglasses with. The optician said it would not harm my glasses, which have an anti-glare coating, so I figured it would be OK for the screen of my computer. I even use the same little cloth. No alcohol it in. Don't use paper towels-they will scratch the coating.

 

[Slapstick]

A friend of mine got me to try the lens cleaner solution you can get at the WalMart optical dept. for about 2 bucks a bottle, (the pink stuff). Work like a charm for removing finger prints, (from the idiots that have to touch your screen when they want to show you something) and doesn't hurt the antiglare coating.