Never Clean Your HDTV This Way

Never Clean Your HDTV This Way, Windex leaves streaks and furniture polish leaves a residue, but another product works wonders. Worst Ways to Clean Your TV, You’ve invested hundreds – maybe thousands – of dollars in your TV. So how should you clean the screen without risking ruining it? The Internet is full of ideas and ads touting the best products. I searched “How to clean a flat screen TV” and found a crazy set of suggested cleaning methods. So I sacrificed an LCD in order to put seven supposed solutions to the test.

The Test
Since most often, I find myself cleaning off kids’ fingerprints, I first mixed up a concoction to simulate what they might have on their hands – cream cheese, sunscreen, and peanut butter. Next, I had the questionable pleasure of smearing this mess all over the screen (which I did while the kids were out of the house – gotta be careful what I role-model).

I unplugged the TV for safety, then tested each product in turn:

1. Windex: I was nervous about using anything with ammonia, but it didn’t seem to do any damage. On the other hand, it left a streaky residue. Just like when you clean your windows, the product isn’t perfect.

2. Alcohol and Water: I like the idea of alcohol, because it should evaporate without leaving a mark. And in fact, the results were pretty good – at least with a soft rag. So next, I took the opportunity to test the same cleaner with a different cloth…

3. Alcohol and Water and Paper Towel: Disaster! Not only did the paper towel shed fibers on the screen, it streaked the screen so badly, I thought I might have permanently scratched it. Sure, some TV glass is more durable than others, but a scratched screen is something you definitely don’t want to risk.

4. Furniture Polish: This is not something I would have ever tried had I not read it on line… And sure enough – the result was major streaks along with a cloudy residue.