Q: I recently purchased "iKlear Apple Polish" to clean my laptop and iPod screens with. The company claims that it is "environmentally friendly" but they do not disclose their ingredients on the bottle (nor can I find them on the website). It does say that it is manufactured in California and it is free of alcohol, ammonia, and sodium. Do you know anything about this company and if its ingredients are actually environmentally friendly, or do you have an alternative suggestion to environmentally-friendly LCD cleaner?
Sent by Callista
Editor: We just sent an email over to the people at Klear Screen about their ingredients and they wrote right back with a link to their Material Safety Data Sheet. It's mostly water, with a dash of methyl paraben and something proprietary ...
Why not make your own cleaner?
We have a pretty good feeling that a few readers out there will have a good, eco-friendly (possibly DIY?) LCD cleaning solution. We've heard that you can clean your screens with a 50/50 mix of 70% Isopropyl alcohol, distilled water, and a microfiber cloth — although we've never tried it.
So. LCD cleaning? Got any suggestions?
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I just use a microfibre cloth...like the one you use to clean your glasses.
view d3's profile
I agree with the previous poster, microfiber cloths dry will dust very efficiently, slightly dampened with water will wipe off smudges.
view maidmoron's profile
Along the same lines, I use a PVA chamois (the absorber) and I think it works great. I'd be afraid to use anything with alcohol in it.
view mrs. jones soapbox's profile
Awesome! Thanks so much for the suggestions, everyone! I love the Microfiber idea. I think I'm going to try that next time. :)
view SIUCarbondale10's profile
Nah, alcohol works fine... My generic screen cleaner from Office Depot is mostly alcohol I think... which is almost as eco-friendly as water.
view kvh's profile
the great part about alcohol is that, unlike water, it evaporates super fast. Therefore, it doesn't have time to do any damage to your electronics.
view givemeyourshoes's profile
Microfiber water (distilled, if you have it around). Works wonders.
Those "cleaners" are not only hazardous, they do a terrible job at cleaning.
view gypsumsatellite's profile
I just use regular water and a lint-free rag (old dish towels work great).
view Tiamat_the_Red's profile
31 parts water, 1 part Bronner's castile soap, in a spray bottle - cuts the fingerprint grease nicely. Alternatively, just water in a spray bottle.
view boulderorganic's profile