Michał Stekla
Surely many of us have wondered how to clean the dirty screen of our television. It's commonly believed that cleaning should only be done dry, however, this method doesn't always work for every stain on the screen. So what will we need to safely clean the screen with a wet method? Can every type of screen be treated this way?
Which cloth to choose?
To clean the screen, we should only use dedicated microfiber cloths designed for screens. They may vary in texture, but we most often encounter two types, examples of which can be seen in the photo below.
Using universal cloths for cleaning windows isn't a great idea, even if the manufacturer claims they are made from microfibre. Their hard structure can cause micro-scratches on the screen that we won't be able to fix. Remember to use cloths specifically for cleaning the screen only for that purpose. If they serve other tasks in our household, dirt from those surfaces may settle on them, putting our screen at risk of scratching once again.
We should also never soak or wash such a cloth, as it will likely retain minerals that create the effect visible below.
So we already know what kind of cloth we need, and since we're talking about wet cleaning, what liquid would be suitable for this? Perhaps let's focus on which detergents to avoid. Surely each of us has a window cleaning solution, and since the display is a sort of "window," why not use this product? Well, nothing could be further from the truth ;) Using such detergents can leave marks on the screen, and we certainly didn't start cleaning just to make our display even dirtier.
In this case, demineralised water is helpful, and it can be more effective when heated in a pot of water. A liquid specifically designed for screens is also recommended, which can clean any type of display except for QD-Oleds with a glossy coating. So how do we clean it? Don't worry, we'll find out shortly.
LCD, OLED, QLED Displays
We've got the right cloth, spray, and our stain, so let's get to work! It's best to use two cloths, one for wet cleaning and the other for drying. We fold the cloth into quarters and apply our water/spray to the fabric. It's important not to spray it on the screen, as the liquid can seep under the LCD screen coating if we spray it on the edges. We only clean the soiled area and try not to press too hard on the screen. If the surface is still dirty, we can repeat the process on a clean section of the cloth. Finally, it's worth "polishing" the screen with a dry cloth, gently going over the entire surface while applying light pressure. This way, our unwanted stains should disappear for good :)
And what if we could clean the QD-Oled panel this way? Is it resistant to removing greasy stains?
Admittedly, the above method will remove stains from our TV, but this process may cause a slight, matte, blue glow, as seen below.
In reality, it doesn’t affect the comfort of using the television, but it stands out against the entire matrix.
If our screen is full of such spots, a solution may be to wipe it down with a damp cloth all over, making it uniform so that the differences are no longer visible.
Cleaning QD-Oled
So how can we safely clean our QD-Oled without making a "mess"? :)
While searching for a solution, we found Samsung's official recommendation. It concerns the use of a 70% ethanol solution for cleaning - yes, yes, we're talking about ethyl alcohol.
Such information should have been checked straight away.
We got straight into the test (what doesn’t one do in the name of science) and it really works! We also tested that cleaner ethanol, like rectified spirit (around 95%), works better. Although the first thought might suggest that this method would damage our panel, that was not the case here, and we cleaned the same spot four times.
Nevertheless, we recommend caution, as remember that wet cleaning should be used in emergency situations, and I do not recommend regularly cleaning the TV this way. We also shouldn’t try to clean other panels than QD-Oled with ethanol.
And what if our panel is dirty not on the surface, but inside? If dust has gotten between the layers of the panel or there are stains known as the DSM effect, resulting from uneven distribution of the backlight, we won’t be able to clean that. In that case, we’re left with only service.
