Help please - Monitor (CRT) Cleaning

[p]

I foolishly decided to clean my monitor at about 3 a.m this morning (even
though there were no real grease prints or anything) and grabbed my can of
'anti-static foam cleaner' sprayed a good bit on the screen and wiped it off
with a lint free cloth. After about 60 seconds I realised that the cleaning
process had just left smudges and streaks over the screen and a quick google
revealed about 10 HOWTOs all stating 'Do not spray directly on the screen'.
Bugger...
So now I have and I'm not sure what to do next. Does anyone know if the
above warning is to prevent leakage inside the glass or to prevent somehow
damaging the screen? I'm left with this streaky monitor now and I tried
squirting some of the foam onto the corner of a cloth and wiping but its not
been sucessful. Any help would be really really appreciated
Thank you!
Sinan

 

[Bigbear]

Can't you just use some Windex or something similar?

 

[p]

I dunno:
A) windex isnt available here (scotland)
B) from other users reports its ammonia based and I should avoid that?

I saw another post which mentioned not spraying foam on the screen incase it
gets inside so hopefully I won't have damaged the coating or anything like
that as I know none got in. Anyway thanks for your help.
Sinan

 

[kony]

I foolishly decided to clean my monitor at about 3 a.m this morning (even
though there were no real grease prints or anything) and grabbed my can of
'anti-static foam cleaner' sprayed a good bit on the screen and wiped it off
with a lint free cloth. After about 60 seconds I realised that the cleaning
process had just left smudges and streaks over the screen and a quick google
revealed about 10 HOWTOs all stating 'Do not spray directly on the screen'.
Bugger...
So now I have and I'm not sure what to do next. Does anyone know if the
above warning is to prevent leakage inside the glass or to prevent somehow
damaging the screen? I'm left with this streaky monitor now and I tried
squirting some of the foam onto the corner of a cloth and wiping but its not
been sucessful. Any help would be really really appreciated
Thank you!
Sinan

They probably wanted to keep the cleaning fluid from running down the
face of the monitor, between it and the plastic, getting inside.

If a different cleaning fluid doesn't get rid of the streaks then very
carefully examine the monitor under strong light, your cloth might
have scratched the anti-reflective coating. Unfortunately there's not
much you can do about that, perhaps a gentle buffing would make it
less noticable, but could instead make it worse.


Dave

 

[Phrederik]

I foolishly decided to clean my monitor at about 3 a.m this morning (even

though there were no real grease prints or anything) and grabbed my can of
'anti-static foam cleaner' sprayed a good bit on the screen and wiped it off
with a lint free cloth. After about 60 seconds I realised that the cleaning
process had just left smudges and streaks over the screen and a quick google
revealed about 10 HOWTOs all stating 'Do not spray directly on the

screen'.

Is your cleaner meant to be used on glass?

Around here "Fantastik" is used to clean almost anything, but if you use it
on glass it will etch the surface and do some real damage!

Try some regular window cleaner - ammonia based is fine. Just avoid spraying
too much, or just spray on a cloth and wipe.

 

[Vanguard]

I take it you cannot find any monitor cleaning wipes around. I also
take it that using a water dampened cloth won't remove the scum off the
screen. Use isopropyl alcohol (diluted to a 50% solution) or eyeglass
cleaner; dampen a cloth with water and then add the alcohol. Should be
available everywhere. Isopropyl alcohol (and water) is what most
monitor cleaning wipes use. That's also what the tape head cleaners use
(except the water portion is often distilled water).

Some older monitors used to coat the outside of the screen with an
anti-glare spray and maybe that's been ruined. I don't know what's in
the foam cleaner you mentioned. Maybe it just left a residue on your
screen. After all, to be anti-static means it has to leave behind a
coating; otherwise, it would just be a cleaning spray. If the isopropyl
alcohol doesn't work, try a vinegar or a mix of isopropyl alcohol and
vinegar. I would always start with a 50% diluted solution so the
cleaner isn't too strong. Dampen a cloth with water, apply the vinegar
[mix] to the damp cloth, and test in a corner of the screen, let dry and
check. If it is a soft screen, like an LCD monitor, do NOT use paper
towels but instead always use soft clean cloths, like a clean white tee
shirt. Do NOT use ammonia-based or ethyl alcohol based cleaners on LCD
screens; over time they can cause LCD screens to yellow.

If you don't have any place to pickup anti-static cloths to occasionally
wipe your screen to repel dust, you can use an anti-static cloth for
eyeglasses and I've even heard of some folks using dryer sheets (but
they are too rough for LCD screens).

 

[p]

Thanks for your help guys. I went down the path of a good cleaning cloth
(from a camera shop) and managed to gently wipe away all the marks and
streaks so I think I'm ok! Cheers for the advice anyway!
Sinan