Cleaning Your Mac’s Display

What you need:

Two microfiber clothsDistilled waterDistilled white vinegar

Two microfiber cloths are convenient because you can use one for the dry cleaning of the display and dampen the second one with distilled water for stubborn spots. You can manage with a single microfiber cloth but be careful to dampen only a small area of it. Turn off the computer and monitor and disconnect from the power source before you begin the cleaning process. It’s possible, though unlikely, that a smudge or spot on the glass panel on your Mac’s display is on the inside surface. If that’s the case, the best thing to do is take the display to an Apple Store for cleaning. A trained technician can pull the glass panel, clean both surfaces of the glass and the underlying LCD panel, and then seal it all back up without damaging the display.

More on Apple Displays

Mac displays come in two categories: naked LCD screens and glass LCD screens. Naked LCD screens are used on many of the older portable Macs and most third-party desktop monitors. Glass LCD screens, like the ones used in recent iMacs, are naked LCDs with a glass panel in front of them. Because the LCD panel is protected, you may think it’s OK to use household glass cleaner on your iMac. No, it isn’t. Apple recommends distilled water for cleaning these displays. Distilled water is sufficient to remove any dirt, smudges, and cat or dog nose prints. If you encounter a stubborn spot, use a distilled white vinegar and distilled water combination.