Cleaning Your TV

Cleaning your TV is easy. And it’s something you should do once a week or so and not wait for your domestic cleaning agency to come and do it for you. Dust and dirt on a TV screen builds up gradually and you may not notice the progressive darkening of the picture until someone points it out to you. That’s when you probably wipe the screen with a damp cloth and are surprised, once again, at the difference a quick wipe makes to your viewing experience.  Cleaning a TV is so easy there’s absolutely no reason why you should not be doing it yourself. What follows applies only to normal CRT TVs and not LCD or projection TVs.

Before beginning turn off and unplug the TV. First of all keep in mind that the glass screen is prone to static which attracts dust which may later slide off the screen and collect under the TV. It’s a good idea to have someone lift the TV once a month and wipe both the table area under the TV as well as the underside of the TV itself.

To clean the body, use a household cleaning spray. Spray the cleaner on to a clean soft cloth and wipe all the external areas of the TV. Do not spray directly on to the body as some moisture may enter the TV through the ventilation openings. If there are any stubborn stains, dampen the cloth with the cleaner and rub the affected areas. Be careful not to rub so hard the TV becomes unstable. The areas near the controls are the most prone to staining from hands. Be careful not to press any of the buttons or other controls too hard when cleaning them – they could get damaged.

Before cleaning the screen check your TV manual to see if you have a plain screen or a coated one. If your manual does not say anything about it, play safe as treat it like a coated screen so the coating is not accidentally damaged.

If your TV screen is coated, clean it with soft cloth dampened with distilled water. This is important as ordinary water may lave mineral deposits on the glass surface.  Wipe the screen gently in a top to down movement. Let the screen air dry and if there are any spots left over, repeat the process on the affected areas. If the spots do not go, use a special electronics cleaning spray – any good electronics shop should be able to guide you.

For regular screens, simply dampen a cloth with a glass cleaner and wipe the glass.