Consumer Reports - USA (2020-02)

CRInsights

Having people over to watch the

Super Bowl? You’ll want your TV

to be fingerprint- and dust-free.

Newer LCD (which use LED lights)

and OLED TVs are sensitive and

need to be cleaned carefully to

keep the screen from getting

scratched or damaged. (If you

still have a plasma TV, it may have

an anti-glare coating over the

glass and so should be treated like

an LCD TV.) Fortunately, though,

cleaning these big screens doesn’t

require any special chemicals—

never use alcohol or ammonia,

found in cleaners such as

Windex—or special kits, which can

cost $15 to $20 for a solution

that’s probably mostly water.

Instead, buy a microfiber cloth and

use our advice below.

HOW TO CLEAN

PRACTICALLY

ANYTHING™

YOUR FLAT-

SCREEN TV

MATTRESSES TABLETS

FEBRUARY

IS THE

BEST TIME

TO BUY ...

1. TURN OFF THE TV—
   or even unplug
   it—prior to cleaning,
   says Claudio Ciacci,
   who heads CR’s TV
   testing. “In addition
   to it being safer for
   the set, it’s usually
   easier to see dirt
   or finger smudges
   when the screen is
   dark,” he says.
   2. USE A DRY,
   SOFT CLOTH.
   Paper towels or
   tissue fibers can
   do damage to
   an LCD screen.
   “Your best bet is
   to use a soft, anti-
   static microfiber
   cloth—the kind
   used to clean
   eyeglasses and

camera lenses—and

wipe in a circular

motion,” says John

Walsh, who cleans

more than 250

TVs a year before

photographing

them in his role as

a CR photographer.

“Gently wipe the

screen with the dry

cloth to remove

dust, but don’t press

too hard,” he says.

3. TACKLE STAINS.
   If there are hard-
   to-remove stains,
   dampen the cloth
   slightly with distilled
   water, and gently
   clean the screen.
   Don’t spray water
   directly onto the

screen, which could

cause a shock or

component failure if

it drips or seeps into

the inner workings

of the set. Or try

using a solution of

very mild dish soap

highly diluted with

water, once again

applied to the cloth

and not to the TV

itself. (As a guideline

for how much soap

to use, manufacturers

recommend a 100∶

ratio of water to

soap. Translation:

Use very little soap!)

Go over the screen

one more time

with a dry cloth to

remove any swirls

or streaks.

SNOW

BLOWERS

18 CR.ORG FEBRUARY 2020 For more info, go to CR.org/buy0220.