A while back I bought a screen cleaning kit from Staples. I forget what I paid but I would guess it was about $20. It came with a small spray bottle of a screen cleaning solution and an interesting device that had a brush on one end and on the other end you could attach one of the many microfibre clothes it came with. The kit worked great, but eventually I ran out of cleaner and forgot about it. Recently, after discovering it buried in my laptop bag, I went into Staples to get a replacement bottle. For a small spray bottle containing only a few ounces of screen cleaner they were asking $12.99. For a slightly larger bottle they wanted $19.99. I scoffed at this, knowing that the liquid inside was worth only pennies and had not expected to pay more than $5 for a bottle. So I left empty handed.

I knew there had to be some way to make my own screen cleaner. I also knew, like many others, that you should never use Windex or lens cleaner on an LCD screen as it would eat at the finish. It turns out that the recipe for making your own screen cleaner is quite simple and the ingredients are quite cheap. All you need is:

1 Part Distilled Water

1 Part Isopropyl Alcohol (70%)

Make sure you mix the solution in a well ventilated area, as isopropyl alcohol evaporates very quickly and its fumes are not only toxic but flammable. Also be sure to use distilled water and not mineral water or tap water as they contain dissolved minerals which will result in streaks on your LCD. After mixing your solution, pour it into an empty spray bottle. An empty lens cleaner bottle works well and is small enough to fit in a laptop bag.

When applying the solution to your monitor make sure you power it off first. Also never spray it directly on to the screen, rather spray it onto your cloth and then rub it on to the screen. Make sure to use a soft, clean cloth, and not a paper towel or tissue as they can scratch the screen or leave fluff on it. After cleaning the monitor, wait a few moments for it to dry before turning it back on.