Keeping your touch screens clean is important to staying healthy, but doing it wrong can harm your touch screen and shorten the life of these devices. Learn how to clean a touch screen and effectively disinfect your screens without harming them.
There are a few reasons you might want to remember to regularly clean your touch screen displays. Screens will accumulate dust and dirt over time which interferes with your touch screen’s sensors and makes your touch screen less effective.
Even more important, screens tend to be the perfect environment for viruses and bacteria to live on. Because the screen is warm, these pathogens can live longer here than on other surfaces. Touch screens are also more frequently touched than other surfaces, because users are constantly making selections all over the screen. Many viruses and infections are spread this way, and it could cause problems for your business if you’re not careful about disinfecting them.
If you are the owner of a retail store, restaurant or another business who uses touch screens or point of sale systems, it is very important that you clean these screens frequently to keep your employees and customers safe! Read on to learn the do’s and don’ts of how to clean a touch screen without causing damage to these expensive machines.
How to Clean a Touch Screen: The Do’s and Don’ts
DO Power Off the system
Before you clean a touch screen device, you should make a habit of powering off the device and unplugging it from the wall. Touch a metal part of the case first to clear any static electricity. Static electricity could produce a shock to yourself or harm the device. After powering off and touching a metal edge, you’re ready to start cleaning!
DON’T spray the cleaner directly on the screen
This is a very common mistake, because this is how we clean anything else! Spraying directly on a touch screen, however, can damage the display. Touch screens and electronic device screens are made of very thin layers. If any liquid sits on the screen, it could soak through these layers and cause black spots on the display. This is the same reason you don’t want to get your phone or computer screen wet! Instead, just spray the cloth with the cleaning solution and gently wipe down the screen.
DON’T Use Paper towels
It’s important to use the right cloth to clean a touch screen, as most cloths will scratch and damage your device. Don’t use paper towels, napkins or tissues, as these could scratch the screen and leave behind fibers that will interfere with the touch sensors. Use a lint-free microfiber cloth, similar to what you would use on eyeglasses, to wipe down your screen in a circular motion. Clean a touch screen with this circular motion to minimize streaking and scratching.
DO follow with a dry cloth
It’s important to follow your cleaning cloth with a dry cloth to remove any moisture left on the screen. As mentioned earlier, liquid concentrated on touch screens can damage the screen and shorten the life of these expensive devices. Wiping down your screen with a dry cloth after each sanitation is a quick way to minimize damage. Once the screen is completely dry, you can plug your device back in and turn it on.
DON’T overuse Rubbing Alcohol
While rubbing alcohol has become the go-to disinfectant with the current Covid-19 outbreak, it is not appropriate for cleaning a touch screen. Rubbing alcohol and other harsh chemicals strip away an important oleophobic coating on these screens. This oleophobic coating repels oils, like the skin oils found on our fingers, that can interfere with the touchscreen detection. Once this coating is completely stripped away the touchscreen can be unusable. While regularly disinfecting your screen may be required, overuse use of rubbing alcohol or other harsh cleaning chemicals can drastically shorten the life of your touch screen technologies!
DO use a disposable stylus
In order to keep your touch screen from spreading viruses and bacteria you do need to disinfect quite often. The ideal frequency would be disinfecting the screen after every use. However, in most scenarios this isn’t feasible and would quickly damage the touch screen and device. An easy solution is to offer single-use styli for customers or employees who use your touch screen device and have a trash bin nearby to discard used styli.
If you are a customer, it’s important to take steps to protect yourself as well! Carry LyfeStylus single-use styli with you in our hygienic pouch and use a stylus on any publicly shared touch screens you come across.
