I am now using a radical, new cleaning solution for my LCD monitor:
Windex.
Yes, yes, I can hear your gasps of shock and bewilderment from here. Windex contains ammonia, which will make your LCD screen dull and flat. I and countless other computer gurus have been warning you about it for years.
Except there are three problems:
1. My monitor screen is already dull and flat. That is, it's not glossy at all. Glossy screens are terrible indoors, showing off every reflection from every light in the room.
2. What's not mentioned is how many applications it takes of ammonia to make your screen dull and flat. By my estimation, roughly 10,000 times.
3. LCD-friendly products don't work worth shit.
There's a reason Windex contains ammonia; it actually works when it comes to removing grime, filth, tobacco stains, and the spittle resulting from impulsively laughing out loud during one of Dr. Mercury's political posts.
The 'safe' alternatives, like Windex Wipes and using a half-and-half solution of vinegar and water just don't work very well. I've used two types of 'wipes', two 'safe' liquid spray cleaners, plus gone the vinegar route, but none of them got the screen dazzlingly clean with just a few wipes. There are always a handful of spots that have to be specifically 'scrubbed', and at that point I think it's possible you're actually doing more damage to that specific spot (with all the additional abrasion) than if you'd just given it a quick bath of ammonia and no scrub at all.
And that's just the first rule I'm breaking.
Another recommendation is to use a soft cloth, rather than a paper product. I tried both a diaper and an old t-shirt and thought they were both terrible. They smeared, as much as anything else, and since whatever you're wiping with has to be turned frequently, I ended up paying an overly amount of attention to making sure I had a clean spot for the next wipe.
Since I already have a roll of Charmin 'baby-soft' TP nearby for cleaning my glasses, I just use it for the monitor as well. Unlike the non-disposable cloth, you don't pay any attention to getting a clean spot on the wad of TP you're holding; you just wipe a few times and toss it. Like the ammonia, it's true that the slight additional abrasiveness from using a paper product might dull your screen over time — assuming you clean it 10,000 times.
And that's still not the end of my dastardly crimes.
It's also strongly advised not to spray the screen directly, as the liquid can seep into the frame and then 'wick' out into the viewing area in between the layers of laminate.
Go ahead — try it. About a year ago, my monitor was on its last legs (started getting weird flashes on the screen), so, just as an experiment, I blasted the whole bottom few inches with a ton of Windex, then left it there for an hour, giving it plenty of time to do its horrific damage.
The monitor, of course, with its high-precision-made casing and sealed layers, just shrugged it off. This little rule is probably based on the very first LCD monitors, which might have been more shoddily made and were actually subject to such problems.
I note that I don't purposefully spray enough along the bottom of the screen to drip down into the seam, but I don't panic when it does.
In summation, I've been using Windex on my dull and flat monitor for roughly a year now, and I'm here to report that it's still dull and flat.
But also dazzlingly clean.
