How to clean your iPad's screen without damaging it
- To clean your iPad's screen, wipe it in circular motions with a clean microfiber cloth.
- If a dirty spot won't come out, you can lightly dampen the cloth with water or 70% isopropyl alcohol.
- The iPad has an oleophobic screen, making it easy to wipe away oily smudges.
If you've owned your iPad for more than a week, you've noticed that it doesn't look nearly as good as when it first came out of the plastic. Fingerprint smudges, dust specks, grease streaks - it's hard to keep a device clean.
Luckily, iPads are easy to clean. Here's a full guide on the Do' and Don'ts of cleaning your iPad.
Things to avoid when cleaning your iPad's screen
Your iPad may seem advanced, but it's still a fragile device. And that means it's easy to damage and needs to be handled with care.
Here's what you should avoid when cleaning your iPad's screen:
- Don't use aerosol sprays, bleaches, or abrasives
- Don't spray any cleaning products directly onto or into the iPad
- Don't leave the device plugged in or turned on
- Avoid using abrasive cloths like paper towels
How to clean your iPad's screen properly
- Firstly, make sure your device is unplugged and turned off.
- With a soft lint-free cloth - a microfiber cleaning cloth that you can find on Amazon is ideal - wipe the iPad's screen with small circular motions. The iPad's screen is oleophobic, meaning that any oils or fingerprints should come off easily.
- If necessary, lightly dampen the cloth with water or 70 percent isopropyl alcohol. If you do this, make sure to only wipe the hard and non-porous surfaces (the casing and display). This should also help if something is stuck on your iPad's screen, like a piece of dirt. Just make sure to dampen the cloth itself - don't pour or spray water directly onto the iPad.
If you've used a wet cloth, you can polish the screen afterwards with a dry microfiber cloth.
Maya Kachroo-Levine contributed to a previous version of this article.
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