Cleaning Products

Cleaning computer equipment is mostly about what not to use. Household glass cleaner, alcohol wipes and kitchen towel can strip the anti-glare coating from a laptop or monitor screen, and the damage is permanent.

Screen foam and cleaning fluid made for displays is formulated to lift grease without attacking that coating. Spray it onto the cloth, never onto the screen, so nothing runs into the bezel.

Compressed gas clears dust from keyboards, fans and vents without touching anything. Keep the can upright and use short bursts — tilting it can release liquid propellant. For a desktop, blow dust out of the case rather than deeper into it, and hold fan blades still so they are not spun beyond their rated speed.

Anti-static brushes are for the parts a blast of air will not shift, and the anti-static part matters around exposed circuit boards.

A microfibre cloth on its own, dry, handles most day-to-day marks. The products here are for what it will not lift.