the most dangerous scenario involves cleaning solutions that may appear benign but can actually be lethal to a flat-panel TV - especially LCD sets, because they have a clear plastic face. "You don't want to use any solvent-based cleaners like Windex on an LCD screen," he warns.

Can anyone confirm that Windex destroyed an LCD screen?

Maybe they mean throwing a bottle of Windex at the screen will cause damage?

@Monty: Here ya go!
[gizmodo.com]

@Evangelion: Slick, but its still not an example of anything eating away at the material on the TV. That's just liquid getting under screen, which happened to be windex!

Don't waste your time clicking through - Click the "Print This" link. Use this handy tip on other annoying websites with the umpteen pages *cough*ADS*cough* to click through.

You certainly DO NOT want to use any type of windex (or any ammonia based glass cleaner for that matter) on camera lenses. The ammonia will strip the anti refractive coatings right off, leaving you with great paperweight. best thing to use is plain old water, or an alcohol based cleaner. Cleaner, mind you... not solvent! Microfiber cloths are fantastic because they pull all the bad stuff in and tend to keep it away from the surface of the glass. In my experience, a lot of these tips translate well to cleaning the pretty fragile screens on laptops, so they should also work well on flat screens.

Also, when you are cleaning with the cloths, try to rotate the cloth to a fresh surface after each pass to minimize the chance of something scratching. Especially true if the surface in question is noticably dirty.

just my two cents.

@Evangelion: Thanks for the link. I hate to look a gift horse in the comments, but what it shows in that link is different than what this writer was saying. They were saying, I believe, that it is okay to use water on the screen but not Windex because it could eat through the plastic coating on the front?

Maybe they meant what the Giz post you linked was saying, that spraying anything on to the screen is a bad idea. But, that is not how it read to me.

@sqeakytoy of the apocalypse: Doh! That will teach me to comment before reading the rest of the comments. Thanks for the info!

@sqeakytoy of the apocalypse: Righto Sir. Don't windex your lenses ppl!

But as far as the LCD's go... i've been using windex based cleaners for a while on both my computer monitors and TV.. anyone see how this can cause harm? I haven't noticed it.

two cents worth of advice...

for lcd screens (the old fashioned type...not the glass covered glossy screens), i typically moisten a paper towel and apply a single drop of detergent. a single drop...no more. then make sure to spread the detergent onto the full surface of the moistened rag to reduce any saturated points. also, grab a single dry paper towel as well to dry it QUICKLY after rubbing down the screen with the damp cloth. i clean the screen in every direction to the point that i know the screen has been thoroughly cleaned with the damp cloth (avoiding edges mostly). i IMMEDIATELY dry the screen to prevent any kind of residue from the detergent-dampened cloth. maybe i'm in the minority here because my girlfriend's family thinks it's positively necessary to touch the computer screen any time they point at anything on the screen. even though i've complained endlessly not to touch the screen. (drives me nuts.) regardless, this has worked for me 100% of the times for oily and greasy fingerprints.

now my new anti-glare plasma is another story. my two-year-old gets close to that thing, but she's learning that daddy's mad when she gets close. and i had to tell my girlfriend never ever ever to clean the plasma display. i take care of that. from the panasonic owner's manual verbatim...

"The front of the display panel has been specially treated. Wipe the panel surface gently using only a cleaning cloth or a soft, lint-free cloth.

If the surface is particularly dirty, soak a soft, lint-free cloth in diluted neutral detergent (1 part detergent diluted by 100 times the amount of water) and then wring the cloth to remove excess liquid. Use this cloth to wipe the surface of the display pane, then wipe it evenly with a dry cloth of the same type until the surface is dry.

Avoid contact with volatile substances such as insect sprays, solvents, and thinner; otherwise the quality of the surface may be adversely affected."

/two cents

A swiffer duster works wonders on electronics I think.

@sqeakytoy of the apocalypse:

I've got a question for you if you don't mind?(Not being a smart ass, serious question) How do you go about cleaning your Microfiber cloths? I haven't had to clean mine yet, do to minimal use.

Or do you just throw em away and buy new microfiber cloths?

Sorry for the delay, I just wash them in the washer. I just make sure they go through the extra rinse cycle. Also, I dont use any fabric softeners, although its funny; if any end up in your regular loads, the will grab the sheet softeners like magnets!

Also, I tend to buy them in larger sizes, usually at Costco. They are much larger than anything you get in a camera store, and cheap enough that I dont feel bad if I get one so dirty I dont feel like washing it.