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How often do you clean your screen/keyboard?

Ben Halpern on September 24, 2019

And what do you use to clean it?

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avalander profile image
Avalander

I didn't know you're supposed to clean them.

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Brittany

Almost never.☠️ When I'm on a long call sometimes I'll dust off my screen with my fingers like an animal

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DeChamp

I respect this method.

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Emma Bostian ✨

I don't... I want the world to know how much of a trash human I am

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Ben Halpern

I sort of operate under the assumption that you're pretty much flawless Emma 🤷‍♂️

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Simon Newby

Hear hear, to dead skin and lunch remains 😂

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Harsh Shandilya

It's okay we'll always love you

You're breathtaking

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Mohammed Samgan Khan

if that's the case, you just redefined the word trash for me.

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DeChamp

Once the sun hits the screen, on a day that I happen to be in the right spot as I'm walking back from the coffee machine. I will notice the 1000+ finger prints on my screen, which every time I ask myself, when did I touch my monitors?! Then i wait a week, and clean it if I remember....

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Thomas H Jones II

This laptop's a little over four years old, now, so...

Well, I clean the screen once it gets grotty enough that I start making reading mistakes. But the keyboard? If I were to dump it out and add water to the dumped-contents, I could probably make a hearty soup, at this point.

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Sean G. Wright

Thanks for the reminder... 🤣

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kaleigh

whenever I'm in public and realize how dirty it is

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Vicente G. Reyes

I think I clean every 6 months. My screen is always clean since I rarely hold it and I don't eat anything in front of my computer so my keyboard may be clean.

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Anwar

I think I eat so much in front of my computer that my keyboard has now a diet composed of my favorite junk food 😂

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Vicente G. Reyes

Hahaha! If you won't clean that, you'll have unwanted visitors soon😂😂😂😂

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Thomas H Jones II

Clearly, you don't live with pets (that get nose- or sneeze-prints) or a wife who's used to a touch-enabled screen. :p

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Vicente G. Reyes

Hahaha I actually have 4 dogs. haha and yeah I'm not married yet so I'm safe :p

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Michael Maitoza

Am I a germophobe? No. I just hate the look of the keyboard on my screen every other day. It really bothers me when I see things on my screen that doesn't belong there. So I wipe both the screen, with microfiber and the keyboard with a regular cloth. Then, just to be extra careful I have the original thingie that came with the computer to separate the keyboard and screen. Now if that doesn't scream geek I don't know what does. After reading other people's answers to this qustion I feel a little creepy. So to answer the question after all that I would say at least once a day.

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Yash Dave

Owing to the dusty as hell environment I live in, Gotta clean the keyboard with buds every weak and screen with a microfiber. Learnt the lesson the day my screen got keyboard key-shaped scratches permanently 😭😭.

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DeChamp

this makes me remember my scratch on my screen.... now i'm sad with you.  😢

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Thomas Werner

When I spill coffee on it

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Casper

For my laptop: I clean off the keyboard with an alcohol handwipe and wipe the screen with a microfiber cloth every few months.

For my desktop: I just wipe off the monitor with my shirt when it looks dusty. I've cleaned the keyboard three times in the 5 years I've had it, about time to do it again. And that cleaning includes removing all the key caps (gaming keyboard) and washing them in a bowl with water and soap, and using compressed air to get rid of all the crap under the keys.

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Rachel Soderberg

Work or home? Because those are two very different answers lol

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Thomas H Jones II

Leaving the work one get gross encourages hot-seaters to sit elsewhere (though not quite as effectively as replacing a standard keyboard with an ergo-keyboard).

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Rachel Soderberg

Thankfully I have a cube, so nobody will steal my seat. That doesn't make my statement sound good though, now I just sound like a filthy animal!

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Thomas H Jones II

I have an assigned cube, too, but... There's more people than seats at the one facility I work at. So, if a desk is empty (and mine is 3 of 5 days), there's the chance someone will sit in it.

To be honest, I wouldn't care, but I freaking hate coming back into the office and finding things messed with. After the third time of finding my electric sit/stand desk left in the "stand" position (and several of my desk-ornaments on the floor), I said, "fuck this noise" and disabled the actuators. Similarly, I went to the thrift store to buy a blazer to leave on the back of my chair to discourage people from "borrowing" my seat.

Shouldn't have to do that stuff, but, people don't care about being good guests.

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Fulton Browne

You can? (I look at my keyboard) oh.

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Meghan (she/her)

All the time!

photo of meghan washing a keyboard in the sink

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Ben Halpern

Action shot!

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Connor Tangney

Oh dear...

I can't remember the last time I've cleaned my monitors, but I wipe down my mouse / keyboard once a week.

I'd say I probably give the board a thorough rubdown once a month. That usually includes ripping all my key caps off and giving them a bath in some denture cleaner, then taking a Q-tip and scrubba-dubbing my naked keeb.

😬

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David Taitingfong

Well considering I primarily use one laptop...every morning before I boot up. I have a cloth that I use to wipe down the screen and I use the same cloth to wipe the oil left from my fingers off of my keyboard. I wash the cloth every 2nd time I do laundry.

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Filip Ilić • Edited

With magic 😅
cleaning

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Wouter van Marrum

I clean my keyboard every three months or so with baby wipes.
There is enough moisture in them to clean the surface but not too much to get water drops between the keys.

And my screen is cleaned every month or so. But for my screen, I have a microfiber cloth that is perfect to get all the nasty fingerprints and fat residues of.

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Harsh Shandilya

Every weekend (seems to be a minority o_O)

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Ben Halpern

You are the healthy and organized one among us...

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Raymel Francisco • Edited

As a keyboard enthusiast I am obsessed in keeping my keyboards clean. Screens, as long as nothing bothers me on my view. The contrast though. 😁 A microfiber cloth is my basic cleaning tool.

my keyboard

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Chris McNeese

I'm very protective of my screen against "screen touchers". I'm sure we all have one in our office, or on our team like that. When I do clean my screen, on an as-needed basis, I use a microfiber cloth and some sort of eyeglass lens cleaner. Real talk: I've had a cleaning kit from Sunglass Hut for several years now, because FREE refills for life on cleaner! The microfiber cloth is washing machine-safe.

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bob.ts

Screen:

  • Cleaned it this morning ... usually clean about every three months when I can't see through the fingerprints.

Keyboard:

  • Not often enough ... about every six months when I see someone else cleaning and feel guilty. Additionally, not as often as my steering wheel ...
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Michael Lustig - halfjew22@gmail.com

I just get the urge to clean it sometimes. If there’s a smudge or debris on the screen, I’ll probably be cleaning pretty soon. Sometimes, I get that gunk on my ; enter space shift f cmd or s keys. Specifically those :) Might have missed one.

In order to clean the screen, I spray a TINY amount of Windex ON THE PAPER TOWEL and wipe initially in large circles. Then I go around the edge and get the gunk out from there. After that I’ll spray even less Windex again on the paper towel and make horizontal and vertical lines to remove any streaking.

I then turn on KeyboardCleanTool and spray a little Method Lavender on the paper towel and go to town. I also make sure to wipe clean the trackpad and body of the laptop.

Finally, I’ll use some compressed air to finish up.

Fun fact, the laptop runs more effectively for a time after cleaning.

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Joel

Not often, but my wife's laptop screen? GOOD GRIEF

I have to abduct the thing, spirit it away to someplace with space and gas-powered tools to chip away the grime before I can polish it with weapons-grade cleaner.

In all seriousness though - a microfiber cloth, generic laptop screen cleaner fluid, small circular motions, steady pressure, and patience.

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George

No where near enough, then I get obsessive and everything becomes spotless for a couple of days.

Repeat every 3-4 months.

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Gene

Blower and a brush. I clean it twice a month.

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Roelof Jan Elsinga

I haven't cleaned it in a very long time, I use a laptop most of the time and when I don't use it, it's closed and in a sleeve. So I haven't had to clean it in a long time.

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Casi Imin • Edited

I clean it only when re-organize the desktop/document folder or when I format it.
I call it: Deep Cleaning...

/water

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Jonathan Burnhill

Way way way less then I probably should

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Stefan Dorresteijn

Both get a shallow cleaning every 2 weeks, keyboard is due for a deep cleaning.

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Benjamin Price

Isn’t that what my screen protector is for?

As for the keyboard... well... I can always get a new one from IT 😇

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Julien Rioux

I clean it with a towel and water when I meet clients ;p

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Luan Nguyen

I wipe the screen at least once a week with microfiber cloth and water.

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Peter Witham

OK I confess, marks on my screens drive me crazy once I seem them. So cleaning screens, touch or otherwise....weekly.

Keyboards...only when I notice had bad they really are :)

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Quentin Sonrel

Yes.

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Adam Patterson

I don't touch my screen so never, and my keyboard maybe monthly to when I start to notice all my coffee dribbles all over it.

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Pim

Another barn burner! Heckuva one liner Ben! I'm maybe in the minority, but I clean my daily driver (laptop) everyday with a slightly damp microfiber cloth. Gotta take care of your tools!

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imad

since there is a lot of dust in the air where i live, I try to clean my 2 laptops once a week using a microfiber towel and a special spray for screens

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Paresh

Screen - once in a year. Keyboard - never!

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Chathula Sampath • Edited

Thank you for remindering me 🤣🤣

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Ghost

I just use my kb with clean hands and hope for the best

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Aschwin Wesselius

How often do I do what??? Sorry, I don't understand the question.

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Elliot DeNolf

I'd guess probably every month or so. I hit the keyboard with some compressed air and wipe down my monitors with a microfiber towel.

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Luke Westby

Only as soon as it becomes distracting. The thing just doesn't stay perfectly clean for very long.

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aRtoo

My mom does the cleaning so I'm good.

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Michel Renaud

I usually make it worse when I do that.

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Odunayo Ogungbure

When I feel like :)

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Mark Harless

You guys clean your computers?

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Jamie Gaskins

I don’t understand the question

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Ankur Biswas

I clean it every two months. 😁

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Hussein Al Hammad

I clean my mouse daily. I give my keyboard less attention, but I try to clean it (not thoroughly) every few days. I rarely clean my monitors.

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Alex Lohr

3-4 times a year, I wash my keyboard (it's the Logitech K310, which is unfortunately no longer in production). My mouse I clean with wet wipes every year, as I don't touch it as often.

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C.S. Rhymes

I cleaned my keyboard today actually, after I accidentally spilt my coffee on it. Lots of kitchen roll was required.

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Vignesh M • Edited

Every day, every few hours if it's daytime or if spot any dust on it. I like to keep my laptop clean and new. For this purpose, I always have microfibre cloth and a tiny brush always in my bag.

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/*Sharkie*/

Wait your supposed to... clean... it?

Huh.

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Evan Plaice

If I'm working remotely... Desk, laptop, and monitor get cleaned daily if they need it. Good morning routine.

If not working remotely... Eh, when they get grubby

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scottshipp

Whenever they are dirty. I have a brush for my keyboard and prepackaged screen cleaning wipes for my screen

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zach

Not often enough for sure.

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Alexander Alemayhu

About every second month which is usually when it's starts looking bad or has gathered some stains from greasy food :D

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Dan Conn

I would like to say once a week, and in my head I certainly do. But in reality it's when the dirt starts affecting the characters on the screen and I can't wipe it off with my fingers!

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Pham Quang Truong

Once a year

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Jan Kosutnik

At least once a week.
Keyboard and mouse are like steering wheel and transmission.

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David Wickes

Both once a month.

You people are monsters and are going to Silicon Hell.

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Ngacho

actually I think my next project would be an app to remind me to clean my keyboard and monitor😂😂😂

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ryanAllMad

Lol. I recently had to clean my keyboard because I was learning ES6 and the backtick button was getting stuck on. So not very often, but I popped out all the keys and cleaned it with q-tips.

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Sam Borick

not often enough. Basically, whenever I sit in the sun and notice my screen is dirty I make a note to clean it later.

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Stephen Chiang

Every 2-3 weeks. I use the anti bacterial wipes for keyboards and screen wipes for the screens...I clean all my devices at once.

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Glenn Carremans

Not enough... I should clean them more often.
Certainly the white apple magic keyboard, it is getting really gross 🤮

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Stefanos Kouroupis

screen quite frequently
keyboard just a shake every time and then

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Yoan Malié

I have a Typematrix keyboard, with a washable skin so it's easier :)

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Adam Patterson

I don't touch my screen so never, and my keyboard maybe monthly ot when I start to notice all my coffee dribbles all over it.

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Chintan Patel

Oh, my desk is pristine! Just never ever bring a keycap puller near it 😄