Product Review: Screen Cleaners and Protectors

We all know not to clean our LCD and plasma screens with window cleaner but what should you use and how can you protect the smaller screens of your PDA's, GPS units and other portable devices.

Caring for your computer screen is not a matter of grabbing the window cleaner now with the plastic screens of the liquid crystal displays and plasma screens of our modern electronics. These screen are made of plastic and not glass so window cleaners based on vinegar will not only not do a good job in cleaning them but may even harm them to the point of making them unusable.

A chemical based cleaner may harm the plastic coating of modern screens and even vinegar or household cleaners can damage this coating. Companies have come out with several new cleaners and you can even make your own if you have the time and want to take the effort but I know that many out there, just like me, do not have the time to create all their own cleaners.

Purchasing a screen cleaner makes the most sense in today's hectic world but you need to find one that works and is handy. Lindy and Purosol has sent me a couple cleaners while Fellowes sent a screen protector but more on that later. The cleaners are both great and different enough from each other to constitute a good diversity in cleaning types. The Purosol Plasma cleaner is a spray on cleaner that is environmentally safe and cleans by breaking down the bonds of dirt molecules.

I'm not sure how it cleans but it does a very good job and even comes with a nice 5.5" x 6" cleaning cloth that is a nice soft material. The Purosol sprays on evenly and does not run too quickly down the screen when you apply it. A couple of squirts on the screen and a complete wiping with the soft cloth that is perfect for cleaning glasses and computer screens as well as TV's and your done.

The Purosol cleaner cleans very well even on my grimy and sometimes very smudged glasses, the perfect test of a plastic cleaner in my opinion. I used the cleaner on both my computer screens as well as my LCD TV without any problems and like how well the sprayed on liquid holds long enough to the screen for you to start wiping.