There is nothing worse than sitting down at your computer screen to find it covered in dust, fingerprints and smudges. Sometimes we see a smudge, wipe it away hoping it does the job instead of putting in a little elbow grease and getting the job down right. Keeping your monitor clean is beneficial to your eyesight, your sanity and your time on your computer.

There are two primary types of computer monitors nowadays: CRTs and LCDs. CRTs are huge, take up a lot of space and are much easier to clean than their counterparts. LCDs are generally flat panel, take up little space and are a bit more high-maintenance.

In order to clean a CRT, you can use a washcloth along with soap and water. Since most CRT computer monitors do not utilize a hard coating like televisions of the same make, you can also use paper towels to clean the screen with ease. You can use mild soap and water or a cleaning solution like Windex as long as you do not spray it directly onto the screen. You want to spray it onto the cloth or towel, and then clean the monitor. When cleaning the outside of the monitor, use a damp cloth or towel and just dust it down. Again, do not spray or drip water onto the outside of the monitor or else you could short circuit it.

For a LCD monitor, you want to be very careful. Depending on the monitor, you will want to check out its manual for proper cleaning instruction. In general, you can buy LCD cleaning solution and cloths to use, and most people opt to go that route. If you wish to clean it yourself, use a cotton-based cloth with a tiny drip of isopropyl alcohol. Make sure to put the alcohol on the cloth as opposed to dripping it onto the monitor. Use circular motions to clean the entire screen to eliminate smudges, dirt and other grime. Never use paper towels or any other abrasive cloth to clean the screen, as LCDs are susceptible to scratches and other damage.

Cleaning your monitor is going to improve the picture quality and is much better on your eyes. Think about what it is like to clean dirty glasses and put them on, that is what it is like to clean a dirty monitor screen. Imagine the clearer picture you will get once you wipe away the dirt dulling your picture today.