Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Minerals give you a dried residue. You need to use deionized/distilled water.

The cloth they give you is terrible. It gives you hundreds of little fibers all over the screen. The cleaner itself is good though.

I'm using the Apple-included microfiber cloth and regular (not deionized nor distilled) tap water to clean mine and I get absolutely no smudges. The first time I used it there were some loose fibers but none from the second time on.
 
Minerals give you a dried residue. You need to use deionized/distilled water.

And where can I get that water??? Thanks!!!

You obviously put too much water. There should not be enough to leave drops, thus "dampen" is the idea.



Mistake number 2 (and the biggest one): You should never wipe the glass with anything other than the microfiber cloth. That is how you end up with streaks and, depending on the material of what you are using to wipe, even scratches on the glass surface.

You should have dried the microfiber cloth sufficiently so that it could be used for the drying.

I apply a very small amount of water to one corner of the Apple cloth and then gently wipe the screen with it. Then I immediately clean the screen with the dry parts.



I have one but I don't think you are going to like it. :(

It sounds to me like your shirt has scratched the glass panel. I was going to suggest you repeat the cleaning process as I outlined above and that should have done the job. That the "smudges" persist is not heartening.

Maybe you should take it by an Apple Store. Even if you crack a 24" glass panel they aren't as expensive as one might think. Someone in another thread who had his glass panel replaced recently in a London Apple Store mentioned that it only cost him $36:

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/4893193/

If it is just smudges and not anything physically wrong with the panel you should be able to clean it with just water and the microfiber. You didn't use anything other than water, right?? No Windex, etc

I do not think I have streaks, I have seen them before, I only notice the smudges when the display is off, so i do not think i have streaks.

Should I fill up the corner by a 1x1in respectively of water?

I did dry the cloth sufficiently, I was blow drying it for quite a while, I made sure it was dry.

And I highly deny I have scratches. Whenever I think I've got the smudges off, when I look at my screen from a different point of view, like tilt it down, it appears again. this time the smudges in a different direction all together because I wiped it. I do not think I scratched it.

Thank you SOOO much!!!
 
And where can I get that water??? Thanks!!!
Go to a grocery store and buy a bottle for that purpose. Maybe you should invest in Monster ScreanClean Kit.

I'm using the Apple-included microfiber cloth and regular (not deionized nor distilled) tap water to clean mine and I get absolutely no smudges. The first time I used it there were some loose fibers but none from the second time on.

I'm still getting fibers. It's fine though because I just use the black one after it is clean to get all the fibers off.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I do not think I have streaks, I have seen them before, I only notice the smudges when the display is off, so i do not think i have streaks.

Streaks, smudges, whatever. They are both residue of some sort on the surface of the glass panel.

Should I fill up the corner by a 1x1in respectively of water?

Like I said, I've had good results with this method. YMMV

And I highly deny I have scratches. Whenever I think I've got the smudges off, when I look at my screen from a different point of view, like tilt it down, it appears again. this time the smudges in a different direction all together because I wiped it. I do not think I scratched it.

OK, let me make it very clear that I was not saying that your panel had physical scratches, only that it was a possibility. I take your word that it does not. :p

I hope you get the streaks out.

Like I said, I don't use any special water either just regular tap water.
 
Streaks, smudges, whatever. They are both residue of some sort on the surface of the glass panel.



Like I said, I've had good results with this method. YMMV



OK, let me make it very clear that I was not saying that your panel had physical scratches, only that it was a possibility. I take your word that it does not. :p

I hope you get the streaks out.

Like I said, I don't use any special water either just regular tap water.

Where??? Isn't that the sink water?? That's what I used. Where can i get this "water".:confused::confused:
 
Well, since the manual for my iMac specifically says to dampen the cloth that came with it (or a clean, soft, lint-free cloth) with "water only" that's exactly what I do. It cleans it perfectly. Yes, the display is glass so I don't see how a glass cleaner might damage it in any way so long as you don't spray directly on the display.

For me personally, since water only does the trick and that's what Apple recommends I am not going to use anything else.


The key phrase I colored in red.

I would use water, not Windex .... but most importantly DO NOT SPRAY ANYTHING on the LCD. Just do as Apple says and dampen the cloth that came with it or get any lint free cloth. Personally I use a microfiber cloth I got from a photography supply house. ( not the crappy ones that Best Buy / Circuit City / Target / Walmart sell ) The cheap ones leave fibers, this one does not.

I use it to clean $1,500 lenses, so I figure it's OK for the iMac.
 
Well, I did it again, no difference, now im pissed.

Not all tap water is created equal. Some is "soft", some is "hard" and every level in between. You may have very hard water.

Distilled water (labeled as such) should be available at your grocery store. You could try that before panic sets in.
 
Not all tap water is created equal. Some is "soft", some is "hard" and every level in between. You may have very hard water.

Distilled water (labeled as such) should be available at your grocery store. You could try that before panic sets in.

Oh well, ill just forget it. I may sell the imac for a new one:p:p:p.


But I will say that it has a defect on the lcd, which you don't notice unless you look for it, there is a smudge on the inside glass, which i will clean off (i just went through a 45 minute session), i had to make sure no air flow was coming into my room, and actually, when i opened the glass, no dust came in, just a piece of my cats hair, which is big, i dont notice it unless my imac is off!!!! So basically, my only dissappointment with this beautiful machine, is that when the display is off, its not really so pretty, but i love it!! I think im just gonna forget about all of this, but as for my lcd thing, i think im gonna call apple care now for it, im getting scared.:(
 
Paper is not going to scratch glass. How often do you put newspaper/magazines on a glass coffee table. Use your brain.


Over time glass will be adversely affected by paper. Wanna see my glass top from a coffee table that looks like it was sanded? Sure it's over 50 yrs old, but still it happens and with and LCD behind the glass, scratches look worse.

No, paper cannot 'cut' glass, but it can cause a 'hazing' effect if there are enough superfine scratches.

Why not just USE THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB.

Get a good MICROFIBRE cloth and be done with it.
 
I, like others, use the cloth that came with the computer, and water. I have also used laptop screen cleaner I bought from Staples. If the cloth picks up some grease and starts to smear, I wash it out with a bit of dish detergent and let it dry, and the smudges go away.
 
I use monitor cleaner wipes that I picked up at staples awhile back..seems to work ok...i also have some monster screen cleaner but i haven't tried that on my imac yet.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.