Cleaning an LCD tv
 

Don't know if this is in the right forum but I noticed finger prints on the bottom of my LCD screen this morning. It doesn't look like it has damaged the tv in anyway but I need to know the safest way to clean it. Any help would be appreciated.

I've always used a soft cotton cloth or t-shirt with either windex or water, and just softly, softly rubbed any dirt or prints away.

How about a Plasma? Same?

My 4 year old son wanted to scare his 22 month old sister, so he drew a happy face on a piece of paper and used his glue stick to the paper and put it on my Plasma.

It's not that noticeable unless you get real close to the screen.

The child just wouldn't live after such an ordeal.

So you're saying that I should get rid of both of them since my daughter has also thrown milk on that same TV?

I actually value my kids much more than a TV, no matter how much i'm enjoying the HD content on it. :-)

I've just gone all the way and made the rule that the kids are not to EVER touch ANY TV. Our house, stores, other family houses, etc. They still break the rule, of course. But it's helped. Since it isn't the 70s anymore (meaning remotes rule the electronics), this is pretty easy. My eldest (now 7) once broke the outer screen of my dad's 50" RPTV from 1987 or so. Still has this piece broken out of it. I hate looking at that TV for 2 reasons, now. The picture is even worse with the piece broken out (and it was bad before), and I feel guilty as hell, too.

Doesn't the manual tell you what can be used on the screen? I would assume water on a soft cloth, with no chemicals of any sort. But I don't know.

I was being sarcastic but my intention was pretty much what Spiky said above me. All this home video/audio equipment with expensive TV's, five disc DVD changers, all stuff that should NOT be handled by a child. These things were never intended for children.

It's not like you buy an HDTV LCD set anymore like a tube set for something that costs you a half of a grand or a little more. Now it's thousands you invest in a home theater overall.

Even my DVD's I wouldn't let my child touch. If they want to watch anything, I'm more than happy to stop whatever it is I'm doing at home and put it in for them. Two minutes of my time to get up, get the disc, and put it in myself, is much more sensible to me when I know I'll be able to leave the kid be for two hours or so.

And every DVD is a 15 dollar investment or so at the minimum usually, and I don't even want that ruined by a kid who doesn't know how to handle one... let alone a TV that probably costs at least two thousand dollars.

You of course have to expect this 'rule' to be broken as children will be children, they can't help it and neither can you to an extent. But setting a guideline from the beginning DOES make problems with kids and the home theater seem to happen a lot less than they would for somebody who just says 'eh, I have kids and I cant expect them NOT to play with it.'

I know how harsh some of this sounds, and I'm not trying to be insulting in any way. But quite simply, a DVD collection, and a home theater, is too much money invested to not really look after. If a kid knows that a TV is off limits, then they may play with functions while watching it, but perhaps there would be less of a chance for something happening like gluing a piece of paper to the screen, or chucking milk at my $2000 set.

I as well value children much more than any piece of home theater equipment. But there's some areas of the house that are absolutely going to be off limits for any kind of fooling around or eating or drinking for the kids, and that's definitely the room containing my home theater.

Thanks for the input. My kid is only 18 months old so although I've tried to instill the fear of god into him when it comes to touching any of my theatre set up he is still learning.

Since we're discussing it, I could add that in my HT, they are not allowed to bring in toys or to roughhouse in any way. Occasionally food is allowed with supervision. But all my equipment is behind a door, the sub is a tank, my screen is easily washable, and the PJ and surrounds are out of reach, so only 3 speakers are really in harms way. These rules have been plenty for me.

Mine are 7, 5, 3 years old at the moment. I do allow them to handle some of their discs, they have been taught from day 1 the proper way to hold them. And they are told that there won't be a replacement if they break them. So far no problems but fingerprints. When they were younger, I simply pulled them away from equipment, "No, that's daddy's", and give them one of their toys or something. Same goes for other things: knicknacks, jewelry, etc. One great trick is to give them an old remote or wireless phone, not a toy phone. They are happier cause it looks like yours, boring and black. Good reason not to throw everything away instantly.

Classic is when they instruct adults at other houses on proper disc handling, or OAR. I just love that!

I can hear my wife now once my child instructs an adult on how to do the same things:

"Oh good lord he sounds just like his father, he's molded a monster in his image." I love her too.