4 Essential Items to Keep Your Touchscreens Clean

When you think about how often your touchscreens come into contact with hands and fingers over the course of a day, the need to keep them as clean as possible is essential. Whether it’s point-of-sale systems, information kiosks or any number of different touchscreens you might use, the number of cashiers, waiting staff, managers and customers using them means your equipment needs regular cleaning to combat the build up of dirt, grime and germs.

That’s why it’s essential to clean your equipment with the right items to ensure best results. Here, we’ll take a look at the items that’ll keep your touchscreens safe, hygienic and looking as good as new, along with some cleaning dos and don’ts to help you along the way.

1. Microfibre cloth

Every touchscreen cleaning toolkit needs a microfibre cloth. While you can get specially designed cloths meant for taking care of gadgets, general microfibre cloths, or even a glasses cloth, will do the trick for smaller screens.

They’re soft and don’t leave any scratches or fibres behind when you use them (providing they’re lint free), taking care of dirt and grime with just the help of a touch of distilled water to moisten the cloth.

2. Antibacterial wipes

For all kinds of displays, guarding against germs and bacteria is a simple case of wiping them down with antibacterial wipes. When searching for the wipes of choice, go for brands that are specifically designed to get rid of germs rather than simply water-based wipes. While wet wipes will leave your screens looking nice, they won’t take care of the germs that can cause harm to both staff and customers alike.

3. Gloves

For an extra layer of protection, cleaning your touchscreens while wearing rubber gloves can eliminate direct skin contact with equipment. Of course, these gloves will need to be cleaned themselves, and be sure to always remove them before rubbing your eyes, touching your face or before taking trips to the bathroom.

4. The right cleaning solution

You might think any cleaning solution will do the trick when it comes to cleaning your screens. However, it’s important you do your research before you go ruining your expensive equipment by choosing the wrong products.

As a rule of thumb, avoid any products that contain ammonia, thinner, benzine, strong alkaline lyles, strong solvents, acids, detergents with fluoride, abrasive cleaners, isopropyl alcohol with a greater than 70% concentration, and methyl or ethyl alcohol with greater than 35% concentration. Cleaners like these can result in optical impairment of your touch panels and damage their functionality.

Instead, go for either a mild soap and water solution, a 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol and water, or a suitable disinfectant product, such as Virex, when using solutions on your screens.

The dos and don’ts of cleaning touchscreens

Do:

• Turn off your touchscreen device and disconnect it from the wall outlet. If your touchscreen device is turned on when cleaning it, it could lead to permanent damage – or even an electric shock!
• Use a small amount of water to take care of stubborn dirt if you have to. Run your microfibre cloth under water and when damp, clean the surface of your touchscreen device to wipe off the dirt or debris.
• Do use a circular motion when wiping the screen’s surface – this helps to prevent streaking.
• Do keep a bottle of hand sanitiser next to point-of-sale systems and encourage your employees to sanitise between use. Ideally, these screens should be cleaned after each use, but this usually won’t be possible. Hand sanitiser is a happy medium.
• Do clean your touchscreens as often as you can.
• Wipe away any moisture with a dry cloth.

Don’t:

• Use paper towels or regular kitchen cloths to clean your touchscreens. Their abrasive texture can spread lint around the screen and may even damage the screen’s surface when used too vigorously. The same goes for steel wool and scrubbing sponges.
• Use rubbing alcohol or any of the other harsh cleaning chemicals we mentioned above. Chemicals such as these can strip away the coating of touchscreen devices. Known as oleophobic coating, this protective layer repels oils. When exposed to rubbing alcohol, this oleophobic coating may wear down, causing the screen to lose its oil-repellent attributes.
• Over saturate your touchscreen device with an excessive amount of water. Not only do water and electronics not mix, too much water can permanently damage your touchscreen devices.
• Apply cleaning solutions directly to the screen itself. Always apply the solution to the cloth for best results.

At LifeSize Touch, we’re experts in touchscreen innovation, helping businesses around the UK leverage this exciting technology. For more information, visit the homepage today.