Need tips for removing troublesome nicotine from LCD without destroying it.

I know you can't use any cleansers on a monitor because it can damage it so how can I clean my nicotine stained UD590's screen to like new without destroying it.

I've been told although this may have been BS that 4k and higher displays are easier to damage because of the increasing amount of pixels and also a lot more sensitive to pressure .

I've tried regular water on a microfiber that was wrung nearly dry but I can still tell it's there.


While my UD590 isn't a top of the line monitor anymore it's picture is quite beautiful and I don't wanna risk hurting it.




Yes I know smoking is horrible....and really horrible for a pc but mine gets a very serious cleaning every 3 months




Thanks in advance

Try this mix:

1 quart of water (preferably distilled)
1 Table Spoon of amonia
4 oz of isoproply (rubbing) alcohol
.25 Table Spoon of dish soap

Mix in a spray bottle. Get several chamois cloths as nicotine is nasty stuff. Spray the mixture onto the cloth, not the monitor screen, and wipe. Repeat as necessary.

I have used this mixture for sometime on my clients' monitors and my own and have seen no evidence of damage.

Here are a few other solutions

https://www.google.com/#q=lcd+screen+cleaner+kit&tbm=shop

I use Micro Centers screen cleaner, works great but mine are in a non smoking environment

trents said:

Try this mix:

1 quart of water (preferably distilled)
1 Table Spoon of amonia
4 oz of isoproply (rubbing) alcohol
.25 Table Spoon of dish soap

Mix in a spray bottle. Get several chamois cloths as nicotine is nasty stuff. Spray the mixture onto the cloth, not the monitor screen, and wipe. Repeat as necessary.

I have used this mixture for sometime on my clients' monitors and my own and have seen no evidence of damage.

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I just run mine through the dishwasher!

Seriously though trents has the right idea. If you want to skip on the ammonia and dishsoap then i recommend lemon juice or vinegar in about a 50/50 mix with water. Add in the isopropyl after that. Ive never tried trents recipe but i wluld fear the dishsoap creating a film that would last. It likely wont leave any residue but i would still skip it for my monitor. Vinegar and lemon juice emulsify just fine for your purposes I think.

You could always do a Pepsi challenge with different methods though. Divide screenspace into 1/4 and try a different one with each? No matter what works though: tell us the recipe

I was thinking about rubbing it down with some 90% isopropyl alcohol that I have here. I've used it on some of my matte finish screens with no problems but I have heard if your monitor is semi glossy or glossy it will destroy the coating.

90% isopropyl works wonderfully for cleaning but I am scared to use it on a monitor that was this expensive

Yeah, i can understand the worry but i dont know if there is anything that would cut through the tar while being guaranteed to not harm your display. I would think there wouldnt be problems with Windex or other cleaners, but I probably wouldn't gamble a big ticket item on it. I know for a fact that anything with "degreasing" properties will work, but such things are usually caustic and harsh. The most gentle would be the dish soap that was already mentioned. Vinegar and lemon juice are seen as fair substitutes for harsh chemical cleaners and (IMO) will do the job with 0 residue.

Like i said, trents has the right idea, but i worry about residue. Even so it wont be a great amount of residue, I personally just hate cleaning soap off of things that are already clean.

BuRgLaR said:

Yes I know smoking is horrible....and really horrible for a pc but mine gets a very serious cleaning every 3 months




Thanks in advance

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Bah, smoking ain't that bad: it boosts US economy (cigarette, pharma industry), lower your life expectancy, which lowers the amount paid in pension, and if you mix it with weed, it makes you laugh!

Tír na nÓg said:

Bah, smoking ain't that bad: it boosts US economy (cigarette, pharma industry), lower your life expectancy, which lowers the amount paid in pension, and if you mix it with weed, it makes you laugh!

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My cigarettes have saved far more lives than they're ever going to take.

My $.02 on the cleaning issue: 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water. Ammonia (Windex) will fog some of plastic types over time.

I just use Windex most of the time. I'm aware of the damage it can do, but My monitors are going on 6 years old now, just gives me an excuse to buy new ones.

I've been eyeing a 144hz monitor for awhile now, Would be interesting to see the difference from 60hz(The max I have personally seen in action)

I've always used glass eaters like windex... never had an issue.

No alchemy needed!

Just use cloth soaked in water and rub gently but hard. Thats what i do when i eat and the food falls and spreads oil everywhere.

It's only some plastics that are sensitive to it, that's why Windex makes a plastic cleaner. It will, without a doubt, cloud polycarbonate. I've see it happen many times. When in doubt Plexus makes some good cleaners for plastic, although the average monitor probably doesn't get near enough exposure to Windex for the cumulative effect to be noticeable (if it even happens)