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Even if it is a large, rather advanced piece of technology, your living room TV is still a piece of furniture — and like the rest of your furniture, it will gradually get dirty over time. The accumulation of dust on the TV’s surface can gradually decrease its overall picture quality, not to mention make it look rather unpleasant and dirty. Keeping your TV clean isn’t too tall of an order, but it does necessitate a degree of commitment. You should give it a light dusting at least once a week, followed by a deeper clean once a month.
Consistent periodic TV cleaning is vital, not just for keeping your living room looking nice, but preserving the TV’s picture and overall functionality. Not only can dust buildup gradually smear and obscure the screen, but should the TV’s vents become obstructed, the increased heat buildup could start to impact its overall functionality and longevity. Accumulated dust in an HDMI port, for example, leads to common TV problems. It’s always good to try and keep your electronics lasting as long as possible, so do both the TV and yourself a favor, and give it a good, careful cleaning every now and then.
Deep clean your TV once a month, plus weekly dustings
The good news is that you don’t need to go wild with cleaning your TV every single day. On most weeks, a simple dusting will suffice for keeping your TV happy. Just grab a large, yet gentle, microfiber cloth, and give both the screen and hard surfaces of the TV a light rubdown. This will help to remove any surface-level crud like ambient dust, picking up light debris like hair or pet fur from the vents. You should wipe any cords under and behind the TV as well, as that’s a favorite spot for dust bunnies.
A quick dusting is fine for weekly upkeep, but at least once a month, you should opt for a deeper, more comprehensive clean to capture any contaminants the light dustings missed. Once again, get out the microfiber cloth, preferably a few of them, as well as a spray bottle containing screen-safe cleaner. You can get a combo pack of an EVEO microfiber cloth and spray solution on Amazon if you need one (or both). Again, do not use paper towels for this, and especially do not use glass cleaner instead of a screen-safe cleaning solution.
The best way to clean your TV is to power it down completely, give it some time to cool off, then spray the solution onto a cloth and clean the screen and body. Start with a basic wipedown of the whole body, then focus on removing any streaks or smudges on the screen, applying a very gentle amount of pressure in a circular motion to clean off any stubborn stragglers. Let the TV dry completely before you turn it back on, and it’s good to go for another month.
