Tips for cleaning your MacBook screen and keyboard

If you’re a heavy MacBook user, chances are your screen quickly gets covered in finger prints, grease, and other debris. Luckily, this is a pretty easy problem to solve to help keep your MacBook screen looking as good as the day you unboxed it. Head below for the details on how to clean your MacBook screen, with some bonus tips on cleaning the keyboard as well.

How to clean your MacBook screen

Apple has a support document that explains some of the things to keep in mind when cleaning your MacBook’s display. Namely, the company says to avoid using any screen cleaner that contains acetone, as it can be harmful to the display and the display coating.

Apple also cautions not to use window cleaners, household cleaners, aerosol sprays, solvents, ammonia, abrasives, or cleaners containing hydrogen peroxide.

With all of Apple’s warnings in mind, what is the best way to clean your MacBook screen? Whenever I get asked this question, my number one recommendation is to check out products from WHOOSH. There are multiple different options from WHOOSH, but my favorite is the Screen Cleaner Kit.

This kit includes a 3.4oz bottle of the company’s Screen Shine cleaning solution as well as three microfiber cloths. It also includes a 0.3oz bottle of Screen Shine that’s perfect for travel and can slide perfectly in your backpack or laptop bag.

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WHOOSH’s Screen Shine solution consists of mild detergents, distilled water, and a shine agent. It’s free from all of the solutions that Apple says not to use. In fact, this is why Apple Stores around the world have used WHOOSH to clean displays for years. In addition to the Screen Cleaner Kit, WHOOSH also sells a larger bottle of Screen Shine solution; you’ll just need to prove your own microfiber cloth.

Once you have the WHOOSH Screen Cleaner Kit, it’s pretty easy to clean your MacBook screen and make it look brand new.

First, you’ll want to completely power off your MacBook and unplug it from any accessories or chargers. It’s much easier to clean the display and spot the fingerprints and debris when the MacBook is powered off and the display is black. Make sure there are no large debris on the display.

Then, simply spray a small amount of the Screen Shine solution onto one side of the microfiber cloth. You can use the cloth provided by WHOOSH or any other microfiber cloth. Once there’s a small amount of solution on the cloth, gently wipe the display from left to right, starting at the bottom and moving upwards towards the webcam.

You should notice pretty quickly that the solution and cloth are removing smudges and fingerprints from the display. Then, flip the microfiber cloth over and use the dry side and repeat the process to remove any liquid and polish the screen.

One key thing to remember is to never spray the Screen Shine solution directly on your MacBook’s screen. If you do this, the solution may drip inside your Mac and cause damage.

How to clean your MacBook keyboard

What about cleaning your MacBook’s keyboard? Much like your MacBook’s display, your keyboard can quickly get greasy and gather dust and other debris. In fact, if things get too bad, the debris can even cause stuck keys and other issues.

To clean your MacBook keyboard, I recommend spraying a very, very small amount of the WHOOSH solution onto a microfiber cloth and wiping the keys down. Then, use the dry side to remove any liquid spots and shine things up a bit.

You will, however, need a way to lock your keyboard so your MacBook isn’t responding to the keys as you press them to clean them. Thankfully, there’s a free app called KeyboardCleanTool that locks your keyboard for exactly this reason.

Wrap up

Once you’ve done the first round of cleaning to make your MacBook look brand new, I recommend doing it on a regular basis after that. The more often you clean your MacBook screen and keyboard, the easier it is every subsequent time. MacBooks are fingerprint magnets, regardless of how safe you are.

How often do you clean your MacBook screen and keyboard? Do you have any special tips? Let us know down in the comments.