Cleaning your screen and keyboard without damage.

Start with a suitable cloth and the instructions for your device before choosing a cleaner.

A fingerprint on the screen, crumbs between the keys: cleaning the desk often starts with whatever cloth is nearby. Yet cleaning a screen and keyboard means treating their surfaces differently. A cleaner suitable for the casing may not suit the display, and a stubborn mark is no reason to scrub harder.

Find your model’s care instructions, then switch off and unplug the device. Use the cloth and, if needed, the liquid permitted for that surface. Dampen the cloth rather than spraying the device, keep openings dry and let everything dry completely before reconnecting power.

Start with the model before choosing the cleaner.

Find the model of your monitor or laptop and check its care instructions. Materials matter: nano-texture glass displays, for instance, have specific guidance. Keep the relevant instructions available before switching the device off.

Permissions differ by model and surface. Certain Apple products allow alcohol-based cleaners on specified surfaces; several Dell monitor families exclude alcohol. There is no single recipe that resolves that difference for every display. If two pages appear to conflict, check which model they cover and ask support which procedure applies.

Set aside the recommended cloth: clean, soft and lint-free. For Apple products, the care instructions exclude abrasive materials and paper towels. A bottle labelled “screen cleaner” still needs to be checked for compatibility with your particular display.

Next, power down the workspace.

Save and close your work, switch off the computer and monitor, then disconnect their power supplies. For Logitech keyboards, unplug wired models or switch off wireless ones, and remove user-replaceable batteries. That does not mean opening a device to remove its built-in battery.

Move the mug and papers out of the way. If you need to disconnect several accessories, identify their connections first; our desk cable-management guide helps give them a clear route.

If the instructions permit damp cleaning, apply a small amount of the approved liquid to the cloth. It should not drip. Do not spray the device directly: keep moisture away from openings and connectors.

Treat the display and keys separately.

For a Samsung monitor, wait until the screen has cooled, then wipe gently with a clean microfibre cloth without pressing. Start with the dust-removal method in your device’s instructions. For a remaining mark, use only the damp-cleaning method they allow; if it persists, stop rather than pressing harder or trying a solvent.

For the surface of Logitech keyboard keys, the specified method is a soft, lint-free cloth lightly dampened with water, wiped gently. That is surface cleaning, not permission to immerse or dismantle the keyboard. Do not remove keycaps without a procedure for your model. Deep cleaning and compressed air also need instructions specific to the device.

Clean the desk surface and mat separately, using the method appropriate to their materials. Keep the screen cloth apart from the one you have just used to pick up crumbs from the desk.

Finally, let it dry before returning to work.

Let the monitor dry before reconnecting its power supply. Follow each device’s drying instructions; an improvised waiting time does not replace checking that the cleaned surfaces are dry.

If liquid has entered the device, stop routine cleaning. Keep it switched off and promptly contact its support service. A key that remains stuck or a suspicious mark also deserves advice specific to the model.

Put the clean cloth away with the useful care instructions, then return the dry equipment to its place. Our guide to organising the desk by zones helps make maintenance easy to reach without adding a collection of cleaning bottles to the workspace.

All sources are listed at the bottom of the article.