Recently, I have often seen reminders on the Internet that alcohol cannot wipe the screen, but will wipe "flowers" on the screen, which makes many people worried. What should I do after wiping for so long? Can't the phone screen be wiped with alcohol wipes?
The answer depends on the situation.
Generally speaking, alcohol damage to the screen refers to the special coating structure attached to the screen.
For TV and computer screens, in order to avoid reflection and improve the display effect, an "anti-reflection coating" will be applied on the surface of the screen.
However, this coating is not "integrated" with the screen, it "sticks" to your screen like a film.
Coating materials designed by different manufacturers are not the same. Alcohol, as a good solvent, can indeed damage the soluble coating, resulting in uneven screen brightness, obvious coating peeling, etc.
In addition, non-touch computer and TV screens generally do not have fingerprints, so manufacturers generally recommend gently wiping with a soft cloth dampened with water.
However, mobile phones can basically be cleaned with alcohol (ethanol) disinfectants. In the mobile phone cleaning guidelines of Apple, Huawei, and OPPO, it is clearly mentioned that the screen can be cleaned with alcohol-based cleaners.
As a touch-sensitive product, a mobile phone usually adds a "hydrophobic and oleophobic coating" on the screen surface to avoid becoming a "fingerprint collector" and affecting use.
At present, the common hydrophobic and oleophobic layers use fluorine-containing coatings, which are stable in nature and will not react with alcohol. In the official cleaning guidelines of Huawei and Apple, it is mentioned that the screen can be cleaned with alcohol soft cloth and wet wipes.
It should be noted here that, in fact, the effect of the screen coating itself will weaken with the use of time. If rough cloth or paper towel is used, even if the screen is directly wiped with water, the coating may be accelerated due to excessive friction and fall off.
For new equipment purchased, it is not necessary to over-clean, and it is most important to use a suitable soft cloth when cleaning.
For old devices, various "repair films" can be purchased online. In fact, they essentially form another coating on the surface of the screen, but this method does not last long.
And it is recommended that you try to use purer distilled water when cleaning expensive products with screens. Common mineral water contains various trace elements, which may contain metals. Once it reacts with the coating on the screen surface, the coating will fall off. If so, it is worth the loss.
For the purpose of disinfection, both Huawei and Apple have indicated that alcohol pads can be used to wipe and disinfect the screen of mobile phones, but alcohol should be avoided from entering the pores. At the same time, if there is a leather back shell, please do not use alcohol.
