A screen protector is an essential tool that reduces your screen’s odds of getting scratches or cracking when you are using it. It is useful to add a screen protector to your iPhone because it is cheaper to replace than replacing the actual phone’s screen.
However, it doesn’t mean that you will need to replace your screen protector every time it gets a little dirt. It is possible to clean iPhone screen protectors using items that are available in your household.
The whole process includes simple steps and takes less than an hour to complete. This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to clean an iPhone screen protector.
Why Should You Clean a Screen Protector?
In using your phone, dust particles can get trapped between your phone’s screen and the screen protector you are using. Dirt in-between can make it hard for you to look at something on your screen or type something into the phone.
Dirt enters through the side when there is a bubble and moves to the center of the screen. It would be best to clean iPhone screen protectors every few months to prevent dust particles accumulation under the screen protector. You will also save the funds you use to buy new screen savers and buy another phone accessory.
What are the Common Causes of a Dirty Screen Protector?
Some culprits will make the top of a screen protector or the underside dirty. It doesn’t matter what you do to keep your phone clean. Dirt and grime will always make a screen protector dirty.
Dust particles are everywhere in the environment, especially outdoors. It is easy for a screen protector to attract dust particles in the course of using your phone. Sometimes they get underneath the screen protector and make it hard to see your phone screen.
Grime mostly comes from body oil and food that we may transfer onto the phone through our fingers. Additionally, you can create streaks on the phone that will reduce the clarity of the phone’s content.
Cleaning the screen protectors can restore a phone or tablet to its former glory of looking brand new. Overall, it would help if you endeavored to remove every piece of dirt from your screen to enjoy maximum convenience.
Cleaning Supplies
The beauty of cleaning an iPhone screen protector is that you can find almost all house cleaning supplies. Screen protectors are affordable, but cleaning supplies for screen protectors cost next to nothing. You need to set up a clean workstation to work fast and complete the task as soon as possible.
You will need some dish soap, water, cotton balls, packaging tape, and a microfiber cloth or blow-drier. Place the water in a small bowl because you don’t need running water to clean the screen protector. Dish soap is milder than vinegar or lemon, and it will not damage your screen saver. The clean water should be at room temperature, and the microfiber cloth or blow drier comes in handy when you are drying off the screen protector.
It can be tempting to use a more vigorous cleaning, but the result will be a damaged screen protector. Most iPhone users receive microfiber cloth after purchasing the screen protector for cleaning them. You can utilize that to clean the screen protector or buy new microfiber cloth.
How to Clean the Outer side of a screen protector
Cleaning the outer (non-sticky) side of a screen protector is the easiest part of cleaning iPhone screen protectors. It is straightforward and requires little focus to do it right.
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water to remove dust or oil from your hands. Wipe them dry before starting the process of cleaning your screen protector.
- Start by peeling the screen protector from the phone carefully to scratch the phone’s screen or damage the protector.
- Place the phone on a spacious surface and peel the screen saver from one corner slowly until you reach the furthest corner.
- Dip some cotton wool in water and apply the dish soap to clean the screen saver’s outer side. The dish soap will remove any grime and dust particles.
- Rinse the outer part with the water in the bowl until you remove all the soap from the screen saver’s surface.
Ensure that you handle the screen protector with care when washing it to avoid breaking the delicate screen. Be gentle when applying the soap on the outer side of the screen protector. If possible, place the screen protector on a flat surface as you use the dish soap with a cotton ball.
How to Clean the Sticky Part of a screen protector
Once the screen protector’s outer part is clean, it is time to start on the sticky part. You can run some water on the screen if there is a lot of dirt on the stick side. However, the best course of action is to use packaging tape to remove the dirt while retaining the stickiness.
- Attach a few strips of tape on the outer (non-sticky) side of the screen protector. Leave some tape past the edge on the screen protector.
- Apply tape to the extra packaging tape on the side to hold down the screen on a flat surface.
- Cut a strip of packaging tape and hold it between your two forefingers.
- Start sticking the packaging tape to a small portion of the screen protector’s sticky side and removing the tape.
- The packaging tape will come off with any dirt or dust particles that may have been stuck on the screen protector’s inner part.
- Repeat the process until there is no more dirt stuck to the inner part of the screen. Be patient if you want to get all the dirt out of the screen protector’s inner part.
- Remove the tape holding the screen protector to the workstation after getting all the dirt from the sticky side.
Packaging tape is an ideal tool for cleaning the sticky side because it attracts dirt particles. You can throw the dirt tape when you are through cleaning and have a transparent screen protector.
How to clean the Actual Phone Screen
If you observe technicians installing a screen protector to your iPhone, they always clean the phone’s screen before the installation. Cleaning the screen increases the odds of the screen protector sticking more closely to the actual screen. It also reduces the occurrence of air bubbles under the screen protector.
- Start by wiping the phone screen with a wet cotton ball with dish soap. Do not apply too much water to the cotton ball to keep it from seeping into the phone’s interior.
- Wipe the soap with another wet cotton ball and then use the microfiber cloth to dry the screen.
- Clean the surface of any dust particles and polish the screen using the microfiber clothe.
- Your phone’s screen should look brand new when you are done with the cleaning process.
Use water sparingly when you are cleaning the screen of your iPhone. Do not place the phone under running water in an attempt to wash the screen. Water will damage the interior parts of your phone so keep the phone away from moisture.
Reinstall the Screen Protector
Once all the sides of the screen protector and the phone’s screen are dry, you need to reinstall the screen protector. It would be best if you were patient to ensure that you align the screen protector with the phone’s screen appropriately.
- Place the phone on a flat surface.
- Take the screen protector and align the top edge with the top part of the phone’s screen.
- Align the screen protector with the other edges of the screen until lying flat on the phone’s screen.
- Apply pressure on the screen saver from one side of the phone to the other. It will ensure all the in-between air escapes and the screen protector adheres to the phone.
- Apply pressure several more times until you are sure that the screen protector has stuck to the phone and there are no air bubbles in-between.
- Hold the phone at an angle and check whether you can see any discrepancies in the screen protector installation.
What Solutions Shouldn’t Be Used in Cleaning?
Do not use lemon or vinegar as cleaning solutions because they are harsh on screen protectors. Also, it would help if you didn’t use alcohol or alcohol-based cleaning solutions because they can damage your iPhone screen’s integrity. Alcohol-based solutions are too robust for cleaning a phone screen or a screen protector.
How Often Should You Clean iPhone Screen Protectors?
It would help if you cleaned screen protectors when they are dirty and are not ready to buy a new screen protector. Your screen protector will be too old to clean at some point, and you will need to buy a replacement. Most people who spend time outdoors can clean a screen protector every 2-3 months before purchasing a replacement.
Conclusion
It is possible to clean iPhone screen protectors at home when you do not feel like buying a replacement yet. You will use available items in your household, and it takes about an hour to complete the process. At the end of the process, your screen will look clean and new.
It doesn’t take an expert to do it. The delicate tasks of cleaning a screen protector are removing and reinstalling it. Overall, it would be best to exercise caution not to break the screen protector when cleaning it.
