# How do you keep your Kindle clean?



## 9 Diamonds (Oct 4, 2016)

Any tips on how to keep the Kindle Voyage clean around the black borders? Mainly fingermarks and smears. Advice appreciated; thanks.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I use these for all of my mobile devices. They work great and are kind of fun, to boot.

 
Evriholder Fuzzy Finger, 2 Pk set, Assorted colors


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## 9 Diamonds (Oct 4, 2016)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I use these for all of my mobile devices. They work great and are kind of fun, to boot.
> 
> 
> Evriholder Fuzzy Finger, 2 Pk set, Assorted colors


Thanks Betsy -- I'll check them out


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

for smears and fingerprings I use eyeglass clothes. For the cracks I use a paint brush. One of those flat ones, gets all the gunk out of the rims.


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## 9 Diamonds (Oct 4, 2016)

Atunah said:


> for smears and fingerprings I use eyeglass clothes. For the cracks I use a paint brush. One of those flat ones, gets all the gunk out of the rims.


Thanks for the tip on the flat paint brush


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Its good for my laptop keyboard also. I have it always on my side table. Since I have had kindles. The former cracks used to hold all the crumbs and cat hair. but even the level oasis and Voyage still have cracks on the outer rim for stuff to get in. Can't get it out any other way.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Atunah said:


> for smears and fingerprings I use eyeglass clothes. For the cracks I use a paint brush. One of those flat ones, gets all the gunk out of the rims.


I can't believe you've never told me about the paint brush - perfect!


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

I do the same thing with nearly all my electronic devices with screens.  I first get a nice clean sponge damp with lukewarm water.  No soap or any chemicals.  Evenly damp throughout.  Then I squeeze like crazy till it's just barely damp.  I don't want loose water on my screen.  Then I wipe the screen really good, scrubbing a little.  Then I take a clean microfiber cloth and wipe it down real good.  I inspect it and if it doesn't seem perfectly clean I do it again, first cleaning the sponge and wringing it again.

And that's it.  I blow out the edges as needed but I don't worry about them.  A couple of times I did get something in the seams and I used a toothpick but I generally keep my devices away from food or anything that might get them dirty.

By the way, there's a little trick I learned to enable me to eat while reading and still turn pages easily.  I make sure at least one of my little fingers stays very clean while I eat and I only swipe the screen to turn pages with that finger.  It works very well.  Back in the days when I was still eating ribs or fried chicken occasionally I could eat them while reading and never get a fingerprint on the screen.  I just make sure no food gets on that pinky.

One other thing I do, since I've read a lot of times that cleaning the screen, while necessary, is one of the more dangerous and abusive things we can do to it, is I don't clean it until there's something obvious.  I don't look for excuses to clean it.  I'm perfectly willing to let someone find a fingerprint on my screen.  If that makes me a bad person, so be it. 

Barry (the slob)


Barry


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

When I was at work I would read while I ate my lunch every day - so greasy finger marks all over the screen of my Voyage were inevitable.

I'm afraid to say I would just wipe it with the wet wipe I used for my hands and then dry it with a paper hankie - made much easier by the continuous bezel/screen of the Voyage.  

Though I would guess neither of those things would be officially recommended, after months and months of doing that at least five times a week and no harm coming to the Kindle, I'll probably continue.


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## 9 Diamonds (Oct 4, 2016)

barryem said:


> I do the same thing with nearly all my electronic devices with screens. I first get a nice clean sponge damp with lukewarm water. No soap or any chemicals. Evenly damp throughout. Then I squeeze like crazy till it's just barely damp. I don't want loose water on my screen. Then I wipe the screen really good, scrubbing a little. Then I take a clean microfiber cloth and wipe it down real good. I inspect it and if it doesn't seem perfectly clean I do it again, first cleaning the sponge and wringing it again.
> 
> And that's it. I blow out the edges as needed but I don't worry about them. A couple of times I did get something in the seams and I used a toothpick but I generally keep my devices away from food or anything that might get them dirty.
> 
> ...


Thanks Barry -- great hints!


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## 9 Diamonds (Oct 4, 2016)

Linjeakel said:


> When I was at work I would read while I ate my lunch every day - so greasy finger marks all over the screen of my Voyage were inevitable.
> 
> I'm afraid to say I would just wipe it with the wet wipe I used for my hands and then dry it with a paper hankie - made much easier by the continuous bezel/screen of the Voyage.
> 
> Though I would guess neither of those things would be officially recommended, after months and months of doing that at least five times a week and no harm coming to the Kindle, I'll probably continue.


Good to know -- thanks for sharing


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

Linjeakel said:


> I'm afraid to say I would just wipe it with the wet wipe I used for my hands


The Voyage, if I remember correctly, has a glass screen so you're not likely to hurt it. I'm pretty sure some of the Kindles have plastic screens, or at least plastic surfaces, and that can be problematic. I don't know what's in those wipes but some cleaning products can damage plastic. One of the serious offenders is Windex since it contains ammonia, which is very bad for plastic.

By the way, another sometimes missed no-no is Kleenex or it's competitors. Most papers have pumice added to them. Without pumice you couldn't write on paper. The paper with the most pumice is kleenex and it's ilk. It was designed to scrub various mysterious compounds from women's faces and it seems that took some doing.

An important exception to this is toilet paper. It's one of the few papers you can buy with no pumice added, for what I hope are obvious reasons but I suspect I'll get into trouble if I try to get into too much detail about that. 

By the way, avoid toilet paper (at least for this purpose) made from recycled paper. It might or might not contain pumice.

Most of you probably know how, when you have a cold, your nose gets red and raw on the end. That's from Kleenex. Use a hanky or toilet paper on your nose when you have a cold and that problem almost goes away.

I learned about this while taking a class in paper making about 50 years ago. Some might be out of date but I've never heard that it is and I still use toilet paper to clean my eyeglasses with never a problem.

Barry


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## 9 Diamonds (Oct 4, 2016)

barryem said:


> The Voyage, if I remember correctly, has a glass screen so you're not likely to hurt it. I'm pretty sure some of the Kindles have plastic screens, or at least plastic surfaces, and that can be problematic. I don't know what's in those wipes but some cleaning products can damage plastic. One of the serious offenders is Windex since it contains ammonia, which is very bad for plastic.
> 
> By the way, another sometimes missed no-no is Kleenex or it's competitors. Most papers have pumice added to them. Without pumice you couldn't write on paper. The paper with the most pumice is kleenex and it's ilk. It was designed to scrub various mysterious compounds from women's faces and it seems that took some doing.
> 
> ...


Thanks Barry -- that's fascinating about the pumice  .


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## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

I'm not sure if you would be interested in skinning your Voyage, but I only lasted about a week before I ordered one.  The fingerprints on the bezel were driving me crazy.  I got a nice matte skin and don't notice the fingerprints any more.


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## 9 Diamonds (Oct 4, 2016)

Andra said:


> I'm not sure if you would be interested in skinning your Voyage, but I only lasted about a week before I ordered one. The fingerprints on the bezel were driving me crazy. I got a nice matte skin and don't notice the fingerprints any more.


Thanks Andra ... do you have a link to the matte skin you bought?


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## DianaHM (Dec 28, 2016)

Before thi i did not know how to keep my Kindle clean, now I know.


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## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

9 Diamonds said:


> Thanks Andra ... do you have a link to the matte skin you bought?


I get all my skins from Decal Girl - www.decalgirl.com


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## 9 Diamonds (Oct 4, 2016)

Andra said:


> I get all my skins from Decal Girl - www.decalgirl.com


Thanks -- perfect!


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## patrickt (Aug 28, 2010)

Now you've all got me wondering when I last cleaned a Kindle screen. Nope, can't remember. I don't clean them often. The screen isn't shiny reflective like a cell phone and it doesn't seem to get fingerprints so much.

When I do clean it, I spray a little homemade eyeglass cleaner on a soft cloth and wipe it down, using my fingernail to get the cloth into the crease around the bezel.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

A friend bought me a Brookstone screen cleaner a few years ago. I guess they don't sell it anymore, but they do sell this one. Same thing, different brand.

http://www.brookstone.com/pd/dustin-screen-cleaner---3-pack/844503p.html

Mine's still good and works beautifully.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:


> A friend bought me a Brookstone screen cleaner a few years ago. I guess they don't sell it anymore, but they do sell this one. Same thing, different brand.
> 
> http://www.brookstone.com/pd/dustin-screen-cleaner---3-pack/844503p.html
> 
> Mine's still good and works beautifully.


Oooh, those are cute. Also sold through Amazon with cheaper shipping from Brookstone, $15 net (it shows $8 shipping from the Brookstone site for $18 net?) and there's a different brand that's cheaper yet with Prime--$12 net, though without the keychain one, it looks.

 
Screen Cleaning Ball, Dual Action Microfiber, for Touch Screen Smart Phone/Tablet/laptop, Pack of 3, by Awesome Screen
$11.99 with Prime


 
Dustin Screen Cleaner - 3 Pack
$9.99 plus $4.99 shipping


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Oooh, those are cute. Also sold through Amazon with cheaper shipping from Brookstone, $15 net (it shows $8 shipping from the Brookstone site for $18 net?) and there's a different brand that's cheaper yet with Prime--$12 net, though without the keychain one, it looks.
> 
> 
> Screen Cleaning Ball, Dual Action Microfiber, for Touch Screen Smart Phone/Tablet/laptop, Pack of 3, by Awesome Screen
> ...


I've only had to use the microfiber side. Works well on my phone too and any other screen.


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

I don't know much about terrycloth but I'd be very careful using any kind of dry cloth to clean the screen.  Dust particles are often abrasive and a dry cloth is likely to become sandpaper-like if it picks up much dust.  A damp cloth won't easily let the dust accumulate on the surface.  Even car manuals warn against cleaning the windshield with a dry cloth.  And for those who do the reason soon becomes apparent.  I learned about that when I was a kid working in a gas station.

Barry


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## 9 Diamonds (Oct 4, 2016)

Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:


> A friend bought me a Brookstone screen cleaner a few years ago. I guess they don't sell it anymore, but they do sell this one. Same thing, different brand.
> 
> http://www.brookstone.com/pd/dustin-screen-cleaner---3-pack/844503p.html
> 
> Mine's still good and works beautifully.


Thanks, Gertie Kindle .


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## Rihard (Feb 20, 2017)

When I get a Kindle I buy a screen protector with it.  I like the Moshi protector the best.  

Last time I got a glass screen protector and don't like it.  It is too hard and inflexible.  I can't get all the air pockets out. .

Richard


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

FWIW, I don't find the kindle screen gets too grimy. When needed I wipe it with a soft cloth made for screens. 

Now, my tablets -- which include Fires -- are a different story. I'm wiping them down with a microfiber cloth probably several times a day to clean smudges. Same with my phone.


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## patrickt (Aug 28, 2010)

With my phones I have oleophobic screen protectors. My cleaning involves wiping gently every second or third day.

With my Kindles it's a different matter. First, dried spots of spaghetti sauce or brown gravy or soup, I flick off with a fingernail. I used compressed air to blow of debris. Then I spray a little home-made glass cleaner on a microfiber cloth and gently rub the screen and then the frame. My home-made glass cleaner is water with one drop of dish soap in a spray bottle of water.


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## 9 Diamonds (Oct 4, 2016)

Ann in Arlington said:


> FWIW, I don't find the kindle screen gets too grimy. When needed I wipe it with a soft cloth made for screens.
> 
> Now, my tablets -- which include Fires -- are a different story. I'm wiping them down with a microfiber cloth probably several times a day to clean smudges. Same with my phone.


I agree, Ann: my Voyage screen doesn't show much grime or dirt or smears. Microfibre seems a good way to go for other types of screens. And it helps reduce the fingerprints on the black body of the Voyage.


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## stevenblanchard (Apr 14, 2017)

Thanks for sharing such an useful information.


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## kingzcq (Sep 19, 2017)

You can use a small amount of alcohol to wipe the screen, to the Kindle to bring the protective shell
My Kindle and the original bought the same time as new


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## LDB (Oct 28, 2008)

A worn out t-shirt cut into rags. Power off and wipe the screen well. Works nicely.


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