How To Clean Electronics Touchscreens
With built-in functions for radar, weather, chartplotters, engine data and radio controls, boaters are constantly touching the screens, buttons and knobs on their on-board electronics. Also, many boats with a more open design get a fair share of salt spray on their dash. Here are some tips on how to properly clean a boat's electronics screens.
A Light Touch
To get started, users will need a hose nozzle that can do a soft mist, a PVA Chamois Towel, Microfiber Towels and Shurhold's Serious Shine. Owners should always start by turning off the power to all their gear. While most electronics are all weather rated, owners should be sure to check their specific user manuals for recommendations and warnings.
No matter how weatherized the gear is, it's important to never use hard pressure or forced water on them. When doing a full wash down of the boat, users should only use a light mist to rinse electronics. Then they should be dried quickly with a PVA towel to remove all standing water. This helps prevent water spots and remove any other foreign particles.
Once the dash is dry or if owners are starting with a fairly clean and dry dash already, the entire area should be sprayed and wiped down with Serious Shine. Only a fine mist is needed and then owners can work the product using a clean microfiber towel with light pressure.
On touch screens, this is going to clean and remove fingerprints and provide an anti-static protection that will help reduce finger printing in the future. Serious Shine is safe to spray on the screen, frame, buttons and the surrounding fiberglass, steering wheel and more.
Users should always start with a clean towel. Dirty towels might scratch the screens with grime that may have already been in the towel. Microfiber towels can be washed in a laundry machine, as long as fabric softener isn't used. This will clog the fibers in the towel and make it less effective.