A new study has revealed that even a simple cleaning of the screen with a soft brush can be effective in cleaning up dust and grime, and remove some of the harmful effects of the chemicals that build up on the surface.
The study by scientists at the University of Michigan, University of California, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, showed that using a soft scrubbing brush, a brush which uses a gentle electric current to remove small particles, can be as effective as a traditional brush.
“Our findings show that using an electric scrubbing wand or brush can remove micro particles and dust that are on the surfaces of screens,” said study co-author Dr. Mark D. Stavro, a professor of chemical engineering.
“The brush can also remove chemicals that cause the screens to degrade in terms of color and brightness,” he added.
The research was published in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
Stavro and his team found that the electric brush could be used to clean the surfaces on a wide variety of devices, including LCDs, LCD displays, computers, tablets, smartphones, and more.
“We have shown that even with a very small electric current applied, a clean screen can be cleaned up with a brush,” said Stavo.
“This is because the cleaning process is relatively low-cost, so the device will be in good condition when the cleaning is complete.
The cleaning will not require a lot of energy, which means it can be done in a matter of minutes.”
Dr. Stevro, who is also a professor at the Institute for Sensing, Computational, and Intelligent Systems, said the study shows that it’s possible to use electric brushes for cleaning the screen of mobile phones, laptops, and other devices, without the need for costly, expensive chemicals.
“There are a number of applications where electric brushes are being used to eliminate dust and water residue that can lead to screen degradation, such as smartphones and tablet displays,” he said.
“It is possible to clean up screens on mobile phones in just a few minutes.”
Additionally, it is possible that electric brushes can be used for other applications where cleaning chemicals have been applied, such in cleaning food and drink containers or cleaning the interior of an office building.
“In addition to cleaning the surfaces, the researchers found that electric scrubbers could also be used on tablets and smartphones, which are generally found on the bottom of the screens.”
While this is not a complete solution to the problem of screen degradation in screens, it can provide some relief for many users,” Stav, who worked with Dr. Steven R. Fink of the University College London, said.
The researchers tested the cleaning efficacy of the brush on a variety of screens, including a wide range of smartphone screens and LCD displays.
They found that on the large, flat, and rectangular screens, the electric scrubber provided a clean, even cleaning process.
On the smaller screens, which were mostly found on tablets, the cleaning method was much less effective.”
A large majority of screens are located on the sides of screens and are therefore not suitable for electric scrubbed cleaning,” Dr. St, said, adding that the results suggest that the use of electric brushes should be reserved for small screens.”
Electrical scrubbers are also being used in the industry for cleaning electronics, including TVs, laptops and other electronics.
Stvro said that these types of cleaning methods are relatively inexpensive and easy to use.
“With electric brushes, we can effectively clean screens on small screens by simply brushing the brush against the surface,” he noted.
The clean screens also appear to be cleaner when placed on a desk, but the cleaning can take several minutes.