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It happened two days ago. I thought I had unknowingly used my laptop without sanitizing my hands, so I had sprayed the sanitizer on the keyboard. After that, I closed the left my laptop unused for hours.

When I opened up my laptop, I noticed these faint yellow spots on my display, mimicking the keyboard layout. These were caused due to the sanitizer on the keyboard touching the display while the lid was closed.

These spots are only visible on a bright background.

The faint yellow spots

I tried repeated cleaning using Colin but the spots are just refusing to leave. :(

I hope someone would guide me on why this happened and how to get rid of these spots.

I'm unsure if this is the correct place to ask on StackExchange, so please transfer this question to a more appropriate place if you feel so.

Utkarsh Verma
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    One beauty of getting older is that you can no longer perceive such imperfections. That screen looks perfectly white to me. ;) – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket Aug 15 '20 at 02:10
  • @RockPaperLz-MaskitorCasket: I made the mistake of opening the image in GIMP and using the curve tool to enhance the contrast, and the defects became [very visible](https://i.stack.imgur.com/zqjSz.jpg). – Andreas Rejbrand Aug 15 '20 at 08:34

1 Answers1

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I hate to be the bearer of bad news but unfortunately those spots are likely permanent.

Alcohol of any kind will damage the protective and/or anti-glare layers on the front of computer monitors. The alcohol in the hand sanitizer sitting on top of the keycaps has actually stripped away and chemically altered those coatings in the spots it touched. Unfortunately the only way to truly fix it would be to completely replace the display, which is likely complete overkill in your case.

If it doesn't bother you that much and it isn't worth the cost of a screen replacement to you, it's probably best to just live with it. Trying harder to remove the spots can only make the problem worse. At the very least it doesn't look to be that severe - sucks that an innocent mistake like that damaged your laptop when you were otherwise responsibly sanitizing things :/

Some other side notes for folks who find this down the line:

  • Rubbing alcohol is safe to use on keyboards with a clean microfiber cloth, just make sure the liquid does not drip down under the keycaps and potentially damage the circuitry underneath
  • NEVER use alcohol on your laptop screen! Water on a clean microfiber cloth is OK in a pinch, but a dedicated screen cleaner works best. I personally use iFixit's brand, but there are loads of alternatives on Amazon.
Next-Door Tech
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  • or alternatively apply alcohol evenly? – Kalamalka Kid Aug 14 '20 at 05:03
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    @KalamalkaKid I definitely wouldn't. You really don't want those coatings off in the first place, and trying something like that is only begging to make it much worse. – Next-Door Tech Aug 14 '20 at 05:07
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    if the user does as you suggested and 'replaces the entire display' they have nothing to lose do they ? – Kalamalka Kid Aug 14 '20 at 05:49
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    @KalamalkaKid Sorry if that was unclear - I only mentioned it ironically because it was complete overkill in this user's case. My personal suggestion to the OP is that it would be best not to touch it any more - it doesn't look too noticeable in the photo and it sounds like the OP can only see it on a white background. Trying to remove the rest feels like finding a dent or scratch on your car and then beating the rest of the car with a hammer so it looks the same as the dent. The problem only becomes worse, and you might break a window doing it, so to speak. – Next-Door Tech Aug 14 '20 at 06:05
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    Oh, that's sad to find out. But luckily I'm a denizen of the dark side so I won't be distracted by the spots 99% of the time. And that's why more people should come to the dark side. – Utkarsh Verma Aug 14 '20 at 08:07
  • Software solution: compensate the displayed colour in those spots. – SE - stop firing the good guys Aug 14 '20 at 14:58
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    Agreed - they're probably permanent. OP should do nothing, and simply put up with it. Any cure could end up being worse than the problem. If OP needs good colour across the screen, buying a external monitor might solve that while adding versatility, at the cost of mobility. – Criggie Aug 14 '20 at 21:39
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    You mention that alcohol will damage the protective and/or anti-glare layers on a screen. But don't optical glasses have such layers too? And doesn't eyeglass cleaner or eyeglass wipes often have alcohol in it? Also, I'm wondering, what about using cleaners containing alcohol on cell phones, tablets, and camera lenses? – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket Aug 15 '20 at 02:08
  • @RockPaperLz-MaskitorCasket I suspect that the *prolonged* contact with the alcohol caused most of the problem. Like leaving a coffee mug with a wet bottom on a wooden table overnight leaves a ring mark which may never come out whereas wiping up the liquid immediately leaves no mark. I have a box of Zeiss lens wipes, and it says they recommend a different product for touch screens. – Andrew Morton Aug 15 '20 at 15:30
  • @RockPaperLz-MaskitorCasket I can't *personally* comment on using alcohol on eyeglasses or camera lenses (I'm a computer repair guy), but the same no-alcohol rules absolutely apply to cell phones, tablets, and really anything else with an LCD screen. Andrew Morton's comment about those lens wipes makes me suspect that optical glass coatings are chemically quite different. – Next-Door Tech Aug 15 '20 at 18:50
  • @AndrewMorton Yes the prolonged exposure likely did most of the damage in this case - if some were accidentally splashed on and quickly dabbed up I'm sure there would be no issue. That said, still not safe to clean your screen with alcohol. The main culprit for most folks isn't prolonged exposure but wiping the alcohol around with something like a paper towel. The scrubbing makes the issue much much worse. – Next-Door Tech Aug 15 '20 at 19:00
  • @Next-DoorTech Yes, that scrubbing with paper towel is a horrible idea! Regarding cell phones, I've used alcohol wipes to clean the same cell phones quite a few times (but under 25 times), and I haven't noticed any issues. But given your comment, I may stop that practice. Do you have any documents that confirm what you wrote, or details from your extensive personal experience as a repair tech? Especially because of COVID-19, I like to use alcohol wipes to clean the phones. – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket Aug 16 '20 at 20:38
  • @RockPaperLz-MaskitorCasket You know what, now that I think about it, I'm not sure that I've actually *seen* a phone with screen damage caused that way - not recently at least. Laptops tend to be the main culprits. Touchscreens have oleophobic anti-fingerprint coatings that I've read can be damaged, but I can't remember the last time I had a customer come in with a visibly alcohol-damaged phone. You might be OK so long as you aren't constantly doing it, which it sounds like you aren't. If you have a glass screen protector over the actual phone screen I'd feel better OKing it though. – Next-Door Tech Aug 17 '20 at 23:03
  • @Next-DoorTech Thanks so much for your comments. I want to say it's a bad idea for anything with coatings, but, like you, my experience indicates otherwise. When I get time, I'm going to see if any of my cleaning fluids contain alcohol... if the bottles or packets mention it. As an aside, I've been told to avoid using pre-moistened lens/glasses wipes on lenses and eyeglasses whenever possible. Apparently, they are made from trees and therefore their fibers can scratch and remove coatings. From what I've been told, microfiber is the way to go, or wash in water with mild soap if appropriate. – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket Aug 18 '20 at 04:59