Cleaning and caring for a mounted TV
A wall-mounted TV needs very little: a gentle wipe now and then, clear vents and an occasional look at the bracket. Most damage comes from cleaning it the way you'd clean a window.
Cleaning the screen
Today's panels have soft anti-glare and anti-reflective coatings. They mark easily and don't recover.
Do:
- Turn the TV off and let it cool. Smudges show best on a black screen.
- Wipe with a clean, dry microfibre cloth, lightly, in one direction.
- For fingerprints that won't lift: dampen the cloth slightly with distilled water — the cloth, never the screen — and wipe gently. Follow with a dry part of the cloth.
- For stubborn marks, check your TV's manual; some manufacturers allow a tiny amount of very diluted mild soap on the cloth.
Don't:
- Glass cleaner, ammonia, alcohol, vinegar or anything with solvents. They strip coatings.
- Paper towels or tissues. They scratch and shed.
- Spray anything directly on the screen. Liquid runs down behind the frame into the panel.
- Press hard. OLED and LCD panels both mark under pressure.
- Scrape with a fingernail.
Supporting the TV while you wipe
On a fixed mount, the TV can't move. On a tilt or full-motion mount, steady the screen's edge with your other hand so you aren't pushing against the arm.
Dust the vents
Heat leaves through slots on the back and top. Dust there acts as a blanket.
- Run a soft brush or the brush attachment of a vacuum on low across the vents a few times a year.
- With a full-motion mount, pull the TV out to reach the back.
- In kitchens, garages and homes with pets or a fireplace, do it more often.
The frame, remote and soundbar
A dry or barely damp cloth for the frame. Remotes are the dirtiest thing in the room: take the batteries out and wipe with a cloth lightly dampened with diluted alcohol — fine for the remote, not for the screen.
A yearly look at the mount
- Check level. If the TV has drifted, use the bracket's levelling screws.
- Give it a gentle tug. Nothing should shift or creak.
- Tilt and swivel joints that have gone loose can be re-tensioned with the mount's adjustment bolts.
- Safety screws or locking bar still in place?
- Any cracks in the wall around the bolts, or gaps opening behind the wall plate? Have it looked at.
Cables
Look for plugs working loose, cables pinched by a moving arm, and a power cord under strain. Re-seat HDMI plugs if the picture has started dropping out.
Around a fireplace
Soot and heat are hard on electronics. Dust more often, and if the screen frame feels hot to the touch while the fire is on, the TV is too warm — see fireplace mounting.
Sunlight
Hours of direct sun can discolour panels and frames over the years. Draw the blinds on a wall that takes afternoon sun.
Software and panel care
- Keep automatic updates on.
- OLED owners: leave the TV plugged in when off so it can run its panel-refresh routines; avoid leaving static images on screen for hours.
- If the TV has been off the wall or unplugged for a move, give it a few hours at room temperature before switching on.
Storms
Surge protection matters more than cleaning. See surge protection for wall-mounted TVs.
What's covered by us
If something we installed loosens within a year, we come back and fix it. Tell us what you're seeing and we'll take it from there.