---

layout:     post
title:      "Getting Candle Wax Off an LCD Monitor"
slug:       remove-wax-from-lcd
date:       2015-01-03 22:16:00
categories: life

---

First you might ask, "How does one get wax on their monitor?"  A valid question.
In my case, I had a taper candle on my desk, and I blew it out right before bed.
When I awoke, I found a splatter of wax from the candle in the bottom left
corner of my LCD.  This post will talk about the steps I took to safely remove
the wax from the monitor without damaging the surface or liquid crystals of the
display.

_Note that this guide is intended for soft-surface LCD monitors (the kind that
are not glass/plastic covered and make distorted colors when you press on the
screen.)_

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**Inspired by Mom**

A tried-and-proven method of removing wax from fabric is to put a paper towel on
top of the stained area and then apply a hot iron onto the paper towel.  This
melts the wax which is absorbed into the towel.  While this does work wonders on
fabric, there are some hopefully obvious reasons why this is a bad idea with an
LCD screen.

**Steps to Safely Remove Wax**

You will need:

- a hair dryer
- a screen safe cloth
- screen cleaner, glasses cleaner, or distiled water

It's a pretty straight forward process:

1. pre-wet the cloth with the screen safe cleaner (or distiled water)
1. remove the base of the monitor (if possible) and place the monitor flat
   on the ground, screen-side up
1. turn on the hair dryer to low and hold tip about three inches from the
   surface of the monitor aimed at the wax
1. keep holding the dryer in place for about thirty seconds
1. while still aiming the dryer at the wax, with your other hand, begin wiping
   the affected area gently with the moist rag
1. keep wiping the area gently, re-wetting the cloth if it dries out, until all
   the wax has been cleared

That's it, pretty simple!  Do not rush by turning the dryer up to high or wiping
harder as the LCD screen is fragile and high heat could damage the crystals in
the monitor.



