During unprecedented times, it’s easy to encounter unprecedented challenges. While everyone is taking extra steps toward maintaining a cleaner, safer work environment, there are some things you should be considering when changing your routine.
One specific problem you could potentially run into is damaging your facility’s HMI screens while cleaning.
Keeping Things Clean During and After COVID-19
We’re all trying to keep things cleaner nowadays, and a lot of these cleaning practices will become part of our work routines long after the coronavirus pandemic is over. When it comes to important and expensive equipment, we should all take care in cleaning it properly.
For product-specific cleaning, consult the manufacturing guidelines. You can also reach out to us or your manufacturer for more information.
HMI Screen Cleaning Best Practices
Most HMI screens are plastic because of the potentially hazardous facilities they’re working in—they’re designed to be anti-breakage. Due to their anti-breakage features, using the wrong solution could damage the screen, eat away the plastic, or mess with the protective coating on the screen.
Make sure you turn off the screen before you start cleaning it; otherwise, you could interfere with pixels while they’re still firing. Turning off the screen will also allow you to see dirt, dust, and grime better.
You should use a microfiber cloth to clean your HMI screens—the same kind of gentle, but effective, cloth you’d use to clean your smartphone or your glasses. They’re perfect for HMI screens because they’re non abrasive, and won’t scratch the surface like other things you might clean with like paper towels or cotton rags. A good quality microfiber cloth will work well to get dirt and dust off of your screen.
Wipe the HMI screen from top to bottom in a circular motion, applying even pressure. Pressing too hard on the screen when cleaning is a surefire way to damage it, or distort the display—especially if the screen is anti-breakage plastic. A plastic screen will give in to pressure and can damage the pixels underneath.
If there’s any buildup on your HMI screen, or getting rid of germs is your main goal, use a small amount of ammonia and alcohol-free screen cleaning solution with your microfiber cloth. Using an alcohol-based cleaner will damage the protective coating on most HMI screens.
Do you have more questions about the steps you should be taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19? Click here for the CDC’s recommendations.