Apple polishing cloth, is it making a real difference?

[kenny1999]

From the scientific viewpoint, is it making a real difference? I think any cheap cloth would do the same job, if no debris is stuck when you wipe your delicate screen with your cloth, if there is any, then a cheap one or expensive one would scratch your baby too.

[Peterkin]

I like pieces of old cotton teeshirt. Not jockey shorts: too many seams.

[exchemist]

5 hours ago, kenny1999 said:

From the scientific viewpoint, is it making a real difference? I think any cheap cloth would do the same job, if no debris is stuck when you wipe your delicate screen with your cloth, if there is any, then a cheap one or expensive one would scratch your baby too.

Anyone who wears spectacles will know that you need a microfibre cloth to clean the lenses properly so that you don't get reflections, glare in sunlight etc. I don't know what an Apple cloth is but I suspect what you need is a cloth for cleaning lenses, not just any old piece of fabric. At any rate, that is what I use to clean the screen on my laptop.  

[Peterkin]

Apparently the Apple cloth is just a cloth: in use, people apply some kind of cleaning fluid. So, how clean and streak-free your screen is depends more on the fluid than the fabric it's applied with. In one test I read about, they used 70% alcohol, which may have been a mistake. Alcohol, vinegar and glass cleaner work fine on my eyeglasses (with either silk or cotton cloth), but I've been advised by my computer repair guy not use any solvents on the screen; he recommends distilled water and a mild detergent, applied with a soft, lint-free cloth.

Here's a review https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/apple-polishing-cloth

[exchemist]

19 minutes ago, Peterkin said:

Apparently the Apple cloth is just a cloth: in use, people apply some kind of cleaning fluid. So, how clean and streak-free your screen is depends more on the fluid than the fabric it's applied with. In one test I read about, they used 70% alcohol, which may have been a mistake. Alcohol, vinegar and glass cleaner work fine on my eyeglasses (with either silk or cotton cloth), but I've been advised by my computer repair guy not use any solvents on the screen; he recommends distilled water and a mild detergent, applied with a soft, lint-free cloth.

Here's a review https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/apple-polishing-cloth

It is, as I suspected, a microfibre cloth though, not "just a cloth".

[Peterkin]

2 hours ago, exchemist said:

a microfibre cloth though, not "just a cloth"

Yes, I understand that. I meant, only the [microfibre] cloth itself; it is not treated or infused with any chemical cleaning agent.

Before microfibre, for 3000 years, people were cleaning items made of glass (but not coated with anti-scratch or anti-glare film) with ordinary cloth and some chemical cleaning agent, mostly commonly soap and vinegar. So people used to glass surfaces might be forgiven for mistakenly using the same method they employed with old-fashioned television screens on their non-glass computer screens, as the first reviewer did. He was comparing the Apple microfibre facecloth thingie to the very similar microfibre product amazon sells as a pack of 24 for the same price as a single two-layer one from Apple.  I did not link review, because of the alcohol. 

[exchemist]

14 hours ago, Peterkin said:

Yes, I understand that. I meant, only the [microfibre] cloth itself; it is not treated or infused with any chemical cleaning agent.

Before microfibre, for 3000 years, people were cleaning items made of glass (but not coated with anti-scratch or anti-glare film) with ordinary cloth and some chemical cleaning agent, mostly commonly soap and vinegar. So people used to glass surfaces might be forgiven for mistakenly using the same method they employed with old-fashioned television screens on their non-glass computer screens, as the first reviewer did. He was comparing the Apple microfibre facecloth thingie to the very similar microfibre product amazon sells as a pack of 24 for the same price as a single two-layer one from Apple.  I did not link review, because of the alcohol. 

OK fair enough, you mean there is no cleaning chemical impregnating the cloth. Yes, one is just as well off using a regular spectacle-cleaning cloth, from the optician or wherever.