How do I remove lime residuals from my MacBook Air screen?

Question

Level 1

11 points

How do I remove lime residuals from my MacBook Air screen?

Some time ago I wiped off my laptop screen with a standard kitchen cloth, and I can see dried residuals on the screen from this. I've tried wiping with the cloth again using dishwashing liquid, as well as intended wet anti-static screen wipes for displays (brand "North"). However, the residuals are still there.

How do I get these residuals gone? My answer is that an acid is what's needed, but since the screen is some kind of plastic, I am cautious.

The laptop is a MacBook Air 2020 13", Retina display.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Laptop display: lime residuals from cleaning with kitchen cloth

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 15.6

Posted on Aug 10, 2025 06:59 AM

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Answer 1

HWTech

Level 9

66,764 points

Aug 10, 2025 06:46 PM in response to fenglich

Try using a microfiber cloth along with an LCD screen cleaner. This has worked for me to clean most Apple displays. The cloth being used is just as important.

Using any other chemicals on the screen other than an LCD screen cleaner will risk damage to the coating on the laptop's display.

After using an LCD screen cleaner, you may need to buff the screen using a clean section of the microfiber cloth, and another clean section. For some things you may need to use the LCD screen cleaner a second time. Always use a fresh clean section of the microfiber cloth or you will just end up smearing the gunk back onto the display.

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Answer 2

fenglich Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 10, 2025 07:21 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

Indeed. I think I've followed those instructions, but still it's an issue. One cause might be that I maybe didn't wipe off the tap water with a dry cloth, so the water dried on the screen. I think the tap water in this area is slightly more rich on lime.

Hence, nevertheless the task is to get the residuals off.

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Answer 3

Aug 11, 2025 10:33 AM in response to fenglich

I've used Whoosh on MacBook Pros and Airs for several years, purchased on Amazon (link). The only screen I don't use it on is my M4 MBP with the Nano-texture display, for which Apple provides a specific cleaning cloth.

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Answer 4

Aug 10, 2025 07:03 AM in response to fenglich

Clean your Mac computer’s screen or display – Apple Support (MY)

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Answer 5

fenglich Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 10, 2025 07:12 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

Hi Bob,

None of the recommendations in that article help. I don't know how to get the lime (probably) residuals off the screen, neither with regular water or screen wipes.

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Answer 6

Aug 10, 2025 07:14 AM in response to fenglich

Not following the instructions at the link I provided may/will cause damage to the screen.

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Answer 7

KiltedTim

Level 10

220,572 points

Aug 11, 2025 10:42 AM in response to fenglich

It's possible that the acids in the lime juice have damaged the coating on the display. In that case, you're not going to be able to clean it off as it's not residual material.

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