Remember when cleaning your CRT monitor was an easy task? Just Windex it with a paper towel, right? Well, with LCD’s dominating most desktops and home entertainment systems, a product like this definitely needed to come along. I’ve tried generic screen wipes from the office supply stores but those are messy and expensive per use. The Audiovox Surface system is much more economical.

The combo pack of the Surface is expensive for what it is. I keep the large bottle near my 24″ LCD HDTV/Monitor and the smaller bottle near my laptop. The pack comes with 2 microfiber clothes. The smaller cloth is located inside the bottom of the smaller bottle. The spray solution does NOT contain ammonia or alcohol, which is key because ammonia can damage the screen. Windex, I believe, does contain ammonia so don’t use it! In fact, any solution containing ammonia, ethyl alcohol, acetone, toluene, ethyl acid, or methyl chloride can yellow or damage LCD screens so avoid products that include them.

To be honest, the most economical way to clean your LCD screen is by using a microfiber cloth with a 50% distilled water and 50% vinegar solution. This does the job just fine. I thought that by buying the Surface spray, I could keep a solution handy in spray form, but alas, one drawback keeps me from fully recommending this product.

The problem I have with the Surface cleaner is streaking. My glossy 14.1″ laptop screen looks terrible after cleaning because of all the streaks. My 24″ HDTV/Monitor has a non-glossy, anti-glare screen so it looks marginally better but I can still see the streaks. The only reason I’ll keep using the Surface cleaner is because you can really only see the streaks when the screen is OFF. When it’s on, it is not noticeable.

I’m glad I at least got some microfiber clothes out of this deal, but I really wish the cleaner didn’t streak. It’s good at actually cleaning dust and other dirt buildup so I’ll continue to use it until I run out. When I do however, I’ll probably keep the spray bottles and fill it with the 50/50 vinegar/distilled water solution and use that instead of spending the premium on the Audiovox Surface Screen Cleaner.