Does Using A Microfiber Cloth Destroy Your Macbook?
There’s a secret between your keyboard and your Macbook screen – finger grease. That’s not surprising but the secret is if you don’t keep those two things separate, eventually the oils from your hands will wear away your laptop’s protective screen coating. As the protective coating of your screen breaks down from skin oils, it becomes less reflective, distorted, and significantly reduces resale and Apple Trade In value.
The Solution
As you can see in the video here, the solution is to place a thin microfiber cloth on your keyboard before your close the lid, every single time. This helps keep a natural (and soft) separation between the keys and screen making sure your finger grease doesn’t contaminate the screen. The key is to pick a sufficiently thin but strong microfiber cloth. Below is one I can recommend.
Regular Cleaning
You also want to regularly clean your Macbook or laptop keyboard, ideally once a week. Apple Stores use this iKlear cleaner so a spray plus a wipe down using another microfiber (not the one you use for screen-keyboard separation) is recommended to prevent the accumulation of grease, oil, and dirt that can damage a screen.
As laptops get thinner, the amount of space between the screen and keyboard has shrunk. Even more pressure is applied when you stuff your laptop into a backpack so the strategic use of a microfiber cloth can increase the longevity of your Macbook or any other laptop.