If you are like most people who have a big screen projection TV and have noticed after years of wear, a fuzz and haze on your screen, it’s time to clean it. Cleaning your projection TV is not that difficult. There really is no need to pay someone to come out to your house and clean it, it’s something you can do yourself. Please be sure to unplug the power from your TV and keep in mind there may be the voltage still running through it when it’s opened. Most TVs are sealed and will not hurt you even with low voltage. If you have an RCA projection TV or almost any other type of projection TV you want to start by first removing the screen. This is usually accomplished by removing a large number of screws from the back of the unit. Generally, the screws are not standard Flathead or Phillips. Most of the screws will have a square hole and will require square tipped bits. These bits can be picked up at your local hardware retailer. The bits themselves are very cheap, if you don’t already have some kicking around in the toolbox. Once you find the right square tipped bit to fit the screws on your particular projection TV you are ready to begin. Carefully remove each screw using a hand held screwdriver or an automatic one at a very low speed. Once you have removed all the screws you will then be able to pop off the screen. As always, throughout this process you must be very careful. Having more than one person will make this entire task much easier. After you have removed the screen lay it down on a flat surface, carpet is a safe bet.
Now that the screen is off your TV you should now be able to see inside to the lenses. On a projection TV there’s three different color lenses. If you look close you’ll see a layer of dust on each one of the lenses. That dust is the first important part in cleaning your TV. Carefully take a fine DAMP cloth, nothing course whatsoever, not wet, and gently wipe each lens in a circular motion. After you’ve done this let it dry for a minute and repeat with a dry cloth only.
The next step in cleaning your projection TV, be it RCA or any other brand is to clean the mirror in the back. You will see this mirror above the lenses mounted to the body of the TV. When cleaning this mirror be sure to use caution. Gently wipe the mirror with a fine cloth and as long as you see that there’s no dust on it, take no further action. If there is still dust on your mirror gently wipe it with a damp cloth and then again with a dry one. Do not use chemicals when cleaning anything inside your TV.
The final step in the cleaning process is cleaning your screen. With the screen lying on the carpet, gently wipe and clean the inside of the screen. If you tilt your head down and get the light to reflect on it you can really see what needs to be cleaned and what you’ve already cleaned. Using your fine damp cloth clean all the dust out and dry with the dry cloth. Gently turn the screen over and repeat the process again.
After everything has been wiped down and dried it’s now time to put the screen back onto the body. On the RCA projection TV’s this screen should be inserted from the bottom onto a pin and then tilted into position. If you don’t have an RCA TV your TV may be very similar. Just take care and notice how you took it apart and how it should go back together, it’s not that difficult. Once the screen is back in place take your screws and replace them in their holes. Take care when getting the scew to its final torque. Gently tighten each screw.
Next step is to turn your TV on and look in awe at how much brighter and clearer your picture is. As a side note, most projection TV’s are designed to be cleaned and once you remove the screen, everything else is sealed away.