How to Clean a MacBook Screen and Keyboard

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Identify the display finish and shut down

Confirm whether the MacBook Pro was configured with nano-texture glass. Shut the Mac down, unplug its power adapter, disconnect every cable and device, and let it cool. Open it on a clean towel. If the battery is swollen, the display is cracked, a port is burned, or liquid is already inside, stop and arrange service.

Step 2: Remove dry dust before damp cleaning

Use a clean soft dry cloth over the enclosure, trackpad, palm rests, and standard display. Lift particles from the screen before wiping fingerprints. Do not use paper towels or rough fabric. Keep loose grit from being pushed into the hinge, keyboard gaps, speakers, microphones, and ports.

Step 3: Clean a standard MacBook display

Dampen a lint-free cloth with fresh water only and wring it thoroughly. Wipe the screen with light overlapping passes without pressing on the panel or letting moisture collect at the lower edge. For a hard-to-remove smudge, Apple permits a cloth moistened with 70% isopropyl alcohol. Never spray the display or use acetone, window cleaner, ammonia, peroxide cleaner, or an abrasive.

Step 4: Clean a nano-texture MacBook Pro display

Use only the Apple Polishing Cloth supplied with the nano-texture display for dust and ordinary smudges. For infrequent hard-to-remove marks, Apple allows moistening that cloth with 70% IPA. Do not substitute another cloth, apply liquid directly, or turn the alcohol treatment into a daily routine. Wash the Polishing Cloth with dish soap and water and let it air-dry at least 24 hours.

Step 5: Damp-wipe the enclosure and trackpad

Use a water-dampened soft lint-free cloth on the exterior aluminum, palm rests, and trackpad, avoiding openings. Apple allows a cloth moistened with 70% IPA for stubborn exterior marks. Do not use aerosol spray, solvent, abrasive, or a product containing hydrogen peroxide, and do not allow a wet cloth to touch a port edge.

Step 6: Wipe keys, Touch Bar, and Touch ID

Start with a dry lint-free cloth on the keycaps. Apple says to clean Touch Bar and Touch ID like the display: with the Mac shut down and unplugged, use a soft cloth dampened with water only. Keep liquid from key gaps. Do not remove MacBook keycaps, which can damage the low-profile mechanisms.

Step 7: Use Apple's compressed-air keyboard sequence when needed

For an unresponsive or different-feeling key on supported models, hold the MacBook at about a 75-degree angle, not fully vertical. Keep the air straw about one-half inch (roughly 1.5 cm) from the keyboard and spray from left to right without inverting the can. Rotate the Mac onto its right side and repeat left to right, then rotate to its left side and repeat.

Step 8: Keep ports dry

Inspect USB-C, MagSafe, HDMI, SD-card, and headphone openings with a bright light. Use a dry lint-free cloth only around their outer edges. Do not insert a swab, brush, metal pick, or liquid, and do not spray compressed air directly into a port. A bent, corroded, burned, or obstructed port needs professional service.

Step 9: Clean the detached cable separately

Unplug both ends and wipe along the cable with a soft slightly damp lint-free cloth. If needed, use a separate cloth wet with soapy water on the cable length, keeping both connectors dry. Wipe away moisture with a dry cloth and let the cable dry overnight before use. Stop using a cable with fraying, kinks, exposed material, or a damaged plug.

Step 10: Dry, inspect, and reconnect

Leave the MacBook open and disconnected at room temperature until the display edge, keyboard, hinge, trackpad, enclosure seams, ports, cable, and plugs are dry. Check for fibers and streaks. Reconnect only when plugs seat normally, then test the keyboard, trackpad, Touch ID, speakers, and charging.