If you’re reading this now, you likely love your TV. It’s been by your side for a number of years, and it keeps you entertained day after day. If so, we’re sure you couldn’t imagine anything worse than the screen becoming damaged! Repairing a TV is incredibly costly, and sometimes even the most minor of damage can see a TV’s life cut sadly short.

It’s also likely that you’ve heard about the dangers of touching your TV’s screen at some point or another. But why is this actually the case? Why are you so often told not to touch your TV screen directly?

As long as TVs have been around, they’ve been the source of countless rumours. We’ve all been told that sitting too close to the TV will turn our eyes square, after all. However, it can often be difficult to tell mere rumours from actually valuable advice. Want to know if touching your TV is actually bad? We’ve done the research to find out if there’s any truth to it!

Why Should You Avoid Touching A TV Screen?

Generally, it’s best to avoid touching your TV screen altogether. The extent to which touching the screen might cause damage depends on how much force is applied. Let’s say you lightly brush your finger against the screen. This wouldn’t cause any damage at all but would leave smudges and fingerprints behind. Applying more force, and pushing into the screen itself is more likely to cause damage.

Applying too much force to your TV screen could cause catastrophic damage to a number of important components. First, you could end up puncturing through any of the screen’s many layers. Second, you could end up directly damaging components much deeper in. OLED screens in particular could be very vulnerable to brute force. Any number of the millions of pixels beneath the screen could be damaged beyond repair.

You should avoid touching your TV screen as much as possible. Even a light touch can leave annoying fingerprints and smudges behind. Touching the screen with too much force could cause direct damage to the screen and the pixels.

The reason we would recommend against even lightly touching your TV screen is because of the fingerprints that could be left behind. When there are too many fingerprints on the screen, the display can appear muddled and unsatisfying. While you can certainly clean away smudges and fingerprints, you need to be careful to do it correctly. Using harsh cleaning chemicals and excess water could eat away at the screen’s protective film, or otherwise leak into the internal components. You only need a drop of water, a cloth, and a light touch.

How Should You Carry A TV?

Unfortunately, there are some situations in which it’s impossible to avoid touching your TV’s screen. If you’re moving from one home to the next, for instance, you’ll need to move the TV around.

The best way to move your TV is to make use of its original box. If you’ve retained the original packaging, including all of its internal elements, then be sure to use it! Once your TV is unplugged, and all optional parts, such as bases have been removed, you can shift it back into the original box.

The best way to move a TV around safely is to make use of the original packaging. This packaging is designed to specially fit the TV, to keep it from moving in transit.

Preferably, you should still have access to the original styrofoam pieces that help to hold your TV firmly in place. Put these styrofoam pieces in their original positions around the TV. These will help to protect the corners of the TV from bumps and scrapes! Once the TV is padded, you can simply slip it back into the box. If there is any wiggle room in the box, be sure to pad it out with something soft!

If you don’t have your TV’s original packaging, don’t panic. You can still easily make use of soft furnishing like blankets to wrap the TV up. This will help to protect the TV from bumps as you move it into its new home. Be sure to wrap the TV up firmly, so that it does not slip out. We’d recommend being generous, and wrapping your TV up in as many blankets as you can!

What Can You Do If Your TV Is Damaged?

If you notice that your TV is damaged, it’s worth ascertaining how serious the damage is. Take your TV for repairs to see how extensive the damage is, and how much repairs might cost. In some cases, repairing your TV may actually be more costly than simply buying a new one. This is especially the case if your TV is older than 5 years!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Shouldn’t You Touch A TV Screen?

Touching a TV screen can be very risky, depending on how much force you use. While lightly touching the screen may not do damage, it will leave unsightly fingerprints and grime behind. Applying too much force to the screen will put the many layers of the screen at risk of puncturing.

How Easy Is It To Damage A TV Screen?

TV screens are incredibly easy to damage. When you think about it, a TV screen is simply a long and wide panel of layers made of thin materials. This helps to make screens incredibly easy to watch but leaves them vulnerable to damage. Even simply dropping a screen onto the ground could leave a TV beyond repair.

Is It Cheaper To Repair Or Replace A TV Screen?

This depends entirely on the extent of the damage. If the damage is only minor, such as a puncture to the outer layer of the screen, then repairs may be affordable. However, extensive damage to pixels and multiple layers of the screen will result in costly repairs. In these cases, it would be more effective to buy a brand-new TV.