What is the best way to clean a MacBook?

I just got home this evening with my brand new MacBook. I am very excited. I think I got a good deal too. After doing some research, I found that Apple stores will sometimes sell what they call "refresh" products at a pretty good discount. Refresh products are NOT refurbished products or products in disrepair. They are simply products that were bought and returned within the 14 day period for a restocking fee, and then are resold basically brand new, the only difference being the packaging and seal has been broken. I got the 1.83 Ghz model for $980. Not bad I think.

Anyhow, I digress. The original point of this thread was to ask how in the heck should I clean the exterior of the white MacBook, as well as the glossy screen. Fingerprints are all over the place, and I don't want the thing to scratch up like my white nano did when cleaning it. Any recommended cleaning solutions or cloths for the exterior as well as the screen? Thanks!

Personally, to clean the screen I use the cloth that doubles as a carrying sack thing for my oakleys. It works surprisingly well. I think any microfiber cloth should do fine for the screen. I don't have too much trouble with the lid, I have a black macbook. I just kind of rub it with a cloth when there's a streak from my hand on it.

Yeah, since the black MacBook has a matted finish as opposed to the white glossy one, I'm sure it's much easier to clean and maintain.

Unfortunately I do not have an Oakly carrying sack, so I've got to figure out exactly what to use, and how to use it to avoid scratching if at all possible.

just buy any microfiber cloth meant for lcd's. i got one from monster that came with a big bottle of cleaning solution and it works great both for the screen and the case.

I have the marware wrist rest thingy, and it came with a screen cleaner, which is also a keyboard cover.... it also cleans the macbook really nice! its like a high end suede/microfiber towel, very nice stuff... i would get teh marware just because of the cloth

Where exactly do you get the marware rest thingy? Sounds just what I'm looking for. Thanks in advance!

I got it at the apple store

Can you tell me more about the 'refresh' products. Is there any marking on the box to show that it is a refresh product and not a new one? Do they put a red sticker dot on the box?

Reason I ask is because I bought my Macbook new, but the box had 2 of those clear tape seals on it. It also had a red dot on the box. I'm not sure if that means anything. Just curious. I didn't get any discount. I'd hate to think the Apple store cheated me.

About cleaning the Mac, I have some alcohol wipes that works well. I just got my invisible shield on so now I just use the leftover invisible shield solution and wipe it down with a cloth. Works real well. I even bought some extra solution for $1.

I will check the box tomorrow and come back and let you know exactly how it was marked.

I really grilled them hard before agreeing to buy the "refresh" product. I called around to several of the stores in the D/FW area not only to ask about and confirm what a refresh product was, but to also ask if they had any in stock.

I got lucky and the store nearest to me had the exact computer I was looking for. When I got to the store, they brought it out from the back, and aside from the sticker seal being broken, everything seemed like brand new. Still get the same warranty as having bought brand new, AND, I like this kicker, if I decided to take it back for any reason with the 14 day return policy window, I don't have to pay a 10% restocking fee since it was not bought as a brand new item.

Just food for thought. Again, I will check tomorrow and get back to you.

Edit: Just checked the packaging. There are barcode stickers on the side of the box, at the very bottom of all those stickers, they placed a small sticker, like 1/2 inch in height, and 1 inch in length that said, REFRESH PRODUCT. Right below that, it stated the retail price of $1099, and then the Refresh price of $989.00. No colored stickers or marks anywhere, just a small sticker indicating it is a refresh product. Hope this helps!

I use a cloth that I also use for cleaning my glasses. Its super soft and has worked well

Thanks for the info on the refresh. No refresh stickers on mine. I don't really care though. Nothing's wrong w/ my Mac. Just curious, cos I noticed the 2 sealer tapes on there instead of 1 and this red dot on it.

If you have a white Macbook I think it may be different what to use to clean than a black one since there have been the discoloration issues. I'm gonna use the invisible shield solution on mine for now. I have a RadTech screen protector to clean my screen.

Thanks again!

My MacBook box had extra seal stickers. But thats cause I added the 80Gb hopup on the Apple Store online.

I imagine that they(Apple) take an off the shelf unit and upgrade it and repackage it.

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Anyone know how to remove blue ball point pen ink? from the wrist area of the macbook?

Mr Clean eraser? Those don't scrach and would be good for the tough dirt, I haven't used in on my Macbook, so I would suggest picking a test spot first.

Is that a brand name or can that be any rubber/eraser?

Apparently the discoloration issue has been adressed and fixed...you did note that yours is a Refreshed macbook and therefore it could be an earlier model. However, anyone that purchased a macbook more recently...discoloration should not be an issue. If it is, Apple will replace it.

Where can you check for refresh products?

on the clearance page on the Apple webby.

cvclover said:

Where can you check for refresh products?

Click to expand...

I think the poster above me is mistaking "refresh products" for "refurbished products".

A refurbished product is one that was returned due to a defect somewhere, and was subsequently fixed with a new part, or taken from other defective products to produce a working unit.

A refresh product can only be purchased from an Apple Retail store. Refresh products are products that were sold brand new from a retail store, but were returned back to the store within the 14 time frame, and a 10% restocking fee was paid. These items were not returned because of defects. Anyhow, the store sells the item for a discounted price, and you get the same exact warranty as if the item was bought brand new.

I bought the $1099 MacBook on refresh and got mine for $989. The thing was spotless, looked just like brand new, only the original seal/sticker was broken when the original purchaser bought it. I live in the D/FW area, and we have 4 retail stores. Once I figured out that these products existed and that they were discounted, I started to go down the list of the 4 stores asking to see what refresh MacBooks they had in stock. Once I got down to the third store, I found they had the exact model I was looking for.

Opps my bad. Sorry