Cleaning the screen

Besides the products they sell in the apple store is there a cheaper alternative to clean the screen and outer casing?

Lint-free cloth dampened slightly. It's the best, it's the safest. If you want use something else ask at your local optician. I use BASF screen clean spray . The bottle has lasted years. BASF is called EMTEC now .

But I still swear by using a good cloth rather than some weird product.

i bought Office Depot brand screen cleaner and it works great. i use it on every surface of my macbook. all i got to do is spray the cleaner onto a microfiber towel and you dont have to worry about scratches or streaks. it only cost me 5$ and the package came with 2 big bottles of their sccreen cleaner solution

An Apple Genius told me this one:

Make a mixture of dishwashing liquid (about a tablespoon) to four cups of water. Dampen (do not soak) a lint-free cloth in the mixture and wipe your screen. Use another dry lint-free cloth to finish the job.

Good luck!

something, something alcohol %70+ or higher, ideally %90 isatrophic? or something.

Buy a Micro fiber towel..the good ones used to detail cars. Dampen with water and clean.

"Charles said:
The official word on LCD cleaning in Apple manuals is to use a solution of diluted isopropyl alcohol, no more than a 50% solution. Usually the rubbing alcohol you buy at a drugstore that is either 90% or 98% pure but 98% is pretty hard to get (you don't need it anyway). I mix 1 part water and 1 part 90% isopropyl alcohol, which works out to... um.. something just under a 50% solution.
Be absolutely sure to use a very VERY soft cloth. I use a piece of soft flannel. Do NOT use paper towels or anything more abrasive than an old worn out cotton Tshirt. Absolutely do NOT use windex or anything with ammonia in it, it can etch the screen surface and can cause the plastic to go cloudy. You don't want that to happen!
BTW, there is a commercial cleaning solution called something like Klear-Screen, it's pretty expensive. It is merely a 50% solution of isopropyl alcohol and water. Just like I make, for a fraction of the cost."

there i got that from another site and made up the solution for myself it works like a charm, its basically the solutions they sell in the store but for alot cheaper

The official word on LCD cleaning in Apple manuals is to use a solution of diluted isopropyl alcohol, no more than a 50% solution.

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This is simply not true.

The Official Word from Apple is here:

MacBook - Care and Handling

Apple said:

Cleaning Your MacBook
Follow these general rules when cleaning the outside of your computer and its components:
Shut down your MacBook, detach the power adapter, and remove the battery.
Use a damp, soft, lint-free cloth to clean the computer’s exterior. Avoid getting moisture in any openings. Do not spray any type of liquid directly on the computer.
Don’t use aerosol sprays, solvents, or abrasives.
Cleaning Your MacBook Display
Follow these general rules when cleaning the screen.
Shut down your MacBook, detach the power adapter, and remove the battery.
Dampen a clean, soft, lint-free cloth or paper with water only and wipe the screen. Do not spray liquid directly on the screen.

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There is nothing there about using any mixture of alcohol or cleaners. In fact, the official Apple word says quite the contrary:
"Don’t use aerosol sprays, solvents, or abrasives."
'Dampen a clean, soft, lint-free cloth or paper with water only and wipe the screen."

btor72 said:

Besides the products they sell in the apple store is there a cheaper alternative to clean the screen and outer casing?

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I purchased several of the mico fiber clothes that they sell at Sun Glass Hut for my LCD TV and my Macbook. I have a large one at my desk and I carry a smaller one in my computer bag as well.

I get about 2-3 $20-$25 GCs in the mail from Sunglass Hut every year for Birthday's and Xmas and use them to buy these types of accessories for my computer.

Very good quality.

I am very wary of using anything that has chemicals or alcohol in it. I manage the service department of the company I work for and see LCDs here and there that are destroyed by some of these screen cleaners... even ones that were meant to be used for laptops! Some chemicals can eat through the coatings and any liquid could be dripped into the machine and short out a component (LCD, Inverter, etc)

Primarily I use a soft, clean tshirt material cloth (or cloth that won't lint too much or be too abrasive). If liquid is needed i use water that i mist onto a cloth and I'm really careful!

I've never had a need for soap, though