It can happen quickly: guests who want to touch the screen, because it looks so real. Kids playing or someone tripping and spoiling their drink on your projection screen.
The result: unsightly stains that are visible when you’re watching a movie.
Luckily, most stains can be taken care of by using the right cleaning liquid, the right tools and the right method. Make sure though that you don’t start cleaning before you have read all 3 parts!
1. The right cleaning liquid
Stay away from aggressive cleaning liquids. That’s important, because they likely will do more harm than good. The wrong combination of cleaning liquid and screen material might even lead to your fabric dissolving altogether.
A mild water and soap solution is your best option. Not only is it easy to make, you don’t need to spend money to make it either. The household stuff in your cupboard will do fine.
Just put some liquid soap in the water and mix it. That’s it.
2. The right tools
You need something to clean the stains with and that can be either a piece of cloth or a brush.
Most stains will come off easily, which is why in most cases a piece of cloth will be fine. Make sure the cloth is free of dirt and is white (or doesn’t release any color when wet or pur under pressure). A (kitchen) towel that’s been washed a few times is a great option if you don’t have a white piece of cloth.
If a towel doesn’t work, you might want to try a brush. Again, make sure it’s clean, so you don’t make the stains any worse. A dishwashing brush is a great option (and a cheap one, even if you don’t have one and need to buy it)
3. The right method.
The right cleaning method is paramount, as it prevents you from going from solving one problem, only to find another – even worse one.
That’s because projection screens need to be wrinkle-free. And all that rubbing and brushing will cause just that.
So you need to make sure there’s a supportive surface behind the screen. This surface should be much bigger than the area you need to clean (so you can move freely) and it should be perfectly flat, without any structure. The structure of the supportive surface will otherwise be imprinted in the fabric, something that you can’t undo.
The best thing would be to take the screen down, because that makes finding a supportive structure easier (the floor or a table would come to mind).
That’s not always an option, but you can ask your partner or a friend to hold the supportive surface behind the screen. That gives you both hands to use and the other person can give you enough counter pressure.
Conclusion
Stains can be a nightmare, but cleaning them incorrectly will make the situation worse. It’s OK to be tough on the fabric, as long as it’s well supported, the cleaning liquid is not aggressive and the cleaning tools are effective but not damaging.
It’s best to keep your screen safe from stains, so roll it up when not in use.