How to clean an Echo Show screen

Wondering what the best way to clean your Echo Show screen is? You might be worried about damaging the display or even the fabric in the process, but there are ways to bring your tech back to new. 

Here's how to wipe away smudges, give it a good clean, and let your Echo Show's screen shine.

How to clean the screen

Sadly, asking your Echo Show to clean itself isn’t one of those things you can ask Alexa. But getting your screen back to its shining glory doesn’t take much more effort.

To clean the screen of an Echo Show screen, follow these steps:

1. Power off the Echo Show

Before cleaning the screen, it's a good idea to turn off the device to avoid accidental inputs.

You can either say "Alexa, turn off" or press and hold the microphone/camera button on top of the device for a few seconds until the screen goes blank.

If you want to be extra safe, you can also unplug it.

2. Choose a cleaning solution

Advice directly from Amazon recommends using a damp cloth and a touch of rubbing alcohol. You can also use a screen cleaning solution specifically designed for electronics.

Other things we used successfully to clean our Echo Show include a special glass cleaning cloth with just water and spectacle wipes. Both have given us great results.

Avoid using harsh chemicals, abrasive cleaners, or spraying liquid directly onto the screen.

3. Dampen a microfibre cloth

Moisten a microfibre cloth with the cleaning solution. Make sure the cloth is not dripping wet but only damp. Microfibre cloths are ideal for cleaning screens as they are soft and don’t scratch the surface.

4. Gently wipe the screen

Use the damp cloth to gently wipe the screen in a circular motion. Start from one side and work your way to the other, ensuring you cover the entire screen.

Apply light pressure but avoid pressing too hard, as excessive pressure can damage the screen.

5. Dry the screen

After cleaning, use a dry microfibre cloth or a lint-free cloth to remove any moisture from the screen.

Again, use gentle, circular motions to ensure the screen is completely dry.

Can I clean the fabric?

While cleaning the screen is relatively straightforward, maintaining the rest of it can be trickier. This is because there are elements covered in fabric.

While this looks lovely new out of the box, over time, it can pick up stains, dust and dirt.

Our biggest word of warning here, is to be careful. Don’t go drenching the fabric to remove stains as this will only damage your smart display.

To get rid of any excess dust, we’ve found a toothbrush is your friend here. Give it a gentle scrub over with a dry toothpaste. This helps get into the mesh of the fabric, where ordinary dusters or cloths won’t.

We’ve also used a vacuum with a crevice attachment, set on low, after a particularly bad cereal spill. As long as you keep the suction low it will prevent any damage to your machine.

Some types of vacuum cleaners also come with keyboard or dusting attachments that could work even better.

Getting rid of stains

Most of the Echo Shows available come in darker colours, but if you do have the white version, it can pick up fingerprints, dirt and even the odd bit of spilled red wine (or is that just us?).

You can try a damp microfibre cloth rubbed gently over the fabric, but our favourite thing to use is a Flash eraser (Wilko, RRP £1.99).

Wet the eraser, rinse it out so it’s just damp and gently go over the stain. This method even got that spilt red wine out of our speaker!

Shop Echo Show smart displays

Amazon has a range of Echo Show smart displays, from the largest, Echo Show 15 down to the pint-sized Echo Show 5.

• Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023, RRP £89.99)
• Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen, 2023, RRP £149.99)
• Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen, 2023, RRP £259.99)
• Echo Show 15 (3rd Gen, 2023, RRP £279.99)