The ever-popular cleaner, “DarkBath,” can also claim to do some significant damage to televisions. So before you pull out that next clean broom, a new study from the Rutgers School of Electrical and Computer Engineering suggests you change that habit and buy a power strip instead.
You should also just zip up your tube TV and store it away from the dusting room— because the vacuum’s the new favorite killer of those white bulbs. The study showed the amount of light and fan interference was about the same between every appliance the researchers came across, but TV would get the axe because its fans and illumination source added too much glare and accumulated dust.
And since TV’s bulbs don’t last long— say, the average is about a decade— there’s another advantage in buying a new one.
The key is to pick the power strip that’s specifically calibrated to work with those types of bulbs, says professor Michael Howorth. He also recommends the vacuum and fans get replaced— “I’m going to throw out my vacuum, don’t you think?”— but suggests you use a dust mop first. And avoid any serial cleaning cycles: A cleaning cycle should last two to four hours.
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