Maintaining Smart Home Touchscreens and Keypads

This Avidia Care Guide Walks You Through How to Keep Controls Pristine

Summary: Your smart home interfaces are the primary touchpoints for your home automation system. To ensure these capacitive layers remain responsive and maintain their original finish, they require a specific maintenance routine. This guide outlines Avidia-approved methods for cleaning Lutron keypads and high-end touchscreens from Crestron, Savant, and Josh without risking damage to the hardware or engraved icons.

Smart home technology should enhance your home’s aesthetic. However, fingerprints, dust, and oils are an inevitable result of daily use. While standard glass cleaners are common in household cleaning, their harsh chemical compositions can permanently degrade the specialized coatings of premium interfaces. Keep reading below for tips on cleaning your control interfaces safely for long-term performance.

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How to Safely Clean Lutron Keypads

Lutron keypads are engineered with custom plastics and metal finishes that are susceptible to chemical etching when treated with the wrong solvents.

• Routine Cleaning: Use a clean, lint-free cloth dampened with a mild soap-and-water solution. Gently wipe the surface to remove oils and dust, then dry immediately with a separate soft cloth.
• Disinfecting: To sanitize high-traffic keypads, Lutron recommends using a hydrogen-peroxide-based disinfectant. Apply the solution to the cloth—never directly to the keypad—and wipe gently.
• Prohibited Agents: Avoid bleach and alcohol-based cleaners on Lutron hardware, as these can yellow the plastics or cause laser-engraved icons to fade.

Safe Cleaning Tips for Smart Home Touchscreens

The glass on most touchscreens features a capacitive layer that detects light contact. Ammonia-based cleaners act as a solvent that can cloud the screen or interfere with touch sensitivity. Power the screen down or activate cleaning mode to avoid unintended commands during the process. 

• Crestron Guidance: Crestron recommends a 70% isopropyl alcohol solution. Dampen the microfiber cloth, but not so much that it drips. Wipe the exposed surfaces gently, keeping moisture away from any openings or edges where liquid could seep into the internal electronics.
• Savant, Control4, Josh.ai: Clean only with a dry, lint-free microfiber cloth. If needed, put a small amount of cleaner on the cloth, not on the screen. Dry immediately.

The Avidia-Approved Maintenance Routine

To maintain the integrity of your technology, follow this four-step professional routine:

1. Dry Dust First: Use a clean, dry microfiber cloth to remove loose particles. This prevents micro-scratches that occur when dust is rubbed into the screen with a damp cloth.
2. Mist the Cloth, Not the Tech: Never spray liquid directly onto a unit. Capillary action can pull liquid behind the bezel, leading to short circuits.
3. One-Directional Pass: Wipe gently in a single direction rather than in circles. This ensures oils are removed rather than redistributed.
4. Immediate Dry: Follow the damp pass immediately with a second dry microfiber cloth to prevent streaks or water spots.

Prohibited Materials

To prevent long-term degradation of your hardware, be sure to tell your cleaning service (or remind your family) to avoid the following:

• Ammonia and Bleach: These chemicals strip the anti-glare and oil-repellent coatings.
• Paper Towels: These fibers are abrasive and can leave microscopic scratches on plastic keypads.
• Abrasive Pads: Never use scrubbing sponges or chemical erasers.

Regular maintenance and cleaning of your most visible technology continues to reflect the quality of your lifestyle. 

If you have questions about a specific model or custom finish in your home, Avidia is always here to assist. Contact our team with any questions you have!