How to clean your digital camera

A good camera is a significant investment, both in terms of the cost, and in the time you’ll need to spend figuring out its intricacies and understanding how to best clean and maintain it. 

Cleaning such an intricate bit of kit is often a daunting prospect, and it can be tempting to put it off for as long as possible. However, it is actually a fairly simple process once you get to grips with things, and you only need a few items to get your camera shipshape. 

Check out our digital camera reviews to see which models came out on top in our tough test lab. 

Tools and accessories for cleaning cameras

You can get a lot of camera cleaning stuff together as a kit, but we’ve listed the individual bits you’ll need here:

• An air blower - these bulb or rocket-shaped handheld blowers are the best way to blow dust off parts of your camera. Make sure you opt for one with a one-way valve that prevents dust being drawn back into the blower. 
• A high-quality, soft-bristled brush - a camel hairbrush is a great option.
• A soft cloth - ideally a microfiber one. 
• Lens cleaning wipes or lens cleaning solution - if you have the above soft cloth, opt for either of these. Without a cloth, it’s probably best to go for the wipes. 

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 How to clean a camera lens

When you think about cleaning a camera, an image of someone diligently polishing a lens is probably what comes to mind. A good lens, properly maintained and looked after, can last well over a decade. 

A smudged or dusty camera lens is usually fairly obvious because it will result in photos with blurry spots, as if you’re looking out of a dirty window. If you’re unsure or want to check your lens for signs of dirt, set your camera to manual and turn the focus ring to the infinity symbol (∞). Set the highest possible aperture value, and the lowest possible ISO. Take a picture of a plain surface. When you look back at it, any dust should be easy to spot in the resulting image. 

Keep in mind that you shouldn’t clean your lens too frequently - only as and when it actually needs it. Too much cleaning can cause damage in the long run. 

Cleaning a lens is a simple process, and the key is to be gentle throughout, rather than scrubbing too rigorously. 

1. Aim your air blower at your lens (but be careful not to bump into it) and give it a good squeeze to blow dust off the lens’ surface. 
2. Use a soft-bristled brush to gently sweep away any additional debris. 
3. Use a lens cleaning wipe or soft cloth with a small amount of lens cleaning solution applied and wipe the lens in concentric circles to reduce streaking. 

What not to do

• Do not use compressed air instead of an air blower, as the high pressure is likely to damage the camera. If you’re really stuck, you can try blowing the lens with your mouth - although there’s a sizeable chance this is only going to further dirty your lens with specks of saliva. 
• Try and avoid using scraps of clothing to wipe the lens, or facial tissues. Both of these can be abrasive and scratch the lens.
• Don’t use any strong chemicals, such as acetone or window cleaners, to clean your camera. Sticking to dedicated lens cleaning solutions is your safest bet, but you could also use deionised water.  

How to clean a camera’s image sensor 

If you’ve still got dark spots in your images after cleaning your lens, then it’s probably down to dust on the image sensor. This is fairly inevitable - each time you change lenses it’s possible that dust will get in - so it’s good to learn how to clean it yourself. You can, of course, take it to a camera shop to be cleaned if you’re particularly anxious about causing any damage. 

Most modern cameras actually have an auto-clean or clean sensor option, which vibrates the sensor to shake the dust loose. If this doesn’t work, you’ll have to go in manually. 

1. Detach the lens from the camera body.
2. If you’ve got a DSLR rather than a mirrorless camera, you’ll need to push the mirror down or find the ‘lock mirror up’ option in the menu, which allows you to access the sensor.
3. Hold your camera upside down so that any dust or loose material will fall out. Use an air blower and blow from multiple angles to the sensor. 
4. Reattach the lens and try taking another photo to see if the issue is resolved.
5. If there are still marks, you’re going to need a specialist swab and solution designed specifically for image sensors. 

What not to do

The sensor is probably the most important and expensive part of your camera, so it should go without saying that you need to approach it carefully.

• You need to be really careful not to touch the image sensor with the tip of the blower.
• Avoid touching it with your fingers, too. Oil from your skin is very difficult to remove.
• Don’t attempt to clean the sensor outdoors, or in a dusty, dirty room - dust from the air will get in. 
• Don’t dilly dally - the longer the sensor is exposed, the more time there is for more dust to get into it. Be careful, but try to go through these steps fairly quickly. 

How to clean the camera body and LCD screen

The camera’s body and LCD display screen are much less of a pressing concern than the lens and sensor, but they’re still good to keep on top of and maintain. 

Thankfully, you don’t need any materials you wouldn’t already have from cleaning the lens.

1. Use the blower to remove loose sand and dust from the cracks and crevices on the camera – for example, around buttons and dials, as well as the connection ports, card bay and battery compartments. 
2. Use a brush to remove any extra or more stubborn dust.
3. Wipe the camera body with a slightly dampened cloth.
4. Rinse the cloth and re-wet it, and give the LCD screen a wipe. Don’t use solvents or other cleaning products as these can cause the LCD screen coating to peel off. 

What not to do

Despite claims of how weatherproof your camera may be, you should never submerge it in water to clean it, or apply water directly. Being weather-sealed or weatherproof may help it stand up to rain or snow, but there’s no way it’d survive being dunked in the bathroom sink. 

You should also avoid using any rough cloths, such as a kitchen cloth, as they can be abrasive and cause scratches. You should also steer clear of any household cleaning products, like bleach, as the harsh chemicals can do more harm than good. 

How to protect your camera 

It’s inevitable that you’ll have to clean your camera every once in a while, but there are steps you can take to try and minimise the dust and dirt its various components might accrue. 

• Invest in a good camera bag to protect your camera from scratches and bumps when you’re on the move. Some are also waterproof, which is great to protect your camera in unexpected weather conditions. 
• On a similar note, make sure you go for a good camera strap - you want to be confident that your camera isn’t ever going to fly off your neck. 
• When shooting outdoors on a windy day, try swapping lenses underneath your jacket or in a bag. This may be a bit fiddly, but it’s sure to be less work than clearing out a load of dust! 
• If your camera gets wet, let it dry out as much as possible before storing it away. Cameras can be prone to fungal growth, which is a real nightmare to clean out. You can try storing your camera with silica gel packs to absorb moisture. 
• Try using UV filters for your lenses. Although modern cameras aren’t sensitive to UV rays in the same way old film cameras were, a UV filter is a good way to protect the lens from scratches, dust, sand and any other small debris.