vinger on lcd displays made in china

Remember when your LCD or OLED display had that brand-new, fresh-out-of-the-box shine, feel and look? You are in the right place if your display is now due for deep cleaning.

Things to consider before cleaning or handling an electronic displayAvoid static by grounding your body and following proper ESD-safe handling techniques.

Although distilled water is recommended for wiping the display glass, you can use a cleanser developed explicitly for cleaning displays. However, do not spray it directly onto the display. Spray a tiny amount of the cleaner onto a microfiber cloth first to avoid getting any cleaning solution inside the display.Never spray any liquids directly onto the display.A spray is too hard to control and confine. The fluids can seep into the other display layers or surrounding components and cause irreversible liquid damage.

Only use a microfiber cloth and don"t use chemicals to clean a resistive touchscreen.Disconnect the display from the power supply and remove any screen protectors or liners.

Cleaning soldering residue on LCD with Isopropyl alcohol and a Q-Tip.Cleaning residue around soldering elements is not necessary if Newhaven Display performed the soldering.

Cleaning your electronic display is a simple task. However, it is essential to consider these steps to handle and clean it properly. You should now have a better understanding of what cleaning products are safe to use, how to clean the display screen glass, how to clean touchscreens and how to clean soldering residue.

Cleaning your LCD computer screen is not quite as straightforward as cleaning a CRT computer screen. LCD screens are sensitive, and it is easier for them to become scratched or damaged. You can still clean your LCD computer screen, but you must be very careful.

Turn off your LCD computer screen on your monitor prior to cleaning. This enables you to see the areas that need to be cleaned, such as smudges and fingerprints.

It is important the you do not use any old cloth or paper product to clean your LCD screen. A microfiber cloth is less likely to scratch, or otherwise damage your screen.

When using the microfiber cloth to clean the screen, apply light pressure to remove dust, oil and other unwanted marks. Avoid using extra pressure on resistant areas.

If a dry microfiber cloth does not get the LCD screen totally clean, dampen the cloth with distilled or deionized water. If even that does not provide satisfactory results, you can combine equal amounts of white vinegar and distilled or deionized water, and use that solution for cleaning the LCD monitor. Alternatively, you can add a small amount of isopropyl alcohol to distilled water to help clean the LCD screen.

Paper towels, toilet paper, tissue paper and newspaper can scratch your LCD monitor, so never use them for cleaning it. Rely on a microfiber cloth instead.

Never use cleaning products that contain ammonia, ethyl alcohol, acetone, toluene, ethyl acid or methyl chloride. These chemicals can cause the screen to yellow, become brittle or even crack.

If a cleaning solution is sprayed onto the LCD screen, it is likely to run down the screen and cause damage. Always apply any water or cleaner to the microfiber cloth, and use the dampened cloth to clean the monitor.

Cleaning your LCD computer screen takes just a few minutes. All you need is a microfiber cloth, perhaps some distilled or deionized water, a bit of vinegar and a gentle touch.

Don"t make the mistake of thinking that LCD screens work like your nifty new iPad. In general, touching should be off limits because pressing too hard on the screen can actually break or crack pixels. So the first rule to cleaning an LCD screen is don"t do it unless you have to (i.e. unless it"s actually dirty).

Many retailers offer special cleaning solutions for LCD screens, but the truth is that most of these are made up primarily of water. So, if you don"t want to take the time to go buy a cleaner or you want to save the money (maybe to put toward that "What Not to Wear" dress), you can just make your own LCD cleaner by mixing water with some vinegar or isopropyl alcohol -- the solution should be no more than 50/50.

You could even start with plain water and see if you need the vinegar or alcohol, which will come in handy when you"re trying to wipe away greasy fingerprints. Some people recommend only using distilled water, but regular water works fine, according to Dave Chipman from Sharp.

Unless you want to end up with a melted, discolored, hazy or scratched LCD screen, steer clear of all spray cleaners. In particular, don"t use any solvent cleaners that include acetone, ethyl alcohol, ethyl acid, ammonia or methyl chloride. You also want to avoid using any materials that could potentially scratch the screen"s delicate surface. Opt for a soft, clean, cotton cloth instead of wood-based products like paper towels and tissues. Chipman suggests using a microfiber cloth for best results.

If you"re lucky enough to have a service come in and do your cleaning for you, make sure they don"t inadvertently ruin your television or monitor by trying to clean it with something like glass cleaner. You should either take the time to explain -- and maybe even demonstrate -- how you want your LCD screen cleaned or just ask your cleaner to leave this particular job for you.

I’ve used “Glass Plus” on my laptop and my 19″ LCD for about four years now. I also use the brown paper towels that are on a roll; they are used in the dispensers in bathrooms. I get the end of the roll before it is discarded.

Sorry all, but I have one related question rater than a tip. I am interested in advice on how to clean the “solid” stuff from the LCD screen. You see, it’s that during all these years, there were many “little dots” of such stuff (like small coagulated pieces of coffee etc.) that I accidentally spilled or whatever, and now they’re spreading all over my screen.

I use terry cloth dust cloths that are like magnets for dust and dirt. They are reusable and environmentally smart. I have seen them in stores, but bought mine from a catalog. You can’t go wrong.

I apologize for not having a tip, rather I do have a question. I had a LCD TV which used to look all nice and perfect. All of the sudden a big yellow stain appeared on it. I came to find out that my mother came to visit, she decided to help out with the cleaning and she applied Windex to my TV. Ever since, we haven’t been able to remove this stain. Does someone know if there is a way to remove this stain? Or am I stuck with it forever?

There don’t seem to be any reports of success for resolving this issue, so if you try any of these ideas, please let us know how it goes! Here are a few ideas that might work:

3) Put a couple drops of cooking oil on a soft cloth and polish the area. Add more oil to the cloth as needed. Any oil should be fine – olive, coconut, canola, etc.

4) This idea seems promising: wipe the area with an acrylic cleaner, such as Peek polish. If the coating on the screen has been damaged, removing the coating should resolve the issue, which is why this might work. A new anti-glare coating can be applied afterward.

Of course, if you can’t fix the problem, you might be able to replace just the screen. It’s not a cheap option, but probably better than replacing the whole device. Good luck!

Someone at Target told me that a little drop of Dawn dish soap and water works great. I’ve been cleaning my LCD TV that way for a while now and it looks and works great.

I’m got a problem that few, if any, others will have encountered: in a modern museum setting, we have several large LCD monitors that are routinely exposed to small quantities of water mist (from a simulated flash flood exhibit). During design, the quantities of water were deemed insignificant, but over time we’ve found the build-up of mineral deposits (“hard water stains”) in the form of droplets on the screens has become a problem. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’m reluctant to try any of the acidic, off-the-shelf hard water stain removers that you might use in your shower, but I’m open to any suggestions.

Manufacturers like Apple recommend cleaning with a soft cloth and a solution of water and no more than 50% isopropyl alcohol. I personally clean my screen with a microfiber cloth and water. Microfiber cloths are commonly sold as eyeglass cleaners, it is designed to wipe up dust and dirt. With the right cloth, you only need water.

I recently purchased a wide-screen LCD TV and was concerned about what to clean the screen with. I spent hours Googling the topic and here is a synopsis of what I found:

Another pretty good product to clean LCD screens with is a product called Clearview. It is an isopropyl alcohol based product which contains no ammonia. I tried it on my 40 inch LCD TV and it did a nice job on the screen.

Vinegar is not good for your LCD. I buy these little wipes at Wal-Mart in the electronics section. It is an alcohol solution in an individually wrapped packet. They work well and you get like 20 or 30 for $1.97 best of all they are good to leave in your laptop bag for on the go cleaning since they are individually packaged.

If its a larger amount of paint, you may have to buy a new LCD as removing a large amount of dried paint physically will damage the screen, and chemicals that dissolve the paint will probably melt everything, including the screen.

I was carrying my 32″ TV down to the basement and slipped on the stairs. The TV dragged across the white stair rail and left 2 large white paint marks on the LCD screen. I found your tip, tried the vinegar (it worked somewhat). I then tried the alcohol, in the mixture you stated. The alcohol worked great and left no marks whatsoever. You could never tell it happened. Thank you very much!!!

First, wipe with a damp cloth that has just a drop of Dawn on it, follow with a cloth with very little isopropyl alcohol (gets any fingerprints and smudges real good), and then follow with a dampened cloth of just water. Cloths I used were just cotton pillowcases.

Well, I’ve read every comment on here; some say don’t use vinegar or microfiber cloths, then some say DO. Well, I use the microfiber on my TV for around 2 years now and my TV is FINE! So what’s the deal? I really don’t understand why one thing says do this and the other says something different, which is RIGHT?

Why is there all this confusion???? I’ve been using wipes sold at Walmart that are specifically made to clean LCD screens and they’ve always worked great!!!

God, just spend a couple bucks for these. A lot of stores sell LCD wipes. I don’t understand why anyone would claim they damage your screen as they do not!! However-for badly spotted screens (made by soft drinks, etc), one might want to use something a bit more major. But for general cleaning, use the wipes.

I don’t recommend Monster cleaner like someone did; that stuff streaks to all heck and takes forever to come out. I made the mistake of using a damp paper cloth and though luckily, I haven’t scratched the TV screen at all, it left a little bit of white – what I’m assuming are paper towel bits – embedded into my screen. I’ve tried washing them out gently and rubbing them out and whatnot, but they just aren’t coming off. Any suggestions?

This is often the case with the internet and open forums like this. You have to remember that by posting or reading a forum like this, you are posting and reading to/from all who are doing the same thing. Not everyone who posts an answer will be an expert. So the one that is “RIGHT” is the one you think is “RIGHT” and that’s the problem; you have to have know the answer to know which one is “RIGHT,” otherwise it’s take your pick and hope the one you pick is OK. But I would always go with some form of logic and ask:

What is in most commercial cleaning LCD products? Answer: “NOT vinegar.” So most problems on the posts saying, “NOT vinegar,” are right. That said, if the screen is glass, then vinegar is good.

I did have to buy a General Electric LCD cleaner that came with a liquid solution and just applied the spray onto a special fiber that the cleaner had, and just wiped my 24″ LCD screen with circular motions all around the monitor. It looks just as if it were new, not even when sunlight hit the monitor did I ever see a stain or anything like it.

I just used Windex, sprayed on a paper towel, and now have swirls and smears on my screen. Is it okay to use the LCD wipes (i.e., will it resolve the problem)?

I just saw a video regarding this topic on YouTube. The person in the video advises isopropyl alcohol (90%) + distilled water (10%) mixture coupled with a sprayer and a cleaning cloth that is used for cleaning camera lenses.Bad idea. camera lenses are made of glass while LCD screens are plastic and need something not so strong.

I tried monster cleaner and it made a mess, taking three months to get the streaking mess off my TV. Windex doesn’t work; the best bet is distilled water and a microfiber towel. Monster is a rip-off big time, they changed it so it is no longer a good product.

Use a small bowl and put a drop of Dawn in it. Add warm water to create foam. Then, dip your microfiber cloth or what you use to clean your screen. Gently wipe, then take another damp rag to rinse it with just plain water, and dry. You have a clean screen. This is what Sony told me to do and it works. I have had no issues in three years of using this method.

I just sprayed antibacterial Pledge on my Sanyo LCD to dust it and the color in my tv is basically all green. I didn’t know there was a certain way to clean these TVs. Will the color go back to normal? What do I do?

Vinegar is an acid!! How can the internet be full of dumb people telling others to do this. If you clean your screens with vinegar, even if you dilute it, you will damage it in the long run. If you don’t have a product made for it, just use water.

Take a clean bowl. Put some vinegar in it. Add a touch, I mean one single drop, of regular Dawn in it. Use a good paper towel (not the scratchy brown ones) and use it on LCD. This will clean and smudges, dirt and most particles. Might have to give it a few wipes. Always dry ASAP after you use this method other wise it leave some streaks. As long as you clean and dry ASAP it will get your screen crystal clear.

Yes, LCD screens for computers or TVs are usually replaceable. There are also some easy methods you can use to try to fix the scratch yourself, such as with a pencil eraser, Vasaline, or a scratch repair kit.

I’m trying to read everything on this page. But, I cannot get the specific answer that I want. Sorry, but I do have a question and I want a relevant answer. The LCD on my laptop has a stain from hair dye, and I cannot remove it by using alcohol. I need help; any suggestions?

What you need to do is determine what products can be used to remove hair dye, then determine which of those products are safe to use on an LCD screen. Here is an article that lists some products that can remove hair dye stains from some surfaces: How to Remove Hair Dye from Towels. Look to see which of the ingredients you have, then search online to see if they are safe to use on an LCD screen.

I want everyone to know that vinegar on a LCD TV screen is an extremely bad idea as it will eventually cause a yellowish stain on the screen and it won’t come off, so FYI, never use vinegar on a LCD T.V screen. Use a glasses cleaner, or if you don’t have any, distilled water works too; just make sure you use the microfiber cloth that should come with the TV as it came with mine, and it works great on my screen, but use it only n the screen as using it on household appliances might ruin it and washing it might ruin it as well.

Well, I have a question about the caller ID window on my new Panasonic phone. I made a mistake and got a few drops of liniment and Cutter insect repellent on the clear caller ID window. Now, spots are on the front of it and nothing removes it. Does anyone have any idea how I can remove those spots? I am most appreciative of any help you may offer. Thanks.

One of today’s modern technological wonders is the flat-panel liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, which is the key component we find inside televisions, computer monitors, smartphones, and an ever-proliferating range of gadgets that display information electronically.What most people don’t realize is how complex and sophisticated the manufacturing process is. The entire world’s supply is made within two time zones in East Asia. Unless, of course, the factory proposed by Foxconn for Wisconsin actually gets built.

Last week I had the opportunity to tour BOE Technology Group’s Gen 10.5 factory in Hefei, the capital of China’s Anhui Province.This was the third factory, or “fab” that Beijing-based BOE built in Hefei alone, and in terms of capability, it is now the most advanced in the world.BOE has a total of 12 fabs in Beijing, Chongqing, and several other major cities across China; this particular factory was named Fab 9.

Liquid crystal display (LCD) screens are manufactured by assembling a sandwich of two thin sheets of glass.On one of the sheets are transistor “cells” formed by first depositing a layer of indium tin oxide (ITO), an unusual metal alloy that you can actually see through.That’s how you can get electrical signals to the middle of a screen.Then you deposit a layer of silicon, followed by a process that builds millions of precisely shaped transistor parts.This patterning step is repeated to build up tiny little cells, one for each dot (known as a pixel) on the screen.Each step has to be precisely aligned to the previous one within a few microns.Remember, the average human hair is 40 microns in diameter.

On the other sheet of glass, you make an array of millions of red, green, and blue dots in a black matrix, called a color filter array (CFA).This is how you produce the colors when you shine light through it.Then you drop tiny amounts of liquid crystal material into the cells on the first sheet and glue the two sheets together.You have to align the two sheets so the colored dots sit right on top of the cells, and you can’t be off by more than a few microns in each direction anywhere on the sheet.The sandwich is next covered with special sheets of polarizing film, and the sheets are cut into individual “panels” – a term that is used to describe the subassembly that actually goes into a TV.

For the sake of efficiency, you would like to make as many panels on a sheet as possible, within the practical limitations of how big a sheet you can handle at a time.The first modern LCD Fabs built in the early 1990s made sheets the size of a single notebook computer screen, and the size grew over time. A Gen 5 sheet, from around 2003, is 1100 x 1300 mm, while a Gen 10.5 sheet is 2940 x 3370 mm (9.6 x 11 ft).The sheets of glass are only 0.5 - 0.7 mm thick or sometimes even thinner, so as you can imagine they are extremely fragile and can really only be handled by robots.The Hefei Gen 10.5 fab is designed to produce the panels for either eight 65 inch or six 75 inch TVs on a single mother glass.If you wanted to make 110 inch TVs, you could make two of them at a time.

The fab is enormous, 1.3 km from one end to the other, divided into three large buildings connected by bridges.LCD fabs are multi-story affairs.The main equipment floor is sandwiched between a ground floor that is filled with chemical pipelines, power distribution, and air handling equipment, and a third floor that also has a lot of air handling and other mechanical equipment.The main equipment floor has to provide a very stable environment with no vibrations, so an LCD fab typically uses far more structural steel in its construction than a typical skyscraper.I visited a Gen 5 fab in Taiwan in 2003, and the plant manager there told me they used three times as much structural steel as Taipei 101, which was the world’s tallest building from 2004- 2010.Since the equipment floor is usually one or two stories up, there are large loading docks on the outside of the building.When they bring the manufacturing equipment in, they load it onto a platform and hoist it with a crane on the outside of the building.That’s one way to recognize an LCD fab from the outside – loading docks on high floors that just open to the outdoors.

LCD fabs have to maintain strict standards of cleanliness inside.Any dust particles in the air could cause defects in the finished displays – tiny dark spots or uneven intensities on your screen.That means the air is passed through elaborate filtration systems and pushed downwards from the ceiling constantly.Workers have to wear special clean room protective clothing and scrub before entering to minimize dust particles or other contamination.People are the largest source of particles, from shedding dead skin cells, dust from cosmetic powders, or smoke particles exhaled from the lungs of workers who smoke.Clean rooms are rated by the number of particles per cubic meter of air.A class 100 cleanroom has less than 100 particles less than 0.3 microns in diameter per cubic meter of air, Class 10 has less than 10 particles, and so on. Fab 9 has hundeds of thousands of square meters of Class 100 cleanroom, and many critical areas like photolithography are Class 10.In comparison, the air in Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA is roughly Class 8,000,000, and probably gets substantially worse when an MBTA bus passes through.

Since most display manufacturing has to be done in a cleanroom and handling the glass requires such precision, the factory is heavily automated.As you watch the glass come in, it is placed into giant cassettes by robot handlers, and the cassettes are moved around throughout the factory.At each step, robots lift a piece of glass out of the cassette, and position it for the processing machines.Some of the machines, like the ones that deposit silicon or ITO, orient the glass vertically, and put them inside an enormous vacuum chamber where all the air is first pumped out before they can go to work.And then they somehow manage to deposit micrometer thin layers that are extremely uniform.It is a miracle that any of this stuff actually works.

It obviously costs a lot to equip and run such a fab.Including all of the specialized production tools, press reports say BOE spent RMB 46 billion (US$6.95 billion). Even though you don’t see a lot of people on the floor, it takes thousands of engineers to keep the place running.

The Hefei Gen 10.5 is one of the most sophisticated manufacturing plants in the world.On opening day for the fab, BOE shipped panels to Sony, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Vizio, and Haier.So if you have a new 65 or 75-inch TV, there is some chance the LCD panel came from here.

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When it comes to cleaning, flat-screen TVs and LCD screens require special care and a gentle touch. With the wrong technique, you can easily scratch the screen or damage the surface"s antiglare coating. Even rubbing too hard can cause pixels (the tiny dots that compose images on computer monitors and TV screens) to burn out and stop working permanently. Most household cleaning products are too harsh to use on electronic devices with LCD or OLED screens, so choose your TV cleaning strategy carefully. These tips on how to clean a TV screen will help protect your device while ridding it of dust, smudges, fingerprints, and streaks.

To avoid damage to your TV while cleaning, only use gentle products. Never wipe the screen with paper towels, abrasive sponges, or coarsely woven rags, which can cause scratches. Instead, use high-quality, finely woven microfiber cloths to clean TV screens, recommends cleaning expert Leslie Reichert.

You should also avoid cleaning products that contain alcohol or ammonia. These types of cleaners can remove antiglare coatings and cause images to become cloudy or distorted. A simple swipe with a microfiber cloth ($9 for 5, Amazon) is typically all that"s needed to remove dust and other debris from the screen"s surface. When more than a light dusting is required, however, use the guidelines below for the best way to clean a TV.

Practice preventative measures so you won"t have to clean TV screens often. Keep food, drinks, and kids away from TV and computer screens to eradicate risks of messy splatters and fingerprint smudges. During your weekly house cleaning, lightly dust the screens with a microfiber cloth to prevent dust buildup.

Soap scum is a film or residue caused by calcium, other minerals, and soap. It is often found in tubs, sinks, and shower rooms. Similarly, limescale is a calcium deposit caused by evaporated hard water and is often found in teakettles, coffeepots, faucets, and bathtubs. A mixture of All-Purpose Bleach Alternative and Scented Vinegar is most effective for removing the buildup of both soap scum and limescale. Please note that vinegar cannot be used on marble or limestone surfaces.

6. Prepared dish can be left in clay pot at room temperature and re-boil every week for ginger-vinegar concoction and every 3 days for ginger-vinegar-pig-feet concoction to prevent spoiling.

3. Add prepared ginger to vinegar in pot, bring to boil, then simmer for about 2 hrs until vinegar is thoroughly seeped into ginger. Ginger-vinegar concoction can be stored in clay pot at room temperature for weeks with weekly boiling.

6. Add prepared pig feet to ginger-vinegar concoction, bring to boiling then medium low heat for 1/2 hour. Concoction of ginger-vinegar-pig feet can be kept in room temperature with boiling every 3 days. Occasional reboiling will enhance flavor. Or, the concoction can be kept in refrigerator.

This dish, in a most economical way, provides most of the balanced nutrition needed by a postpartum woman. Below are some benefits of each ingredient:

1. If weight gain is a concern, skim off the oil that floats on top of the dish and avoid eating the fatty part of the pig feet, especially its skin.

2. If the dish is too spicy, reduce the ginger, because, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine principles, the ginger may have too much heat properties for one’s body.

The postpartum experience of early Chinese-American new mothers has not been well documented in any historical research although they have been delivering babies in the United States since the 1850"s. By following the U.S. immigration policy changes one can deduct some of the circumstances of the birth experience. However, much is unknown.

Chinese women who immigrated to the U.S. during this early period were mainly wives of their merchant class husbands. (Few working class men would have the financial means to bring a wife over.) This first generation of women to arrive would not have the benefit of having their mothers or older relatives to help out during the prenatal, the delivery and the postpartum periods. All births during this period of time would be home births. New mothers would most likely follow Chinese postpartum traditions. Few Chinese women at this time would be literate enough to write letters, journals or diaries. There were rare records of such writings to have survived. (To the reader: do you have family stories that may shed light on the postpartum experience of this period of time? Please contact us: m2mpostpartum@gmail.com. We would like to know if there were midwives in the Chinese American community in the 1800"s.)

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 prevented the legal immigration of Chinese workers into the U.S. There would be few Chinese women entering the U.S. at that time except as wives of merchants. They would not have their mothers here in the U.S. There may be a very small number of older Chinese American women who had been in the US for a few decades longer and who could have provided support to the younger women. All births would be home births with some births attended by Caucasian midwives. Chinese Hospital in San Francisco began operation in 1899 to provide much needed medical services to the Chinese American community which was barred from using other hospitals in the City. (When did Chinese Hospital begin to have an obstetric ward? Were there Chinese midwives in the community? Was their service paid? How was Chinese postpartum traditions passed on from mothers to daughters?)

Given the continuation of the Chinese Exclusion Act, there were few new female Chinese immigrants. Most of the immigrants that came into the U.S. were "paper sons" - people who claimed to be the son of a U.S. citizen to bypass the Exclusion Act. This period of time saw a new breed of Chinese American women - they were born in the U.S., raised in the U.S. and educated in the U.S. They spoke English and saw themselves as American. The fact that they were born in the U.S. meant that their mother would already be here. The new mothers of this era would have the help of their mother. (How did the new mothers of this era view Chinese postpartum traditions? Which traditional practices were observed? Did US-born new mothers of this era believe in Chinese postpartum traditions?)

More information was known about this period than the earlier time due to the living memories of women in their 80"s and 90"s. We were incredibly fortunate to have interviewed three women who were able to share their stories. Mrs. Dere and Mrs. Louie’s stories were two sides of the same coin. Mrs. Emma Woo Louie worked as the registered nurse in the maternity ward at Chinese Hospital in 1948. Mrs. Dere gave birth at this hospital in the same year. Mrs. Chan’s story gave details of life in a small town in the Sacramento Delta.

From these three interviews, one can see the transition and the beginning of the disintegration of the traditional mother-to-daughter transmission of postpartum traditions.

Mrs Emma Woo Louie contacted M2M through email when she received a flyer sent out by the Chinese Historical Society of America seeking Chinese-American women in their 80’s and 90’s for their recollection of postpartum experience. What she was about to share with us was more than a personal story but a slice of history of Chinese Hospital in San Francisco. She was a registered nurse in the maternity ward at the Hospital in 1948.

Chinese Hospital (http://www.chinesehospital-sf.org/history) was built entirely through community efforts in 1899. In the 1800’s and into the 1900’s, Chinese-Americans were barred from using other hospitals in the City. To meet the medical needs of the community, the family associations banded together and raised the funds necessary to build a hospital in San Francisco Chinatown.

Mrs. Emma Woo Louie was born at home in Seattle in 1926. Her father was from Saichaak, Toishan (台山) and her mother was born in Guangzhou (廣州) in a family of Manchurian origin. Toishan was one of the main counties in Southern China from which the Chinese international diaspora began. Most of the Chinese Americans (living in the U.S. prior to the 1970’s) as well as Chinese-Cubans and Chinese-Peruvians could trace their ancestral roots to this county. Emma’s maiden name was Woo (胡) and her married name was Louie (雷).

When Mrs. Louie gave birth to her first child in 1949, her mother probably had postpartum dishes made for her. At that time, she did not recall having seen any postpartum recipe written down. She remembered the first Chinese cooking class she attended when she was newly married. It was at the Chinese YWCA in San Francisco and the teacher gave the class some recipes in which the ingredients were listed according to price, not by amounts. For example, a recipe would call for ten cents of onion, fifty cents of pork, etc. This made the recipes obsolete later on.

Decades later, Emma did cook the pig feet in vinegar (猪脚姜醋) postpartum dish for her daughter and a daughter-in-law when they gave birth in the late 1980s. She obtained the pig feet recipe from the 1970 Los Angeles Chinese Women"s Club cook book, the Gourmet Celestial. Recipes in this cookbook were collected by members of the women"s club. The book was edited by Mrs. Tyrus Wong whosehusband was the famous Disney artist who created the highly acclaimed visual style of the animation film, Bambi. Mr. Tyrus Wong designed and created the cover as well as the inside chapter pages of the cookbook.

Mrs. Louie remembered fondly her experience as a registered nurse at the Chinese Hospital in 1948. The maternity ward was overflowing with new mothers due to the influx of war brides. Many young Chinese American men joined the U.S. Army and served in WWII. As a result, those who were born in China were allowed to become citizens. Together with the War Bride Act of 1945, some were finally able to return to China and to bring their wives, whom they have not seen for many years, back to the U.S. Other GIs were able to bring back their new brides. (See interview with Mrs. Dere in the section below.)

Although the Hospital provided daily meals, relatives would bring Chinese dishes to the new mothers to eat. It was interesting to note that family would bring the chicken wine dish first and then the pig feet in ginger vinegar dish several days later. This was consistent with the teachings in Traditional Chinese Medicine that the pig feet dish was not to be consumed immediately after giving birth.

Many new mothers, following the “fashion” of the time, did not want to breastfeed. Mrs. Louie felt this was due to influence of the upper economic class on those of the lower ones. People thought if babies of the wealthier class were being bottled-fed, then that must be a healthier practice. Consequently, Mrs. Louie remembered, she and a hospital aide, washing and sterilizing many bottles, and preparing formula due to the demand of Chinese American new mothers for bottle-feeding. She thought this created quite a comical scene. These new mothers were being fed chicken wine and pig feet vinegar dishes to promote milk production but, at the same time, were taking medication and were binding their breasts to STOP milk production!

Another comical scene flashed in Mrs. Louie’s mind as her thoughts were transported back to 1948: accreditation of Chinese Hospital. The Director of Nursing was a Caucasian woman who served in that capacity for many years. She lived on the top floor of the hospital. Mrs. Louie recalled being told that the State is sending someone to inspect Chinese Hospital for accreditation. The overflow of babies in the nursery had to be moved out because of state regulations that limited the number of infants according to room size.

The only room available was the one private room on the maternity floor. So the new mother in the room was temporarily moved to the surgical ward and two drawers were taken from a bureau and placed on the bed. Three babies were placed in one drawer, three in another; each infant separated by rolled-up towels. The room was also set up as a proper nursery. And a sign that said “Do Not Disturb” was placed on the door. Mrs. Louie was given instruction to “make sure none of the babies cry” when the state inspectors came. Her reply was that “Chinese babies do not cry.” And they didn’t! With that, Chinese Hospital was re-accredited in 1948.

Mrs. Dere was one of the first women I met after I immigrated to San Francisco from Hong Kong at the age of 11. Her family lived on the second floor and our family lived on the first floor of a set of three flats on Powell Street adjacent to Francisco Jr. High School.

She is now 92 years old. I recently visited her at Aegis Garden in Fremont, an assisted living facility catering to Chinese American seniors. The staff members were all Chinese-speaking and the food was cooked for a Chinese palate.

Mrs. Dere was born in 1925 in Hin Gong Village, Hoi Ping District of Guangdong, China. She came to the U.S. in 1948 after marrying Mr. Dere who had returned to China to take a bride. Since being in the U.S., Mrs Dere had been a housewife, a seamstress and a key punch operator.

Mr. Dere had been in the U.S. for many years before joining the US Army during WWII. The US and China were allies in this war and this relationship led to some major changes in policy toward the Chinese living in the United States. This war ended 60 years of U.S. immigration exclusion against the Chinese. Chinese American citizens who served in the US military during the war were allowed to return to China to marry and bring their wives to the US with the War Brides Act of 1945. Almost six thousand women were brought into the US as a result. Prior to the end of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943, most Chinese American men lived a life of virtual bachelorhood. Those who were able to save enough money to return to China to take a wife would often only be able to visit their wives a few times over several decades..

Mrs. Dere was the youngest of six children. Her two older brothers were more than 20 years her senior and both were in the US along with their father. She was born after her father retired and returned to China permanently. Consequently, she was raised by one of her sisters-in-law who had a daughter of about the same age. Mrs. Dere’s own mother was in poor health. She remembered being a refugee (走難) together with her fourth older brother and dodging the advancement of the Japanese military occupation in China. As a result, her formal education was disrupted.

When the war ended, Mr. Dere, like thousands of other Chinese American young men, went back to China seeking a wife. Word soon spread and he was introduced to Mrs. Dere. They were married shortly after they met. Mr. Dere brought his new bride to the U.S. in 1948 when she was 22 years old and pregnant with their first child.

They arrived in San Francisco in March of 1948. Their eldest son was born in August of that year. Subsequently, she had one child every August for the next two years and then 3 more children over the course of the next 10 years.

All the children were born at the Chinese Hospital. Her husband did not attend any of the births. She remembered that the nurses were Chinese and the food was brought from home. Among the dishes were chicken with wine and ginger vinegar with pig feet and eggs. The hospital stay would usually last about 3 days. With her first three children’s birth, she did not have any help from family members during the postpartum period. She had to manage the household, the newborn baby and her older children by herself until her mother-in-law was able to immigrate from China near the end of 1951.

This was in contrast to the postpartum experience that she saw in the villages of China. There, older women in the village would be attending the births and relatives would be around to help the new mothers.

She adhered to most of the Chinese traditions such as not leaving the house or washing her hair for 30 days. She did not believe that all new mothers followed these traditions - “only if they wanted to”.

Some of the women at that time would give birth at home. Mrs. Dere suggested that this may be due to financial constraints. It would have been more expensive to have a hospital birth than a home birth. She was unsure if there were midwives to attend the home births. Most of the people that she knew had hospital births.

Mrs. May (Tom) Chan was born in Isleton, California, in 1928. Isleton was a small town in the Sacramento delta area, 10 miles from the more well-known Chinese-American town of Locke.

May’s parents immigrated to the U.S. from Chung Shan County (中 山), Guangdong Province in 1910. This county from the southern part of China was the ancestral home to many Chinese immigrants in the United States. Mar Shee Tong (father) and Ng Koon Lan (mother) settled in Isleton at the time of its incorporation as a city in 1923. She remembers Isleton as having three distinct districts: European, Chinese and Japanese.

May’s mother gave birth to eight children. Three were born in China, one died at birth, one infant child died on Angel Island while May’s mother was waiting for her immigration interrogation. Five were born in Isleton, California, with four surviving. They were all home births.

Her home was located at 18 Main Street, Isleton, and it still stands today. The family was a tight-knit unit. May would repeat often that her family was poor but rich in happiness. Her father (Mar Shee Tong) worked as a cook in the gambling house in Isleton.

The family would sustain on vegetables grown in the backyard and left-over scraps from the gambling house. In time of extreme difficulties, she remembered her lunch would be pieces of bread with a sprinkle of sugar. Or dinner consisting of hot water with crackers crumpled in. She also learned to suck cooked rice in her mouth for 10-15 minutes until the carbohydrate turned into sugar – that was her “candy” treat.

Some of her earliest memories were of her interaction outside of the Isleton Chinese American community. For example, she remembered that her first encounter with “Santa Claus” in kindergarten was a frightening experience. Seeing a head full of white hair and white beard on a white face was a scary sight for a 5-year-old May.

She also remembered the disparities in the condition of the two elementary schools in Isleton. The one attended by European American children was built of bricks and had manicured lawns. The “Oriental School” for the Chinese American and Japanese American children was simple and had a dirt playground. Elementary and middle schools were segregated. All the students from the two segregated middle schools would be mixed when they entered high school at Rio Vista. May felt that she had to adjust to the desegregated environment.

During her high school years, WWII broke out. Adult males of draft age were called to serve in the military. Two of her brothers were drafted. Consequently, there was a shortage of laborers in the agricultural fields. Women and young people were called to fill the void. May worked as a tomato picker, earning 50 cents for every crate of tomatoes picked. It was hard work but the money came in handy. Black soldiers from Pittsburg, California, also worked in the cannery. May, who weighed less than 100 pounds, was helped by these soldiers who told her that, “you’re too little to lift those heavy crates”.

When she turned 17, she worked in the cannery – the National Cannery Company – first sorting tomatoes, then she was promoted to canning and then to working in the warehouse. Her brothers, sister and mother also worked in the cannery in the sweltering summer heat of the Sacramento Delta. She had also worked in picking asparagus in the freezing fields.

May was living at home during this time. When she was 18 her sister, Connie, returned home with her young daughter after her divorce. Mrs. Chan had to move out to Sacramento where she started working in the DMV as a key punch operator. She met her husband, Alfred Chan, in Sacramento and was married at the age of 22. At the time, Al was working in a supermarket while attending college.

After their marriage, they moved to Oakland where they continued to live for the next 68 years. They had a son and a daughter. Both were born at Peralta Hospital in the mid 1950’s. By this time, most births were hospital births. She did not recall following Chinese postpartum traditions except she was given a bowl of chicken wine soup several weeks after her delivery. Her mother-in-law cooked it for her and she felt obliged to drink it. Within hours of drinking the soup, she began to hemorrhage. She had to call her doctor, Dr. Yee, to make a home visit. The hemorrhage stopped a few hours after the doctor’s visit. But, to this day, she felt the soup likely precipitated the hemorrhage. Her sister, Connie, stayed with her for the entire month to nurse her back to health.

(Tina was asked to write about her experience as a new mom in the 21 Century. With changes in U.S. immigration policy in the 1960"s and 1980"s, there has been an influx of immigrants in family units. Tina grew up in the United States with her parents who immigrated here from China as adults. Tina"s experience is typical of second generation Chinese Americans who grew up in a bi-cultural family. Tina shared her postpartum experience and contrasted what her mother expounded and what her obstetrician recommended.)

-Immediately after my unplanned c-section, doctors put me on an all-liquid diet until I passed gas to prevent vomiting. My parents came to the hospital with bags of homemade soups, noodles, and eggs. They were bewildered that the doctor wouldn’t let me eat because I needed to “eat to regain [my] energy.” As a balance, I drank the soup, but I had to fight my mom the entire time while she tried to force feed me noodles. (To be honest, though, I was very hungry and the oily chicken soup was very comforting.) When I did finally pass gas, my mom cooked almost 7 meals a day for me. Many of the foods were dishes I had grown up with and loved, so I did not complain. I’m sure doctors would’ve recommended a more balanced and lighter postpartum diet though.

-My mom did not allow me to shower/wash my hair for at least two weeks postpartum. I didn’t think I could last that long, so I secretly showered at the hospital before leaving and once when my mom went out.

-My mom consulted many relatives and Chinese doctors for postpartum recovery herbal medicine, some to replenish blood and others to strengthen my spine/muscles. I had no idea what was in the herbal soups, but I drank it all (I lost that fight). She also made a lot fish maw (swim bladder of fish) because of the nutrients. I did some research and found that fish maw is considered to be high in protein and low in fat. Although I didn’t think it was as nutritious as my mom suggested, I also didn’t see any harm in it, so I mostly ate it without protest.

-Doctors recommended going on frequent walks to prevent blood clotting. My mother ushered me to bed every time I stepped out of my room because I “needed to rest.” She even wanted me to eat in bed. I wasn’t allowed to expend any energy for fear of chronic pain later on. I protested and was allowed out of my room to eat in the kitchen, but my mom insisted I go back to my bed afterwards. I eventually snuck out for a few walks, but I have to admit, I grew very tired and my wound was sore just from going around the block.

-Doctors also recommended fresh air. Because I had my baby in the winter, my mom worried that I would catch a chill if I sat near the window or didn’t have socks on. Similarly, I wasn’t allowed to drink anything that was not hot. Nick once poured me a glass of water from the fridge, and my mom literally jumped out of her chair to stop him.

-Skin-to-skin was a concept that completely eluded my mom. Every time I did skin-to-skin with the baby, my mom, fearing that we would catch a chill, draped a thick blanket over us, and proceeded to grieve about how ridiculous it was.

-Along with skin-to-skin, my mom also did not understand why I needed to nurse the baby as frequently as I did (every 1.5-2 hours around the clock). For my sake, she suggested we supplement with formula at night, so I can rest. I persevered to exclusively breastfeed but spent many evenings expressing to my mom the importance of my decision.

All in all, my month of confinement involved a lot of protesting, both from my mother and me. We had to compromise and negotiated frequently on topics around food and coddling. I believed in the evidence-based practices that my doctors recommended, but at the same time, these traditions have served Chinese women well for over 2000 years. I followed some of the rules and broke many. It was a tough month, but I know I would’ve over exerted myself had my mom not been here to force feed me and usher me back to bed.

I just cracked my bathroom undermount porcelain sink today with the boiling water… the vinegar and baking soda would have been ok, but the boiling water cracked the sink – a long crack. And boiling water apparently not good for the white PVC pipe joints, either… expensive mistake.

Just a word of caution: pouring boiling water down your drain; whether it is for draining your pasta or cleaning the drain is not a great idea. It damages any plastic parts in your drain. My plumber told me to run cold water over the drain while draining my pasta so my drain will suffer less. He showed me the warped plastic ring from my drain that caused me the leaking issues. I always make sure I have the cold water on now to ensure no further damage. Hot water is fine, but stay clear of boiling.

Rakib- The limit on plastic pipes is 140 degrees Farenheit, well below boiling, which is 212 F. I wish the U.S. would get with the rest of the world and use Celsius, but I guess we like things to be complicated.

I sprinkle baking soda on my shower floor, spreading it out some with my hands, then sprinkle vinegar over it and let it bubble. Taking a wet sponge when the bubbles have stopped I scrub all over. Rinse it well. It looks white again.

I definitely liked this method more than using the stuff they sell at the supermarket. One change I made was to add 2 pots of boiling water at the start. May be my sink was stuffed than normal.

I was surprised at how well this worked on my kitchen sink! Sure, I’ll try hot instead of boiling water next time … but hey plumbers, what’s up with your industry installing chintzy plastic pipes that can’t handle a pot of boiling pasta water?? Are you trying to guarantee yourselves a profitable return visit?

Well, unless you want to pay FAR more for your pipes, there aren’t exactly a ton of better options. Plastic is the best over-all, but ALL pipes have their own unique issues.

I knew that baking soda was good for cleaning the kitchen with, but I didn’t know that I could use it to clean my drains. I was really happy to learn that this not only cleans the drains, but it unclogs them as well. I can’t wait to try this out now, thanks for this awesome idea! Clear drains are on the horizon.

Re:Cleaners. Wondered what you thought of the hydrogen peroxide & baking soda combination cleaner. I’ve only just discovered it, and it’s incredible. Make a slurry/paste of these two items and let it sit (stirring occasionally) until it begins a calm foaming effect, then apply a coat to your filthy item. Let dry and brush/wash away the grime. And just one caution:don’t leave this on your ‘yellow’ toilet seat for too long because it will remove the paint! Finally I’ve found something that will clean the Damn toilet seat completely! (You don’t need to include this part: No, I did not know that you couldn’t just paint the ‘cleaned, but still yellow/dingy’ seat with white spray paint. The reason the paint bubbles up is because the toilet seat is actually powdered coated and then carnuba waxed. Nothing sticks to wax. How many times do you think I sanded off the bubbled paint and repainted before I figured out why my paint kept bubbling? DONT ASK, PLEASE! It’s tooo humiliating. So, you probably have to rewax that toilet seat every time you clean with this substance, but (on the old rental) I’d rather go thru this easy-clean method and then spend 5 minutes rewaxing to that ‘brilliant white shine you can see your face in’ sorta like the shine on your fancy car! (OK, stop giggling, I know what you’re thinking.) I’m sending this because I’m sure you have thousands who read your blog and I believe that EVERYONE should know about this clever cleaning trick. It cleans anything plastic perfectly like new. Try it on that dingy plastic silverware holder in your kitchen dishrack. The stainless steel barbecue (apparently never cleaned by former tenants or landlord) is now shiny bright and brand-new looking. I don’t even know what this combination makes ‘chemically’ or what else you shouldn’t use it on, but I’m willing to keep testing, or maybe I should ask the many chemists in my family what concoction is being created. Hmmm… I have enjoyed reading your blog with your easygoing, having coffee at the kitchen-table type conversation. Have fun trying this out! Can’t wait to hear what you think of this method. Enjoy the Brilliance!!!, Suzanne

You aren’t supposed to clean the bar-b-que that well. Just take tinfoil, crunch it up and rub across the grill part while it is hot. (Hold with tongs.) Why didn’t you just spend the ten dollars it takes to replace the toilet seat?

The goal is not pollute the earth any more and clean without using harsh chemicals. Also the intention is to avoid anything that contributes to the plastic population problem.

With 25 years in the plumbing industry, the last thing you want to do is pour boiling water down any plastic drains. Considering code states water hotter then 140 degrees is not allowed down a drain and for good reason. Water over 140 degrees tends to soften plastic pipe and cause it to lose its shape. Which could cause piping to lose its pitch causing even bigger problems. Although baking soda and vinegar may provide temporary relief of a stoppage you simply delaying the need to mechanically clean the pipe. As a drain freshener it is OK. The best thing to do is fill sink up with hot tap water and let it drain periodically. This will use head pressure and hot water to help flush any lose debris.

Rajeev, that’s Celsius. I’m pretty sure Dan is referring to 140F, which is 60C. Confused me for a bit, too. Just don’t pour boiling water down drains.

I’m sure I’m a bit late but I thought I woudl share what worked for me. I had a bunch of gunky brownish water that wouldn’t drain and had just settled in the sink. I used a toilet plunger to loosen it (just until the water drained) and then followed the directions. I’m sure you’ve already found a solution…but maybe this will help next time?

I had tried the baking soda and boiling water before a couple weeks ago, and that made the drain run faster, but it was still slow. It started getting very slow again so I read this and the comments. Good to know to not use boiling water. Someone in the comments mentioned clogging the air return with a rag and using a plunger, so I tried that. I stuck half the rag in the pipe then had my wife push the other half against the opening. With the water running so the plunger was submerged I plunged until my wife stopped feeling the back pressure against the rag. That fixed it, and now the water drains faster than it comes out of the faucet!

It didn’t work for me and it really messed up my PVC pipes under the sink. Tomorrow I will do what I should have done at first and go to the grocery store and get a $4.00 bottle of Drano.

This worked amazingly! I used the hot water already from the sink, instead of boiling water, and it worked just as well! I’m so happy that the drain that has been clogged for several months now works. Also, the smell has vanished! Thank you so much!

There are a couple DIY things you can do to try to make your drainage better, but none of them are fool-proof. When it comes to problems that could be more complicated than they appear on the surface it’s a good idea to call in the professionals. I really like being able to get the pros in, and have them make sure that I have nothing to worry about.

Hi followed the instructions, let it set for 10 minutes. Repeated the process and it worked with a PLUNGER. That was the trick in connection with the baking soda, vinegar, and hot water.

Just tried it on one of our bathroom sinks. Did not work, smelly dark water rising up. Started plunging with plunger and got up hair and gook, but still stopped up and before while it was a slow sink that clear water went down slowly but did go down with no smells coming out of the drain, now it is backed up with dark smelly water. Please advise what to do next??? Hate having to call the plumber and explain this and to tell my boyfriend when he comes home of this mess in our house.

It’s interesting to think that this might actually work, I’ll have to give it a try soon. We always have problems with our sink, and I feel like we’ve tried everything to fix it ourselves. This will probably be the last step before we call in a professional service, where we know it will be fixed.

forget the baking soda. Use good Shop Vac on drain. Duct tape the overflows and let the vacuum suck everything out. You will need to remove the stopper. Good for jewelry that may have inadvertently fallen in drain.

Another good solution for a clogged bathroom sink drain is to pour about half of a 10 oz bottle of Dawn dishwashing liquid in the drain and let it sit several hours preferably overnight to work. Then in the morning get a small plunger (I have one I use just for my sinks) and an old washcloth. Use the washcloth to plug the overflow hole on the sink. This allows all the pressure you will apply with the plunger to work on the drain. Then add a small quantity (2 cups or so) of warm water to the drain and plunge away. The Dawn will have loosened all the greasy gunk and the plunging will either bring it up (where you can toss it away with a paper towel) or flush it down. About 5 minutes of plunging once a month keeps everything working well for me.

hi betty, I was just wondering if the basking soda and vinegar method will also get rid of a mold back up in a kitchen sink? im in an apartment building and this is what is happening to me, please help me if you can, many thanks, from donna in Ontario canada

This method works. It takes some time, but it works. One additional thing I did tonight that I hadn’t thought of was to use a small plastic bottle (my vinegar bottle in my case) to put over the drain. I pushed it down and was able to squish it enough under the faucet so that I didn’t have to hold it constantly. When the pressure started to build in the bottle, I squeezed it. I created just that extra push to clear the drain. It was awesome. And no harmful chemicals splashing back in my face. My step grandmother had (RIP) scars on her face from years of splash back of harmful chemicals. It is crazy what we used to do in the name of clean. Anyway, thanks for the tip. I use this method for every clogged drain. Works like a gem. And feels like a chemistry experiment.