As the proud owner of a new OLED monitor, you probably know how to prevent burn-in on your precious new display. Burn-in might have become less of a bogeyman compared to a few years ago, but OLED displays still require a fair bit of babying if you want them to last long. However, burn-in is just one of the many necessary evils you need to deal with on OLED monitors. As they're more fragile than other panels, you need to be more careful when it comes to positioning and cleaning them. Also, depending on the kind of OLED display you have, reflections could destroy those perfect blacks that you paid a fortune for.
Placing it directly in front of a light source
I struggle with this every day
The biggest motivator for someone to upgrade to an OLED monitor is to enjoy the perfect blacks that OLEDs are known for. The per-pixel dimming generates near-perfect contrast that makes everything pop on your screen. However, if you have a QD-OLED monitor, you'll have to go the extra mile to preserve those inky blacks. QD-OLED monitors, by design, lack a polarizing layer to achieve higher brightness and color vibrancy. This, however, has the unfortunate downside of allowing ambient light to reflect off the panel, creating a purple tint on the screen even when it's turned off.
If your room has sunlight streaming in from the side or a light source directly opposite the monitor, it will easily ruin the deep blacks when viewing dark scenes. I try to mitigate this by keeping the curtains drawn during the day to keep the sunlight out, using my desk lamp instead. During the night, I prefer gaming in the dark anyway, so there's no ambient light to be worried about. Depending on your room and lighting conditions, you could struggle to enjoy perfect blacks on your QD-OLED monitor. Newer WOLED monitors do not have this issue, and appear darker even with ambient light present.
Keeping it too close to the wall
Don't choke your OLED
Your OLED monitor's organic pixels are more susceptible to heat degradation than your VA or IPS display. If you view a lot of HDR or high-brightness content on your OLED monitor, it needs enough clearance from the wall and other surfaces to be able to dissipate the heat generated from the panel. Many OLED monitors have audible fans working overtime trying to keep them cool. Even if you can't hear one on your model, it's always recommended to keep your monitor sufficiently separated from the wall.
Newer tandem OLED monitors with the latest WOLED panels are less prone to this due to being more power-efficient. Despite being brighter than older OLEDs, these displays feature reduced power consumption, higher color gamut coverage, and increased lifespan. However, allowing your monitor to "breathe" is doing your bit to extend its lifespan. After spending $600–$1000 on an OLED monitor, you probably don't want it to lose its sheen in 2–3 years.
Wiping it when it's still warm
Or using the wrong cleaning solution
This one is true for most monitors, but doubly so for OLEDs. Your OLED display has an ultrathin matte or glossy coating, so you need to be extra careful when wiping dust and smudges, even if you're using the softest microfiber cloth known to man. After you've turned your PC off, your OLED monitor is still warm, and the panel coating is in a slightly expanded state. Applying even a small amount of pressure with a microfiber cloth can leave permanent scratches or streaks, or even slightly warp the coating, leading to lasting effects over time.
You can find many users on Reddit complaining about damaged OLED coatings after wiping their monitors. The damage associated with such mistakes is often permanent, and can ruin your expensive monitor. What I like to do is wipe my OLED monitor only once a week — I prefer to do it at the beginning of my work week on Monday mornings when the PC has been off for hours. You need not do the same, but it's good to wait for around 30 minutes for your monitor to cool down before cleaning it. Also, don't use screen cleaners with high alcohol content to wipe your OLED monitor. Using a microfiber cloth dampened with RO/distilled water or 70% isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is the way to go.
Protecting your OLED monitor needs some work
It might seem like babying your OLED monitor is a lot of effort, but it's necessary if you want it to last. Taking extra care to clean your monitor, keeping it away from the wall, and eliminating direct light sources and ambient light go a long way in maintaining and optimizing your OLED monitor. Precious and delicate hardware needs a bit of extra care, but after doing it a few times, it bnecomes second nature.