The pandemic taught us to keep our stuff clean to avoid Covid-19 infection and it’s usually a good habit to avoid any kind of disease. Even WHO approves of keeping all surfaces clean. And one of the most used gadgets, our smartphone, is no exception. We are constantly mashing our phones against our ears and cheeks, and it is important to disinfect them once every day at least.
A recent study monitored 27 phones owned by teenagers and found that the smartphone’s screen played host to viruses and bacteria like E.Coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus among other germs. Our smartphones can be the medium to spread disease as viruses can stick around longer than you think.
How To Clean Your Mobile Phone
Many of the cold and flu viruses on average can survive from a few hours to up to nine days depending on the temperature and relative humidity. But in the case of the coronavirus, it can survive on surfaces for up to four weeks. So it’s important to clean your smartphones regularly and here we shall share a full guide on why it’s important and how you can clean your smartphone at your home.
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How safe is it to clean your phone?
Cleaning your phone does not require the same chemicals that you used to wipe on your glass and hard plastic objects in your home. Also, companies like Apple tell customers that heavy-duty commercial cleaning supplies can damage the fingerprint-resistant coating on the screen and possibly scratch the front glass. Even Samsung has published the same warning for many of its popular flagship Galaxy models.
Therefore we have provided you with step-by-step instructions on how you can safely clean your phone without damaging it.
How to clean and disinfect your phone
To get started with cleaning your phone you need to collect a few supplies
Lint-free microfiber cloth: It is a very ordinary accessory that you can pick up from any eyeglass Store or pharmacy. If not you can look for a microfiber cloth on Amazon and get one. Many mobile devices also come with one and you might want to check your smartphone retail box for the same.
Cotton swabs: you can either use wood shafted cotton swabs for q-tips made from plastic ok but be aware that the latter one will be very flimsy.
Distilled water: this is to clean your screen and camera lens. We recommend distilled water as it doesn’t have any chemicals and won’t leave a film if it dries. Even clean RO or filtered water can do the job.
Isopropyl alcohol: This is what you need for cleaning keypads and hard plastic. You can easily find a bottle of 70% Isopropyl alcohol on Amazon or a nearby pharmacy.
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Step by step guide to clean your phone
- Remove your phone back cover if you have installed one and power down your device
- Now take the microfiber cloth and gently wipe the exterior of your smartphone to get rid of smudges and dirt. Many of the experts claim that even cleaning gently with a microfiber cloth will physically remove germs due to the friction between cloth and the glass surface. This doesn’t mean it will kill them but only remove them from the device service
- Next you can use the Isopropyl Alcohol to neutralize any of the leftover germs. But be sure to apply the alcohol on microfiber cloth and not directly on your device. Then gently wipe down every surface of your phone except the open ports.
- Now you just have to let your Phone air dry on any surface for at least 10 minutes.
- Now you just have to wipe away any of the leftover moisture. Ideally we suggest not to use the same cloth that you used in above steps but to use a different one. You can simple use two micro fiber cloths and gently wash them with hand and soft detergent once the cleaning process is done.
- Finally you can repeat the same process with your smartphone case. But here you can use any soft chemical cleaners or Isopropyl Alcohol directly as most of the phone cases are made from durable hard plastic.
How often should you clean your phone?
It might not be the answer you were hoping for but many of the experts suggest that a quick wipe down with your microfiber cloth is the most effective way to clean your phone on a daily basis. You can just keep a few microfiber cloths handy at your desk and you can quickly clean your phone.
If wiping your phone on a daily basis sounds like too much work you can use the ultraviolet light. You can use the enclosed UV light-charged phone cases that you can easily find on Amazon and leave your phone for about 10 minutes in that as it will do the job. But most of the experts agree that washing your hands and using a disinfecting wipe to send it to your phone is a much better option than using UV light.
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How to keep your Mobile Phone clean and germ free
- Make a habit of washing your hands more often and consider skipping taking your phone to the bathroom. The more cleaner your hands the cleaner your phone
- You can also try antimicrobial cover is there are readily available to fit almost every phone brand
- When you are in your any public place like a restaurant, remeber to not keep your phone on a table to avoid any infection. And like we wash our hands when we come back home, its a good idea to disinfect our smartphones as well.
