It’s a fairly common riddle but just for this story’s sake, let me drop it here: do you know what a smartphone and a toilet seat most likely have in common? They are both as dirty as the other! In fact, the average smartphone is know to be 7 times dirtier than the toilet seat! Mostly everything out there, from e-Coli to Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), can be harvested on such devices… Considering this, cleaning our electronics surely is a good habit. Especially the ones that we take literally everywhere, including the bathroom. In this article, we will see how to clean a smartphone and how to keep it clean a bit longer.
Clean a smartphone with disinfecting wipes
So we know now that it’s fairly common sense to clean-up our smartphones once in a while (sometimes more), as we do with our kitchens, houses, cars, and clothes. Not to sound alarming, but smartphones are considered as high-touch surfaces by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during in the Covid-19 pandemic. However, cleaning your smartphone is not as simple as it may seem. Use the wrong product and the consequences may be dramatic for your device but for you as well!
The key thing to keep in mind is that moisture has to be avoided at all costs as it can alter the smartphone’s functions. Therefore, you should not use any spray cleaner or aerosol, nor heavy-duty products. Apple and Google (among other manufacturers) have their own recommendations about cleaning their devices, but the consensus is using 70% alcohol or Clorox wipes. That being said, the CDC agrees to say that household disinfectants registered by the Environmental Protection Agency are effective. Remember that bleach is not an option here, and you should never submerge your device into any liquid. Also, make sure you do this while the device is not plugged into a power socket. Furthermore, keep in mind that your smartphone isn’t a dead-still surface and remain sensitive as any other electronic device. Therefore, you should not be too aggressive and keep a gentle touch while cleaning it.
Once your smartphone is clean, you should clean your hands thoroughly. Otherwise, germs will get back on your devices as soon as you grab it. On top of that, remember to clean up your phone case as well.
Clean a smartphone with a UV light cleaning device
There is a reason why cold-months-germs tend to disappear when the sun comes back in the spring and summer months. This reason is UV light. Indeed, although it’s not good for our skins and our eyes, UV light from the sun proves to eliminate certain germs and viruses from our surroundings. On this base, companies have developed phone-sanitizers and chargers. They are as efficient as alcohol wipes. The bonus is that you can reserve these for disinfecting other surfaces like doorknobs, light switch and shopping cart handles… Especially when the supplies for cleaning products are low.
For these reasons, these are great tools to have to take care of your smartphone and its hygiene and therefore we recommend. Especially when they are available at an attractive price like this one.
How frequently do you have to clean a smartphone
It really depends on the level of exposure to your smartphone. But as a basic, you should sanitize your devices every time you get home and ideally a few more times while you are out there, like at the office for instance. When particularly at risk, you should make it a four-or-five-times-a-day ritual alongside disinfecting other personal spaces like desk and keyboards.
Put some distance between you and your smartphone
Now, it is worth taking into account that smartphones have taken such a big place in our lives. Consider the amount of time that we spend using them… It’s hard sometimes to defend some of these instances where we find ourselves using our devices in irrelevant places, like the bathroom… Maybe we should try to avoid that. Or at least, limit the amount of time we’re actually touching the device while in there.
On the other hand, when traveling outside, it’s a good thing to use some headset to make phone calls. That way you avoid touching the device and having the device touching our faces. Finally, it makes sense to avoid passing on our smartphone to others like when sharing information like pictures, videos or social posts. Instead, it’s better to share them via messages.
Wrapping it up
That’s it for this article on the best ways to clean a smartphone and why you should do so. We hope this advice will be useful in helping to keep your smartphone clean and sanitized. If you have other tips or you would like to discuss more this topic, feel free to drop a line in the comments below!
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