Your smartphone is one of your most steadfast companions but unfortunately that means it carries around just as many germs as you do. Your hands touch just about everything and your phone does too, collecting dirt even when sitting on your desk. When your hands pick up that phone, the device becomes a hot-spot for bacteria.
You probably don’t have phone cleaning on your list of essential priorities but starting today, you should. In this post we’ll take you through some quick hygiene tips on what to do and what not to do when it comes to disinfecting your phone.
What Not to Do
Wiping your phone down with a damp cloth will most likely be the common suggestion you come across. While a simple wipe may temporarily do away with fingerprint smudges it won’t kill the germs on your phone, which is why you’ll need a more involved cleaner. Hopping on bleach or another harsh disinfectant is a bad idea, however, because it destroys the protective coating on your phone screen over time.
How to Clean Your Phone
First and foremost, if you have a phone case you’ll want to give that part of your phone attention. You probably know what we mean when we say that surprising amounts of dirt can find their way underneath your case. So after separating your phone case from your phone give it a rinse in warm water. Of course, you should only do this if your case is silicone, hard plastic, or another safe-to-wash material. You should clean other exterior materials, like leather or faux fur cases, with the special care products they require.
Next, you’ll want to use Q-tips (cotton swabs) to swab the speakers of your phone and the ports, though be very careful around the charging port and make sure no Q-tip fibers get left behind. You can also use those same Q-tips to wipe away fingerprints and clean your camera lenses.
Since it’s the glass screen of your phone that you need to worry about, using cleaning wipes to wipe down the sides and back of your phone is perfectly okay and encouraged. For the front of your phone, you’ll want to bust out that all-purpose cleaner and give your phone a very light misting. Wait for no longer than 30 seconds and then use a microfiber cloth like you might use to clean glasses to give your phone screen a good wiping. After your phone cleaning wash your hands and put the phone case back on – though make sure the case is dry first.
Other Tips
- Sanitize your hands before picking up your phone and wash your hands frequently in general.
- Invest in a dust plug for your headphone jack (if you have one) to prevent it from clogging up with dust.
- Purchase a UV phone bath. These are essentially boxes for your smartphone that bathe the device in UV light, which kills germs. We especially recommend bathing your phone and case separately for the most thorough phone cleaning.
If you think that phone hygiene isn’t crucial to your health, think again. It might seem like a lot of steps to take to keep your smartphone clean but you’ll be saving yourself from harmful germs at the end of the day.
Still don’t know if it’s safe to clean your phone? For information about keeping your phone clean, questions on how to keep your phone in working order, and any other phone or computer concerns you might have, contact us. We care about our customers and their devices, and we can help you out in whatever way you might need.
