How to Clean Your Phone
Elevator buttons, handrails, petrol pumps, door handles: in our daily life, contaminated surfaces cannot be avoided, which is why it is important to Wash your hands thoroughly and regularly. While there is no way to ensure that all public surfaces are cleaned routinely, there is one surface that comes into regular contact with your hands and face do Control over: your cell phone.
How dirty is the average phone? A study from 2017 published in the magazine Germs In 27 teenage phones, it was found that viruses and bacteria such as E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus as well as other nasty germs could be found on the screens.
- Research has shown that your phone is likely to be home to viruses and bacteria.
- Experts say that not only should you wash your phone regularly, you should also thoroughly clean it at least twice a week.
- The best way to disinfect a phone is with a Lysol disinfectant wipe.
It’s worth noting that phones aren’t one of the main causes of the spread of disease, but some viruses can persist longer than you think. Charles Gerba, Ph.D., Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Institute for Environmental Sciences at the University of Arizona says viruses can stay on hard surfaces for between a few hours and a few weeks. “Most cold and flu viruses [can] survive from a few hours to 9 days depending on the temperature and relative humidity, “says Dr. Gerba.”[However] Norovirus can survive on surfaces for up to four weeks. “
The CDC still determines how long the current strain of the coronavirus, COVID-19can survive on surfaces, but has recommended that people disinfect “High touch surfaces.” According to a Reuters reportNew research from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases suggests that novel coronaviruses can live on surfaces for several days. A viable corona virus was detected on plastic and stainless steel after three days, as studies show, while cardboard contained no living particles for more than 24 hours. Based on his own research, Gerba says that viruses and bacteria can be transferred from a phone to your hands and then back to new surfaces in your home and office (“It’s like a mobile device,” he says).
That said Carolyn Forte, the director of Good Housekeeping Institute cleaning laboratory, says cleaning your phone shouldn’t make you lose sleep – but a regular disinfection routine could reduce your risk of contact with germs. especially during the flu season.
When cleaning your phone, you should not initially use the same astringent cleaning agents that you use to wipe hard plastic and glass surfaces elsewhere in your home, e.g. B. pure bleach, metal cleaner or bathroom-specific cleaning agents aimed at tiles or grout. “Never spray anything directly on the phone and avoid over-saturation as you don’t want your phone to get wet,” advises Forte. “Also avoid cleaning agents that promote ‘scrubbing power’ or similar abrasives.” Similarly, Apple warns customers that high-performance commercial cleaning products can damage the fingerprint-resistant coatings on the screens and potentially scratch the glass fronts Samsung has released the same warning for his popular Galaxy models.
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to safely clean your phone without damaging it.