Everybody by now knows that we need to wash our hands as often as possible to keep germs at bay. But how often do you think about cleaning your Smartphone? In this article, we’re going to tell you what the experts say you should do to make sure your friendly communications device stays as clean and germ-free as possible.
With today’s technology, you probably touch and hold your Smartphone more than almost anything else around you. Every day, you pick up your phone and hold it against your face. You breathe into it during every call. You text with it with your fingers. You pick it up and lay it down dozens of times every day, often on the closest flat surface that happens to be convenient.
More than likely, it’s rare that you spend time to pay attention to where you set your Smartphone down. It could wind up on a table, the edge of a chair, next to the kitchen sink, or back into your pocket or purse. Wherever you decide to place it, your phone can often be carrying with it a serious health risk.
Germs are Everywhere
Without thinking, the surface you left your phone on may not be as clean as you thought it should be. It may instead be crawling with literally thousands of nasty, microscopic viruses and bacteria. Some of these can cause problems with your health, make you sick, and wreak havoc on your fragile body.
To be honest, more than likely, the vast number of those tiny creatures covering your Smartphone are probably not harmful. Unfortunately, some of them may not be as friendly as you might like them to be.
Many of these germs can not only spread disease but they can stick around for a lot longer than you might expect. The experts say that viruses can linger on hard surfaces from as short as a few hours to up to a week or more.
Cold and flu viruses have been known to survive up to nine days. Some norovirus are capable of surviving on surfaces for as long as four weeks. What’s even worse is that viruses and bacteria can transfer from your Smartphone to your hands and then move on to become deposited on fresh new surfaces in your home or office.
Rule one, of course, is to keep washing your hands as often as you can each day. Every time you touch an elevator button, handrail, gas pump, door handle, or some other surface during the day, it is almost impossible to avoid a germ-infested surface. That’s why washing your hands regularly and thoroughly should be done as often as possible.
Daily Cleaning
Every day make sure you keep a package of Lysol, Clorox, or some other recognizable brand of disinfecting wipes in a handy nearby. Then, two or three times a day (or more if you think it’s necessary), give your Smartphone the once-over.
That’s for the everyday cleaning of our phone. But once or twice a week, you need to take things a little further. You should also give your phone a thorough deep-cleaning.
Weekly Deep-Cleaning
The right way to deep-clean and disinfect your Smartphone is easy. First, remember that you should never use the same astringent cleaners you normally would use when wiping down glass and hard plastic surfaces in your home, For most cases when you use bleach, metal cleaners, or extra-strong cleansers in your kitchen or bathroom, they will work fine. However, with your Smartphone, they can cause irreversible damage to your phone and possibly damage it beyond repair.
Avoid any liquid cleaner or spray. These products can get inside your phone, and unless you are already planning on buying a new one almost immediately, keep them away from your phone.
You do not want the inside of your Smartphone to become wet. If water or almost any liquid seeps inside your phone, the electronics can burn up in almost an instant. The result will be that until you buy a new one, you will wind up carrying around a useless brick around in your pocket or purse.
Most heavy-duty cleaners can also damage the surface of your phone. The fingerprint-resistant screen coating can also be eaten away by harsh ingredients. Those same products can also scratch the glass on the front of your phone.
The Weekly Process
The first thing to do is power down your device. Remove any covering or case. Then use a clean cloth, preferably made of microfiber, and gently wipe down the exterior of the phone to get rid of any dust, dirt, or smudges.
At this point, you’ve now physically removed most of the germs on the surface. This is due to the friction between the cloth you’re using and the glass surface. However, you will not have killed the germs. You will have only removed them from the surface of the phone, but they are still on the cloth. They are just not on the phone anymore.
- Reach for your package of disinfecting wipes and pull one out. Make sure it’s not too wet.
- Gently wipe all the surfaces of your phone with the wipe. Be careful to not allow any liquid to get around any open ports so that it doesn’t get inside the phone.
- Allow your phone to dry for at least 5 – 10 minutes.
Then, reach for a clean paper towel or another microfiber cloth (do not use the same one you previously cleaned with) and dry all the surfaces thoroughly.
Clean the Case
Clean your phone’s case next. Repeat the same process as above except, because it isn’t an electronic device, you can, if you like, use a stronger and more astringent cleaner.
Most of today’s phone cases are made from hard plastic. However, if yours has leather or fabric on the surface, do not use bleach or you can cause irreparable damage as a result.
Recent health regulations have helped to keep public surfaces routinely sanitized, up to a point. But, they are not 100% foolproof. There is no way to guarantee that every public surface you touch has been routinely completely sanitized.
One surface that you do come in direct contact with every day that you have direct control over is your Smartphone. By following the directions outlined above to keep your phone clean and virus-free, you will have lowered your risk of becoming infected by viruses or bacteria. Even better, you’ve helped keep your loved ones and the other people around you safer from sickness or allergic reactions.
Be sure to let us know if these ideas on keeping your Smartphone clean and virus-free have been helpful to you. If you have any thoughts or suggestions about any other home cleaning subjects you would like us to cover, please write to us. And, if you live in the Chicago metro area and are interested in learning more about our home cleaning services and how we can help you maintain a safe and healthy living environment, give us a call. Our number is 708-599-7000. Or, contact us online for a free house or office cleaning consultation.
