We clean our hands, wipe shopping carts, and disinfect tables at cafés — but how often do we clean our phones?

This article is shared with permission from The Conversation and written by Meena Jha, Head of Technology and Pedagogy at CQUniversity Australia.

Phones can carry all kinds of germs. When was the last time you cleaned yours — and how did you do it?
Using the wrong cleaners or tools can damage your phone. It might ruin the protective layer, weaken its waterproofing, or make the screen less responsive to touch.

Do our phones need to be clean?
Touchscreens often collect fingerprints and smudges, so cleaning them helps both in keeping your phone looking nice and working smoothly.

Another important reason to clean your phone is your health. When scientists test phones, they often find hundreds of types of bacteria and viruses on them.
Not all of them make you sick, but there’s still a risk. We use our phones in the bathroom, hold them close to our faces touch them while eating, and even share them with others in places like meetings, cafés, parties, and classrooms,

Unlike our hands, which we wash several times a day, phones are hardly ever cleaned — if at all.
If you plan to sanitize your phone, make sure you do it safely so you don’t damage it.

Certain cleaning products can harm your phone.

It might seem easy to clean your phone with a household cleaner or hand sanitizer, but these products can actually damage your phone. Over time, they can wear down the surface and even affect the internal parts,

For example Apple and Samsung both warn not to use bleach hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, spray cleaners, window cleaners, or alcohol wipes with more than 70% alcohol on their devices.

Most smartphones have a special coating that helps keep fingerprints and smudges away. But using the strong chemicals like alcohol acetone or cleaners with ammonia can remove this layer, making the screen easier to smudge and less responsive to touch.

Vinegar is often used for a homemade cleaner can damage the plastic or aluminum parts of your phone because it’s very acidic. Bleach and hydrogen peroxide are strong disinfectants but too harsh for delicate phone materials. Even wipes with a lot of alcohol can dry out plastic and make it crack over time. In short, if a cleaner is strong enough for your kitchen, it’s probably too strong for your phone.

So what is the right way to clean my phone?

The good news is that cleaning your phone is easy and doesn’t cost much. Just follow the cleaning tips recommended by phone makers. Before you start, unplug your phone and take off any cases or accessories.

Now tech companies suggest using 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes (not stronger) a soft microfiber cloth, and gentle brushes made of nylon horsehair, or goat hair to safely clean areas like the speaker grills and charging ports.

During the COVID pandemic Apple updated its cleaning advice and said it’s okay to use Clorox wipes or 70% isopropyl alcohol on iPhones — as long as you wipe gently to avoid damaging the screen or letting moisture get inside.

Samsung gives similar advice: use a microfiber cloth slightly dampened with 70% alcohol to clean your phone, but avoid getting any liquid into the ports or openings.

Never spray liquid directly on your phone, as it can get into openings and damage the inside. Even dipping a water-resistant phone in cleaning liquid is risky because its water protection can wear out over time.

Don’t use paper towels, tissues, or rough cloths to clean your phone, as they can scratch the screen or leave behind tiny fibers that block ports.

 

Be careful not to clean your phone too often or too hard. Too much wiping can wear off the protective layer, making the screen easier to smudge and more likely to get damaged over time,

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News Source: Primedia

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