Clean Your Phone Now
We touch our phones roughly 2,617 times a day (yes, every swipe and tap included). We take them with us everywhere: in bathrooms, gyms, subways and buses. They look like an extra limb or appendage. And while most of us think about cleaning doorknobs, taps, and anything that comes in contact with our hands, we rarely think of our iPhones and Androids.
My phone is disgusting. If you were to shine a black light on it, you would probably find oil, grease stains, and blood (I cracked it six months ago and it has cut me several times since then). This year I also had the flu and colds, and only occasionally cleaned my phone with water. For this reason, among other things, we all need to start disinfecting our phones as soon as possible, according to Dr. Peter Papadakos, Director of Clinical Care at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
“The screen itself is a harbinger of the spread of bacteria and viruses,” he said by phone. “There have been many reports of infections being transmitted through our phone screens.”
Influenza viruses that can infect others, for example, can persist on hard surfaces for up to 24 hours, according to one study . This means that anyone who touches your phone during this time could be vulnerable.
“Foot and mouth disease is very common in young children in preschool age,” added Papadakos. “More and more in kindergartens and kindergartens, people are using smart screens to entertain children, and this screen is transmitted to children by touching their nose, mouth and screen – and the infection can spread to all children.”
So how do we clean our expensive smartphones without damaging them permanently?
If you have access to one of them, Papadakos recommends using an especially high-tech cleaning method: a UV disinfection box that you put your phone in, which removes germs and electronic devices in seconds. They can be bought on Amazon and are becoming more common in public toilets and universities, he said.
If you’re looking for something less high-tech, Apple recommends using the lint-free cloth you get with your glasses to clean your iPhone. According to the New York Times, you can lightly dampen a cloth with a 1: 1 mixture of 70% isopropyl alcohol and diluted water in a spray bottle.
Wipe the surface of the phone with a dampened cloth (never spray liquid directly on the screen) and be careful with the holes to prevent water from entering the phone. It may be tempting to use an all-purpose antibacterial wipe, but avoid them at all costs as they can be too abrasive. Papadakos said that products such as Clorox wipes, which contain chemicals that could damage the screen itself, should be avoided.
Most importantly, how often should you clean your phone? Indeed, every time you cough, according to Papadakos. “And due to the flu season, which we are now actively experiencing, you need to clean it more often,” he said. “We have to think of the phone as an extension of ourselves.”
So clean it with your hands as often as possible (and do it now, you’re doing us all a favor).