Which do you think is dirtier: your cell phone or your toilet? Shockingly, the average iPhone is carrying ten times more bacteria than a toilet seat! This is because we largely overlook the need to regularly clean our electronics. However, each time we check our iPhones, which is an average of fifty times per day, germs are transferred from our face and hands to the device and vice versa. Gross!
Prevention
Regular cleaning can be a hassle and difficult to remember to do, so it’s important to prevent your iPhone from becoming a runaway petri dish of bacterial growth in the first place. Here are some ways how:
- Always use a case. It’s much easier to remove and clean than your iPhone itself. A case will also help protect your device against accidental drops.
- Wash your hands frequently and well. Try to only use your iPhone with clean hands.
- Don’t press the iPhone directly against your face when taking a call.
- Never take your iPhone into the bathroom.
- Apply a screen protector. In addition to shielding the screen itself from your cleaning products, it can be removed and replaced when it becomes grungy.
- Only set your device down on clean, dry surfaces.
- Regard your iPhone as a personal item, like a toothbrush or lipstick. Avoid letting others use it.
- Don’t use your iPhone when eating.
- When not in use, try to store the device in a cool and dry environment. Enclosures that are warm and moist, including pants pockets, are ideal breeding grounds for bacteria.
Cleaning Method 1: Moist Wipe-Down
It being a complex and delicate electronic device, you can’t simply dunk your iPhone in the sink and scrub it down with soap. Indeed, the biggest risk you run when sanitizing your iPhone with any kind of disinfectant is liquid damage. And keep in mind – liquid damage is not covered by all warranties.
To safely clean your iPhone’s surface, here are the steps to follow:
- Unplug any headphones, jacks and plugs from the iPhone.
- Remove the iPhone from its case.
- Lay the iPhone on a clean, lint-free towel on a stable, flat surface.
- Prepare 70% rubbing alcohol in a small spray bottle. Do not use anything above 70%.
- Lightly spray the solution onto a clean microfibre cloth until the cloth is just damp.
- Wipe the moist cloth all over the front, back and sides of the iPhone.
MacDougall, Julia. “Do These Products Really Work to Disinfect Your Phone?” Reviewed Smartphones. Reviewed.com, March 29, 2019. https://www.reviewed.com/smartphones/features/do-phone-sanitizers-and-phone-cleaners-really-work.
