In this guide, we will see how to clean our phone, smartphone or tablet well without damaging it to remove viruses, bacteria, and germs.
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Without falling into alarms or excessive recommendations, with current times, it is advisable to maintain good hygiene measures in the objects we use daily. It is enough to follow some daily hygiene recommendations to preserve the good care of electronic devices in our home.
Washing your hands with soap and water or with disinfectant gel is one of the fundamental measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Every day we touch the subway bars, the condominium doors, the elevator buttons.
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But there is something that is touched much more- PHONES. They are constantly used with the fingers. You bring them closer to the face to speak or to the mouth to send WhatsApp recordings.
And their owners also let other people touch them to read a funny message, see the photo of the last trip or a conversation. Can coronavirus remain on smartphone screens? Scientists believe this, as is the case with other similar viruses. And therefore they recommend cleaning them frequently.
How to clean and disinfect the phone without damage
The smartphone is one of the dirtiest objects and, in an emergency like this, it is essential to keep it clean, protected from viruses and bacteria. In addition, the phone is in direct contact with the hands and face, two of the main pathways for coronavirus infection. For this reason, brands such as Apple and Samsung have published manuals on how to clean screens without damaging them.
The first of the recommendations to keep in mind is that it is not necessary to use aggressive cleaning chemicals such as sprays, bleaches or abrasive liquids.
It is also not recommended to spray the cleaning liquid directly on the product. It is important to prevent moisture from entering areas such as the charging point or the headphone jack.
Until recently, many manufacturers simply said that using a little soap and water was enough to clean the mobile phone screen. But now, and especially after the problems caused by the coronavirus, companies like Apple have updated their recommendations and are a bit more specific in an attempt to maximize germ disinfection by cleaning the screen.
Therefore, it is recommended to use wipes soaked in 70% isopropyl alcohol or more. The wipes should be soft and lint-free, as this will prevent them from sticking. Use them on the device with fluid movements and prevent moisture from entering the grooves, the ideal is to make movements from top to bottom. When finished, use a dry corner of a cloth to remove excess moisture.
Manufacturers like Apple also recommend specific disinfectant wipes designed to kill viruses and bacteria, recommending those from brands like Bewinner. It is not a very common brand, but its wipes are designed precisely for disinfecting surfaces.
Samsung suggests on its website to do it with a soft, dry cloth and moisten a corner only if necessary. According to the South Korean manufacturer, in the latter case, the movements must be carried out from top to bottom, then the dry corner is passed to remove moisture.
You can also opt for a screen protector. Tempered glass can be easily cleaned, thus avoiding exposing the mobile screen directly to any product. The microbiologist Charles Gerba suggests in the Health magazine to clean the phone with a microfibre cloth slightly moistened with a mixture of 60% water and 40% alcohol.
In this case, as he points out, it is important not to apply the mixture directly on the smartphone to avoid damaging it. “Gently wipe the phone to remove unwanted bacteria and use a dry corner of the cloth to remove excess liquid.”
Finally, if you have a phone case, it is important that you remember to clean it. Here, everything will depend on the material the cover is made of, but for example, in the case of TPU or silicone gel covers, it is usually sufficient to remove them, clean them well with soap and water, wait for them to dry and put them back on the phone.
Use a smartphone sterilizer
To clean your phone you can buy an electronic sterilizer. These disinfectants use ultraviolet light kills 99% of bacteria, germs, and viruses. They are fast, simple and ideal for small objects, such as phones, masks, glasses, keys, beauty accessories, etc. With this device, you can keep all your items disinfected.
The process does not take time- in just 180 seconds it is able to block the spread of the virus. Nothing could be more convenient since all you have to do is insert the mobile phone or any other small object and press a button.
You can buy them here on Amazon
What NOT to do to clean your phone
The first thing to keep in mind is that most smartphones on the market have an oleophobic coating. This coating is used to try to keep the screen as clean as possible and to ensure that fingerprints are not as marked. Some chemicals can damage this protective layer, so it is important to know what to use and what not to use.
It is important never to use abrasive sponges, abrasive cloths, towels, paper or other similar cleaning products. Also, do not use aerosol sprays or cleaning products as window cleaning solutions, as they usually have excessively potent chemicals that are not recommended.
As a precaution, many manufacturers usually advise turning off the phone and unplugging it before cleaning it, so if you moisten it too much you can wait for it to dry before turning it on to avoid problems. And it is important that moisture does not penetrate the openings and slots on the phone.
Do not use compressed air to try to dust everywhere, even in the grooves. The power it exits can damage the device inside.
