It’s no surprise really, that phones are dirty… really, really dirty.
You talk on your phone when you’re sick, you touch it with dirty hands all day long, what you have on your skin rubs off on it, what you eat probably rubs off on it too – and to back that up, a study by Stanford students concluded that the average personal phone is 18x dirtier than the handle of a toilet.
18 TIMES DIRTIER
THAN A TOILET HANDLE!!!Â
In fact, Stanford’s testing concluded that anything from E. coli to bacterium from strep throat and other contagious bugs you and other’s around you have recently been infected with, can be carried by portable phones. The Stanford study found that once the germs are on the screen of your device, 30% of the germs will make their way onto your hands, and well… from there probably your face, skin, body, etc.
Your phone is essentially a petri dish for bacterium passed from your skin, your mouth, your hands, and the air. The facts are pretty gross. Sure, you’ve probably wiped your phone down, but not cleaned and sanitized it, am I right?
How does one properly clean and sanitize a smartphone? You probably already have the three things in your home or office needed to clean up your phone right now.
Here is what you need and how to clean & sanitize your smartphone:
- Use a piece of fabric, a cotton ball or tissue.
- Mix a small amount of water and a little of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol in a shallow dish.
- The key is to use enough sanitizer to make what you choose to wipe your phone down with is damp, but not soaking and dripping wet. Excess water can ruin your device by causing water damage.
- Wipe your phone down, front and back and without any case on.
Especially important is to sanitize your phone after you or a family member who has been near your phone, has been sick and during flu season. Wash your hands regularly and wipe down your smartphone regularly to keep it clean and from collecting and transferring bacterium.