Our cell phones go everywhere and that means they pick up everything as well. Washing your hands to ward off Covid-19 means nothing it you then pick up an infected cell phone. Researchers at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found the virus can survive for up to three hours in the air and on plastic for up to 72 hours and on cardboard for up to 24 hours.
What NOT to use
Never use the following items to clean a cell phone or you can permanently damage the screen:
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Household cleaners
- Window cleaners
- Compressed air or any aerosol spray cleaners
- Harsh chemicals such as acetone, benzene, toulene
- Bleach
- Any abrasive powders
- Straight alcohol
Step 1: Getting Ready
- Unplug the phone and turn it off.
- Unplug any earbuds or chargers.
- Remove any protective covers or cases. These will need to be cleaned separately.
Step 2: Mix your cleaner
- Take a small spray bottle
- Mix Distilled Water and 70% Isopropyl Alcohol. Distilled water is only needed if you have extremely hard water since the minerals can scratch the phone’s surface.
- You can also do a mix of 50% distilled water and 50% white vinegar.
- Shake up the mixture
Step 3: Cleaning
- Use ONLY a soft microfiber cloth. Anything abrasive cloths will scratch your screen!
- Avoid excess moisture on the screen as this can damage your phone.
- Lightly spray or dampen the corner of a lint-free microfiber cloth.
- Gently wipe down the lens and then move to the buttons and then the back of the phone
- Use a dry cotton swab to clean the attachment ports. These are good at removing the grime that accumulates in these areas as cleaning out the corners of your phone cases.
- Allow the Phone to dry completely for at least 15 minutes.
Step 4: Cleaning the case
There’s no point cleaning your cell phone and putting it back into a dirty case. Cases are the quickest to clean.
- Silicone cases are the easiest to wash as they can be completely submerged in warm water and cleaned with a bit of dishwashing soap. Be sure to clean those textured edges since this is where a lot of dirt can build up.
- Hard cases should be wiped down with the distilled water and alcohol solution.
- Cloth cases can be gently washed with a cloth and laundry soap. Leather cases should be cleaned with a saddle soap for leather.
Make sure the case is completely dry before inserting the phone.
Step 5: Cleaning Accessories
Use a microfiber cloth dampened with the the water/alcohol solution. Gently wipe down chargers and earbuds. You don’t want anything to infect your nearly cleaned phone.
If you have any disinfectant wipes containing 70% isopropyl alcohol you can use these to touch up your phone after taking it out in public.
