by We wash our hands, gentle shopping carts and wipe cafés. But what about our telephones? We touch these devices dozens of times a day and take them everywhere from the kitchen to the dining table and even in the bathroom.
Telefons can be contaminated with many types of potential germs. When was the last time you wiped your off – and with what?
If you use the wrong cleaning agents or tools, you can strip the protective coatings of your phone, reduce waterproof seals or even influence the sensitivity to touch.
Do telephones really need cleaning?
Touch screens are covered with fingerprints and stains so that there are aesthetic and functional reasons to wipe off your screen.
Another reason is about potential health concerns. Whenever mobile phones are exchanged for microorganisms, scientists inevitably find hundreds of bacterial and virus species.
Touch screens are covered with fingerprints and spots (Getty/iStock)
Although not all of this disease cause, the transmission potential is available. We use telephones in the bathroom and then put them close to our mouth, touch them while eating and give them between people in meetings, cafes, parties and classrooms.
In contrast to hands that can be washed many times a day, phones are rarely cleaned correctly – if at all.
If you want to disinfect your phone, it is also important not to damage it.
Some cleaning products damage your phone
You may think that a short blow with a household cleaner or one hand is a clever abbreviation to keep your phone clean. However, many of these products can actually affect the surface and internal components of their device over time.
For example, both apple and Samsung recommend the use of bleach, hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, aerosol sprays, window cleaners or alcohol towels with high concentration (over 70%) on their devices.
Most smartphones are covered with an oleophobic layer – a thin film that represents fingerprints and stains. Hard chemicals such as alcohols, acetone or ammonia cries can move out this coating, which makes your screen more susceptible to dirt and reduced touch reaction.
Vinegar, a common DIY disinfectant, can corrode aluminum or plastic edges due to its high acid. Bleaching agents and hydrogen peroxide are highly effective as disinfectants, are also too aggressive for the sensitive materials used in consumer electronics.
Watches with a high alcohol content can dry out plastics and make them brittle with repeated use.
In short: if the cleaner is hard enough to disinfect your kitchen bench, it is probably too hard for your phone.
Then how should I clean my phone?
The good news is that the correct cleaning of your phone is simple and inexpensive. You only have to follow the guidelines supported by large manufacturers. You should also remove protective covers or accessories if you clean your phone.
Most technology companies recommend 70% isopropyl alcohol towels (not higher), soft microfiber cloths and antistatic, soft-bistled brush made of nylon, horsehair or goat hair to clean delicate areas such as speaker grills and charging connections.
The correct cleaning of your phone is simple and inexpensive (Getty)
During the Covid pandemic, Apple revised its cleaning guidelines to enable the use of Klorox disinfectant wipes and 70% isopropyl alcohol on iPhones, provided they are carefully used to avoid harmful sieve coatings or immerse moisture into the device.
Samsung offers similar advice and recommends that users delete their phones with a microfiber cloth with a 70% alcohol solution and at the same time keep the direct application on ports and openings.
Prevent accidental damage if you use these tips
Never spray the liquid directly onto the phone, as moisture can penetrate in ports and internal components, which leads to short circuits or corrosion.
The immersion of your phone in a cleaning solution is also risky for waterproof models: the seals that prevent water from entering, such as rubber seals, adhesives, nano layers and silicone layers can deteriorate over time.
Avoid using paper towels, tissues or rough towels, leaving the scratches on the screen or pouring linuses that clog the openings.
After all, be careful if you are transferred via the agreement. Excessive wiping or scrubbing can wear out protective coatings, which makes your phone more susceptible to fingerprints, stains and long -term surface damage.
How often should I clean my phone?
Although there is no strict rule for how often you should clean your phone, it would make sense.
If you regularly bring your phone in high -risk environments such as public transport, hospitals, gyms or bathrooms, it is advisable to clean it more often.
If you take it seriously with hygiene, it makes sense not only to clean your hands, but one of the things that you touch the most.
If you do it wrong, you can slowly damage your device. But it’s simple, affordable and doesn’t take much time.
Meena JHA is technology and pedagogy cluster-cml-net at CQUniversity Australia.
This article will be released from the conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read that Original article.
