The Coronavirus is not the only reason you should disinfect your phone ASAP!
Due to concerns about the spreading COVID-19 (Coronavirus) we have heard that Mobile World Congress canceled the annual giant-mobile-tech event in Barcelona. Facebook canceled its Global Marketing Event and various other cities are canceling major events around the US. While the powers-that-be are frantically trying to work on a vaccine, the one message we keep hearing over and over again is that we need to constantly wash our hands.
According to the CDC website, it seems that the virus possibly spreads in several ways including touching a surface that has the virus on it and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes. And what surface do we touch a lot? Yip – our phone. So could our phones actually help spread the virus and other viruses? Could our phones be infecting us?
I am not the only one who is concerned about this. On Feb 12th, according to The Straits Times, Singapore’s health ministry said that “Be aware of things you commonly touch. The thing most commonly touched is your phone.” Therefore, if someone who is infected, even with the regular flue, happens to sneeze around you, those little droplets could land on your phone. You touch your phone a bazillion times a day and then grab some food which in turn could make you sick.
This isn’t new either.
We have seen many studies over the years continuously warning us that smartphones contain more germs than toilet seats. According to one report on the State Food Safety, the average toilet seat has 1,201 bacteria per square inch. Your phone has 25, 127 Bacteria per square inch. So essentially our phones are a Petri Dish! Let’s be honest here, how many of us take our phones to the toilet? Yeah, that isn’t helping things.
How can you clean your phone?
There are several ways to clean your phone. The most effective is a UV smartphone sanitizer device according to a study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These UV units are widely available and can be bought online from Amazon for around $80.
You can also use alcohol wipes or alcohol spray solution which you can either buy or simply make at home. Head out to your local shop and buy a little spray bottle and some rubbing alcohol. You then mix 60% water with 40% of the rubbing alcohol.
BUT don’t spray it straight on the phone as this could damage the protective oil-repellent and water-repellent coatings coating the phone has.
In order to apply it, spray some of it on cotton wool or a microfiber cloth.
Items to avoid according to CNet are: window cleaner, kitchen cleaner, paper towels, only rubbing alcohol, makeup remover, compressed air, dish soap, hand soap, vinegar, or disinfected wipes to clean your phone.
Don’t forget your phone case
The phone case also needs a good scrubbing and pay special attention to those areas between the phone and the case. These crevices make it easier for bacteria to accumulate.
So while we hope and pray that a vaccine for the coronavirus is produced soon, we can help ourselves by ensuring that the products we continuously touch are as clean as possible.
Of course, next time you head to the toilet, perhaps leaving the phone outside might be the best idea
