Do you clean your phone regularly? I do. I know that sounds strange. I hate cleaning. I am no Mrs Hinch and it’s not something I enjoy or love, but cleaning is a task that has to be done.
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But I do regularly clean my phone.
Why?
Because phones are disgusting. Actually our mobile phones are crawling with bacteria. And that’t not me just being a germaphobe. There are many studies and experiments that show that whilst we think toilet seats and other places are germ riddled, actually our mobile phones are also something that could be carrying lots of bacteria and bugs.
Your phone is a breeding ground for a wide variety of different organisms; one scientific study discovered roughly 7,000 types of bacteria in 51 smartphone samples. Before you panic, it’s important to note that many of these bacteria are actually naturally occurring, good-for-us bacteria. Much of what is found on our phones is also what is found in our hands and mouths. That same study revealed that 22% of bacterial families overlapped on fingers and phones. A doctor involved with the study said that mobile phones “carry our own personal biome,” which is one way of looking at things.
Basically, your phone is disgusting, and the more you use it and touch it the more germs and bacteria are going to be on it. If you are like me, you are touching your phone a lot, daily, and then touching other things too. Some of the bugs on our phone are relatively harmless but some of them could cause illness or disease. During the current Covid19 outbreak, the virus lingering on surfaces is considered to be a problem for infection control, but there are also things like stomach virus germs, and good old flu and cold bugs still lurk.
Yuck.
So you SHOULD be cleaning your phone regularly. It is quick and easy to do.
- The bigger brands of phones recommend using a 70% alcohol wipe. You can get them here* and use them as per your phone manufacturer instructions
- Use a microfiber cloth and soap and water. Wipe you phone carefully all over, avoiding entry points for charger ports and speakers. Make sure the cloth isn’t too wet, just damp. Don’t forget to clean the phone case as well if you use one.
- If your phone is waterproof, like many of them are now, you can actually rinse it. Please do check this though before you do.
I find cleaning my phone rather cathartic and satisfying. My husband thinks I am very strange, but then he doesn’t complain becuase I clean his for him too.
So if you aren’t cleaning your phone, regulalry, then why not? It’s not hard and it helps stop germs spreading.
Now, go clean your phone…