COVID-19: Here’s how you can keep your smartphone clean and disinfected

COVID-19: Here’s how you can keep your smartphone clean and disinfected
HIGHLIGHTS

Your smartphone is one of the most potent carriers of germs and disease. Here's how you can disinfect it.

With the 2019-nCoV virus having reached India and more than a handful of cases already reported in the country, it’s high time we start taking adequate precautions to stop the spread of COVID-19 in India. Already, around 139 cases of coronavirus infections have been officially reported with more kept under suspicion. While scientists have figured out how the virus is being transmitted from one victim to another, it’s important to keep ourselves clean and sanitised.

To that effect, the health officials of the country have already released PSAs informing people to wash their hands regularly, prevent touching the face, eyes and mouth, and maintain distance from people. Yet, while we are busy protecting our bodies from the deadly virus, it’s also important to keep our belongings clean and sanitised. Among all the things we carry out daily to our work, schools and the likes, smartphones are easily one of the most used, and as a result, one of the dirtiest things we carry around in our hands every day.

Think about it. Your smartphone goes with you everywhere you go. You set it down on tables, benches, and other public spaces. So does your earphones, laptops and the likes. And in the midst of a growing pandemic, it’s important to prevent these gadgets from becoming carriers for the disease. So here’s a guide to keeping your everyday gadgets clean —

How to clean your smartphone

Things you need:

1. Isopropyl alcohol
2. Cotton swabs
3. Microfiber cloth

Steps:

1. Take the phone out of the case and turn it off. If it’s a TPU case or made of any other washable materials, soak in warm water and rinse it thoroughly. You will find a lot of dust and grime trapped around the edges. If it’s made of leather or other unwashable materials, you can use alcohol-based solutions and cotton swabs to wipe the dirt off.
2. Next, take another clean cotton swab, dip it in an isopropyl alcohol solution and thoroughly clean the speaker grills, earpiece, headphone jack and other ports of the phone. Be careful not to leave any fibres behind, especially in the USB-C/Lightning port. It’s better to use a small brush to clean the port instead of a swab.
3. After that, take a micro-fibre cloth and dip it in the alcohol solution and then wipe the screen and the body without putting too much pressure. It’s important to note that your average household cleaning cloth might be too abrasive for the display and could leave micro-scratches all over the screen. Leave it out to dry.
4. Once the phone and the case are completely clean and dry, put the phone back into the case and start using it. You can turn it back on now.

This is an easy, DIY method to keep your smartphone free of bacteria, dirt and grime. However, in case of a viral outbreak, you ought to take some more stringent steps to disinfect your smartphone.

Going a step further, you can opt to give your smartphone a UV bath. Buying UV sanitisers are expensive but can be a good way to prevent viral buildup on the phone’s surface. You can look at the PhoneSoap 3 (available on Amazon) which is basically a case where you put the phone inside. It has UV lights and when turned on, it basically bathes the phone in germ-killing UV lights. It’s quite expensive to buy and could be difficult to find it in a shop as well. But doing this should clean your smartphone of all possible germs.

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