Disinfecting Phones: A How-To for COVID-19 Prevention
After the dreaded Coronavirus escaped the Wuhan lab of China and found its way into other countries, life has not been the same! Staying home locked is the new norm and working from home has caught up with people in many sectors. People are now resorting to unprecedented measures to stay safe and keep the contagious ailment at bay. Using masks and disinfecting the house is something you must do but that may not be enough. The virus can cling on to hard surfaces and survive for hours. What about the gadgets and accessories you use? It is necessary to disinfect your cell phone periodically too!
How to disinfect your phone properly
Despite the pandemic, it is not possible to stop using your phone. On the contrary, you have been relying on your phone a lot for surviving during the lockdown! When you need to go out, carrying it is necessary. You never know if the phone is acting as the carrier of the dreaded virus. By disinfecting the device well, you can definitely bring down the risk of infection for yourself and others in the house.
The problem is you can’t disinfect a phone the way you disinfect your hands and body! You can’t just dip it in a mug of disinfecting fluid or hot water.
How to clean and disinfect your phone effectively
The EPA has come up with a list of things that can be used to disinfect stuffs like phone and similar small gadgets. You may use wipes, or sprays with 70% alcohol to give your phone a disinfecting clean-up session. You may also use pads.
It is also necessary that you check what the phone manufacturer recommends in this regard. Brands like Samsung and Apple advice using 70% alcohol wipes, Clorox wipes etc. Actually, wipes are better than sprays if reducing risk of infection is a priority. If you spray excessively, the risk of the fluid getting inside the phone and damaging it exists. Not all phones are made water resistant, as it is.
What you should not use to clean a phone?
It is important that you evade using specific types of spray and liquid cleaners to disinfect your phone. Using these products can cause moderate to serious damage to the device. Try not to use the below listed cleaners in this regard:
- Cleaning fluids and sprays that contain bleach
- antibacterial wipes with less than 70% alcohol
- Soap
- vinegar
What else you need to know
After you clean the phone using wipe or spray products, do not forget to wash your hands. Ideally, you should wash hands both before and after cleaning the phone. For safety, do not clean the phone using wipe or spray when it is connected to the charger or a USB port. If the phone is dusty, use a soft cloth to get rid of that dirt and dust first. Take care not to spray inside the charging port while cleaning. You may disinfect the phone once a week. However, if you need to go out often cleaning it more frequently will be necessary.