What Germs are Living on Your Cell Phone and How to Sanitize it

Your mobile phone is with you everywhere you go; at work, on the bus, in the park, in the hospital. You touch it all the time, you sometimes drop it on the ground. You even pass it to other people. All this makes for a lot of dirt accumulating on the device. In fact, the dirt is so much that researchers claim phones are dirtier than a toilet is. This is staggering. If you thought money was dirty now you can add one more item to the list.

 

Mobile devices store a lot of dust and grime. As a result many germs build up on them. When you use your phone, these germs are transferred to your hands and face. Scientists did some tests with phones and inspected the levels of germs these gadgets store. It turned out ten times the amount of bacteria (which by the way causes stomach problems and nausea) than the germs to be found in the toilet bowl.

 

The reason for this according to experts is that people often lend their phones to other people which helps spread bacteria. The problem is that these devices are not cleaned regularly or at all. This results in constant disease build-ups.

 

 

Microbiologist Charles Gerba, who currently works for the University of Arizona, says he found out that the germs tend to get on a device because it is very close to your mouth and hands. It is therefore easy for the bacteria to be transferred onto the phone as well.

 

Professor Gerba points out that you should clean your mobile phone with anti-bacterial substance on a regular basis. Giving the device a wipe should be made a habit. According to him, people do not consider cleaning routines for their gadgets because they are electronic. Proper clean will not damage your phone, however, so do not restrain from it if this is the reason why you don’t put it on the agenda.

 

Scientists also found out that some of the things we assume to be clean turn out to be quite dirty.

 

For example, cash machines have a similar number of germs. Computer keyboards seem to be so dirty that they exceed the dirt levels of a toilet seat five times.

 

So now that you know these facts you probably want to give your phone a clean. As we already pointed out, regular wipes with anti-bacterial substance is a good way to start. You need to disinfect the gadget to remove all the germs that live in it.

 

Another method you can go for is to use rubbing alcohol with the highest concentration; 97% or more, as advised by experts. Use a cloth, rag or a towel to sprinkle the alcohol over. Wet the rag and wipe down the phone. Make sure you cover every part. Dip a Q-tip or a toothpick to go in between the keys on the keypad.

 

When working your way to the screen, make sure you don’t press too hard. Too much pressure may damage your phone.

 

Before you start cleaning the device, you may want to disassemble it to obtain better results. Or at least make sure you remove the battery. Also, turn off the phone as this will save you further trouble.

 

The reason why you should use rubbing alcohol with concentration higher than 97% is that lower concentration products may act as conductors. You want to get rid of the germs, not to make them resistant to various cleaning products.

 

Consider well the facts mentioned above and take care of your phone. The more often you clean it, the better for everyone.

 

Author Bio: July Minor is passionate blogger and writer keen on different topics about hygiene. She works for Ealing professional cleaners and has much time to write.