Here’s the right way to clean your phone - Deseret News

Here’s the right way to clean your phone - Deseret News

The coronavirus causing COVID-19 may remain viable for hours to days on some surfaces, so knowing how to correctly clean our devices is important.

The No. 1 suggestion from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect yourself from coronavirus is to wash your hands. We touch a lot of germ-ridden things throughout the day, and possibly none more than our devices.

A 2018 Global Mobile Consumer Survey from Deloitte found the average American looks at their phone 52 times each day. And iPhone users are even worse. Apple’s head of security engineering and architecture, Ivan Krstić, has reported even bigger numbers. “We know that for our iPhone users on average they unlock their phone 80 times a day,” Krstić said.

The CDC stresses that cleaning and disinfecting surfaces we frequently touch is important and notes we should clean our phones and keyboards every day.

The best way to clean phones can can vary among manufacturers, but here are the basics from Apple and Samsung.

• Unplug all cables, and turn off the device.
• Wipe the glass with a soft, clean cloth. Do not use paper towels.
• Dampen the cloth if needed, but do not use window cleaner or aerosol sprays.
• Do not use compressed air.

Apple recently updated its support page to give the thumbs up to using 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. Apple says it’s OK to use the wipes to gently clean the exterior surfaces of your all Apple devices.

If the disinfectant wipes are all sold out at stores near you, you could make your own. The CDC says to make sure you’re using an alcohol solution with at least 70% alcohol.

Another option for cleaning your phone is to use an ultraviolet light cleaner. These devices look like little tanning beds for your phone. But instead of using UV-B light to get a golden bronze, these sanitizers use UV-C light to disinfect. The light waves deactivate the DNA inside viruses and stop their ability to reproduce and spread, according to Mashable.

We haven’t seen any studies yet on whether these UV light sanitizers are effective against coronavirus specifically. Mashable reported that one manufacturer, PhoneSoap said the virus’ characteristics are similar to a type of flu virus that the UV light knocks out. But the company didn’t want to overstate the product’s capabilities.

None of PhoneSoap’s products are immediately available with the soonest shipping date listed as April 30 for the PhoneSoap Wireless, and the PhoneSoap 3, which comes in eight different colors, is currently sold out and only available for preorder. PhoneSoap offers a lifetime warranty on their products. The PhoneSoap 3 is $79.95 and sanitizes your phone while it charges.

When you start searching online, many UV light sanitizers are sold out, but I did find a few still in stock.

HoMedics UV-Clean Phone Sanitizer claims to kill up to 99.9% of bacteria and viruses and takes just 30 seconds per side to do its job. The company says you’ll get 70 uses per charge and it comes in black, lavender and a dark red for $79.99.

On the budget end is the UV Smart Phone Sanitizer for $39 that includes an aromatherapy function. Amazon is showing it won’t ship until April.

The PūrLite Home claims to be “the world’s most powerful UV-C cleaner on the market” that has a unique design to allow full 360 degree coverage for disinfecting. It’s $199.99 and comes in gray or white.

You can buy UV light sanitizers for personal use, but you may not need to if you live near a Samsung store. Right now the company is offering its complimentary Galaxy Sanitizing Service using UV light in some stores.

Other common sense measures will keep fewer germs from hanging out on your phone.

• Use voice assistants and ear buds as much as possible
• Don’t share your phone with others.
• Clean your case as well as your phone.
• Don’t use your phone in the bathroom.

Making sure our devices are clean is just one simple step we can all take to help keep germs at bay.

2020-03-18 01:18:40Z
https://www.deseret.com/entertainment/2020/3/17/21182127/cellphone-germs-cleaning-coronavirus-covid19

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