“Did you know the smartphone in your pocket might be the dirtiest thing on you at any given moment?” Todd Haselton writes for CNBC. “An oft-cited report from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that 92 percent of the smartphones it tested were covered with bacteria.”
Worse, 16 percent of the phones it examined had E. coli present. Another study says smartphone displays can be dirtier than a toilet seat,” aselton writes. “Yuck! Here’s how to keep your phone clean.”
• Wash your hands
• Clean the display with a soft cloth
• Use a light disinfectant wipe: Apple advises against using liquids or disinfectants on its devices, so keep that in mind, but the fact is you’re not going to get rid of bacteria without something more powerful than a soft cloth. Lysol disinfectant wipes work well — I’ve been using them on my gadgets for years without issue — and will kill 99.9 percent of viruses and bacteria.
• Consider a UV gadget cleaner [Bluelasers Portable UV Light Cell Phone Sterilizer, $35 via Amazon]
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We use Windex (original, blue) – not too much – just a bit on a soft paper towel – then wipe down the iPhone. With our Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus units, every fingerprint is visible, so we like to keep them as clean as possible!
Maybe we’re just lucky, but we’ve never had an issue with a bit of Windex sprayed directly on a paper towel (we use it on our Magic Mouse units, MacBooks, iMacs, Magic Keyboards, Magic Trackpads, etc.)
As always, officially, follow whatever product care guidelines Apple provides.
What do you use to clean your iPhones, Macs, and accessories?
All you need to do is put a few big globs of Purell hand gel, get a napkin, and rub the gel all over the front, back, and sides of the phone. It dries instantly, and you have a germ-free phone. I do this once every two days.
I use a little Windex with vinegar does the job and no streaking along with a microfiber cloth or paper towel. I quit using those alcohol wipe packets because they’re expensive and they tend to streak.
I use a solution of 50% rubbing alcohol (70%) and 50% distilled water. It may not disinfect my iPhone, bit I feel better.
This is Earth. Bacteria are everywhere. Wash your hands before eating and don’t touch your face and you’ll be good to go.
Maybe I should have clicked through to the article, but the summary didn’t impress. “Covered with bacteria” !! Horrors. Everything is covered with bacteria. Being too antiseptic is not a positive thing. It’s a question of what bacteria. If it’s herpes or resistant TB, then maybe you have a problem. I’d ask, where’s your phone been? E. coli? When I was in high school biology, it was considered one of the most common bacteria, in your gut and everywhere. I say, “get a grip” and live. I clean with just a soft cloth for months at a time.
Step one wash your hands, Step two don’t take it to the bathroom, Step three wash your hands……
Lots of decent advice – but one thing: paper towels are like a very fine grade of sandpaper on plastics, probably finishes like Apple’s black gloss phone and screens. Use something less abrasive.
You should NEVER use paper to clean glass..it will ritually scratch it! Micro Fiber cloths are everywhere! Use them!
Show me someone who avoids germs and constantly washes everything with disinfectant wipes, and I’ll show you someone with a lousy immune system.
I use just a drop of vinegar on very fine sand paper.
JUST a drop of vinegar.
I hear that the Magic Erasers work pretty well. 😇
I use an immune system that I evolved over millions of years to take care of low grade bacteria.
“I use an immune system that I evolved over millions of years to take care of low grade bacteria.”
Those of us who grew up on farms are the healthiest people on the planet. We grew up with normal exposure to bacteria, etc. and it created a normal strong immune system.