One of the local News stations ran a segment yesterday evening on just how many germs are on our cell phones. In many cases, the levels were higher than found on toilets! Absolutely disgusting.
The segment went one to recommend (and they showed) disinfecting your phone with the commercial wipes you would commonly use on your counters and in your bathrooms! Somebody forget to tell them that this was not a smart idea. First, the chemicals in these cleaners any damage certain plastics including many of the touchscreens found on most cell phones. If that is not enough, cell phones and other electronic devices are not compatible with liquids. While some of these wipes may relatively dry, the last ones to come out of the container are very wet and many have a high moisture content (I know. We use these to keep our front counter clean.) Regardless of how wet these are, ANY moisture that gets in can be disastrous. Use this technique and you might find yourself with a germ free paperweight!
So how does one deal with a germ ridden cell phone? If you are that concerned, a quality repair center can disassemble and clean it properly (albeit voiding your warranty). Otherwise you can accept it knowing that your car keys, pens, money and a number of other items you use daily probably carry as many germs and you do not seem too concerned about disinfecting them.
The our advice – start by trying to keep your phone as germ free as possible. This is one case were an ounce of protection is worth a pound of cure. The majority of the germs residing on our cell phones come from the surfaces they touch. The simplest way to keep your phone clean is to keep your hands clean – something you should be doing anyway. Wash often and use hand sanitizer when you cannot. A few other helpful tips to keep your phone germ free:
- Do not lend out your phone (do you really know where your friend’ s hands have been?)
- Keep it out of the bathroom
- Keep it off the kitchen counter
- Keep it off public surfaces (I don’t even want to touch many of them.)
- Keep it in a case – if you can’t touch it, neither can germs.
Whatever you do, please do NOT use disinfecting wipes, sanitizers or sprays to clean your phone! It may end up germ free, but so will it’s replacement!
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If only all bloggers spent enough time to come up with content such as this. But then again that would be asking too much.
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Boldy
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You have tested it and writing form your personal experience or you find some information online?
This is based on our experience and knowledge on the subject,
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