Your mobile phone Is 10 Times Dirtier Than A Toilet Seat -So Here Are 5 Tips To Help You Keep It Clean
Yes it’s true, according to scientists at the University of Arizona, the average mobile phone carries 10 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. This is the phone that you (and maybe your young children) hold in your hands and place close to your ears, eyes, nose and mouth on a daily basis.
It shouldn’t really come as any surprise that our phones are filthy, especially considering how dependant we are on them. We use them to make calls, send emails, connect on social media, take photos, light our way in the dark and even make payments, along with thousands of others, on public transport and at supermarket checkouts. When we’re not using our phones we often leave them lying on desks or unfamiliar and possibly unsanitary shared surfaces.
The problem of course is that our mobile phones are exposed to everything they touch. This can leave us with devices that are teeming with yeast, mould, bacteria and sometimes more serious pathogens like MRSA, E. coli or Streptococcus.
Fortunately it’s easy to avoid your smartphone becoming a petri dish of horror. Below is a list of 5 things that you can do to improve the cleanliness of your device. Happy cleaning!
1. Don’t use your smartphone in the toilet
Our phones have become everyday essentials and we carry them around like a spare body part but there’s one place that you should never go with an exposed phone and that’s the toilet. A 2011 study undertaken by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, found that 1 in every 6 smartphones had fecal matter on it. Yes that’s poo. This human waste is typically transferred to your phone by unwashed hands but it can also be transmitted by the spray from a flushed toilet.
2. Don’t share your smartphone
If fecal matter wasn’t enough to make you wary, using someone else’s phone can potentially expose you to cold and flu viruses. If the owner of the phone has coughed or sneezed into it, you’re at risk and a quick wipe of their mobile on their jeans won’t help you. Do yourself a favour and get out of the habit of sharing your or anyone else’s phone. If it’s an emergency, try to clean the device appropriately before you use it.
3. Clean your smartphone
A third of Brits have never cleaned their mobile phones, which is surprising as it’s easy to do and it doesn’t take a great deal of time. If you’re not sure how often to clean your phone, the general advice is to clean it at least four times a month - more regularly if you have a cold or flu.
At Best Choice Cleaning Company, we make our own cleaning sanitiser for our smartphones by blending 60% water with 40% isopropyl rubbing alcohol. We then dampen a lint-free cloth with this solution and wipe down the entire phone. However, as many current smartphone models are sensitive and easily damaged by liquid sprays and cleaners, check the cleaning recommendation for your phone with the manufacturer. Apple recently announced that Clorox disinfecting wipes and 70% isopropyl alcohol could be used to clean their devices but advice differs according to the brand.
4. Use a Sanitising Station
For a thorough rapid clean that will target every hard to reach nook and cranny invest in a sanitising station. These ingenious pieces of equipment use germicidal UV-C light to zap away 99.9% of bacteria and viruses instantly. All you have to do is place your phone in the device and turn the power on.
5. Wash your hands
80% of all infections are transmitted by our hands and the average Brit touches their phone 3000 times a day. So the best way to keep your phone clean is by washing your hands regularly. If your hands get dry as a result, this blog article here should help you.
Words: Susie Vandi
Photo: Charles Deluvio
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