As most of us use our phones constantly throughout the day, they come into contact with a lot of surfaces and consequently can become very dirty without us even realising. Research has found that your phone actually carries more bacteria than many household objects, including doorknobs, kitchen sinks, toilets and even a dog's food dish (Southern Phone, 2018). The tips below can help keep your phone as clean as possible, and consequently, reduce the number of germs they transmit to you.

 

1. Wash your hands

The first tip for keeping your phone clean is an obvious one, wash your hands consistently. Everyone knows you need to wash your hands to keep them clean and germ-free, and as this is where your phone spends most of its time, it's also essential for keeping it clean too. By building the habit of washing your hands before you pick up your phone, it can significantly minimise the transmission of germs from your hands to your phone (Bickerstaff Glover, 2019).

 

 

2. Be mindful of where your phone is

While most of us don't go handing our phone around to just anyone or putting it down in unfamiliar places, it can still be helpful to be more aware of where your phone is and who is touching it. You have no way of knowing if other people or places are being as hygienic as you are, and bacteria can live on a hard surface like a phone for days (Whitney, 2020).

 

 

3. Don't take it where you don't need to

We can often get so caught up in using our phones that we don't register that we're in a place where we shouldn't be using our phone (Bickerstaff Glover, 2019). One of the biggest culprits of this is using your phone on the toilet. While we all know this is not sanitary practice, many of us can't resist the temptation. When you take your phone to places like the toilet, you open them up to a lot of bacteria, and whilst we all know to wash our hands when we come out, not all of us remember that our phones also need just as much cleaning.

 

 

4. Leave it alone while you eat

It is easy to be eating a meal and pick up our phone to check it, or show someone something, but this is not good practice for keeping you and your phone clean. This is especially important while you're eating as if your phone isn't clean it is easy for bacteria to make it from your phone to your hands and into your mouth, leaving you susceptible to a range of illnesses (Bickerstaff Glover, 2019).

 

 

5. Use the right products

 

 

While the above tips are good habits to get into, the most important part of keeping your phone clean, is using the right products and cleaning it regularly. To kill as much of the bad bacteria as possible, it's recommended to use an alcohol wipe with up to 70% alcohol (Insider, 2020). This will kill most germs, but it is also important to note not to use any products with a stronger alcohol concentration, as they can damage your screen, or can even erode any internal components. At Cygnett we are currently (as of March 27th, 2020) giving away free alcohol swabs with every online purchase, which will help assist with this process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References
(13/03/2020). [Rebecca Cairns, Does alcohol kill germs? Yes, as long as the solution is strong enough] Retrieved from https://www.insider.com/does-alcohol-kill-germs
(18/03/20). [Carrie Whitney, How Long Can Viruses Live on Surfaces?] Retrieved from https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/cellular-microscopic/long-can-viruses-live-on-surfaces.htm
(08/05/18). [The dirty truth: Our mobile phones are crawling with bacteria]. Retrieved from www.southernphone.com.au/
(04/12/19). [Robin Bickerstaff Glover, Essential Tips to Keep Your Cell Phone Clean]. Retrieved from https://www.thespruce.com/cell-phones-are-personal-items-1216945