How often should I clean my Phone?

How often should I clean my phone is an interesting question in today’s current situation. We typically use our phone constantly throughout the day. They’re certainly never far from our hands or holding them up to our ears.

While we often clean surfaces and our hands, our smartphone is a regularly handled object that we do not pay as much attention to.

When should I clean my phone?

You should ideally be cleaning you phone at least as often as you wash your hands. This is the only way to ensure that you are not causing cross contamination between your hands, screen and any other objects you may touch.

This becomes ever more difficult when major phone manufactures advise that you do not use alcohol or antibacterial wipes to clean your device. These strong chemicals can damage the protective coating on your devices. What’s more, more dirt and grime becomes adhered to the screen’s surface over time.

The guidance provided by these companies is to use a soft lint-free or microfibre cloth that is slightly damp to wipe the surface of the phone. The phone should be switched off and you should avoid all ports and external areas where liquid may damage the device.

This can make cleaning your devices fairly risky. Any stray drop of liquid entering the slightest break in your phone’s waterproof seal could have deadly effects and even destroy the phone.

Do I have to use antibacterial wipes to clean my phone?

According to the guidance of two of the major tech giants you shouldn’t. However, this differs greatly from the guidance provided by OnePlus, Huawei and Nokia who suggest that you can use antibacterial wipes designed for devices.

These wipes are specifically designed to not damage any of the more fragile components. What’s more, the wipes typically come in individually sealed packets, ensuring they remain the same strength.

Wipes that can be used to clean phones.

Alternatively, UV light can be used to disinfect your device. This technique lowers the risk of liquid damage. Furthermore, it ensures that you are not using any chemicals that may harm the surface of your phone.

There are a number of UV cleaning boxes available. We would recommend finding one that will fit the majority of your devices, keys and chargers to ensure that you are completely disinfecting all objects you come in to contact with.

Should I be cleaning my other devices?

It is a good idea to clean all of your devices for a few reasons. Firstly it stops grime and dirt building up that may cause damage over time. Secondly, it means your odds of picking up or transferring germs and viruses are significantly lowered.

One of the most common places people forget to clean and disinfect is their keyboard and mouse. These components are regularly touched. Bacteria and viruses can stay alive on these surfaces for a few days.

Follow the same guidance as when cleaning a phone. Use a damp lint free cloth ensuring no large water drops can drip from it and wipe the surface. Most importantly, ensure no water is going to enter the device through the gaps in the keyboard.

We would recommend using wipes, as there is a high risk of liquid damage when putting water near a keyboard. The wipes are relatively dry and unlikely to damage your keys.

We would suggest a similar method for cleaning games console controllers as well. These have gaps between the button and analogue sticks that may allow water to enter the system and fry fragile electrical components.

Is there anything else I can do to keep my devices clean?

There are a number of different accessories and products that you can buy to decrease the odds of picking up any harmful bacteria or viruses from your phone.

We always would suggest fitting a screen protector and case to your phone, doubly so in the current situation. There are many available with built in antimicrobial protection lowering the odds of bacterial contamination.

While this won’t affect viral contaminants, it will lower your odds of getting ill from anything your phone or hands could be carrying on the surface.

Are there any cleaning services that we offer?

We offer a number of internal cleaning services for games consoles, PCs and liquid damaged devices.

These services are designed to clean out internal grime or liquid damage that may be preventing your device from functioning correctly.

For a PS4, Xbox or computer a build up of dust can cause overheating issues and fan failures. Cleaning these out can be a quick way of restoring your device back to normal.

Liquid damage cleaning is the first step in resolving these cases. We open the device and remove all signs of liquid electrical corrosion. From there we test the device to see if any components need repairing or replacing.

If you need any of these services or believe your device has any of the described issues, call or live chat with us to find out how we can help.

Please remember to regularly disinfect your devices during these times and take all reasonable precautions to ensure your safety.