How to clean your phone to help protect against coronavirus

It’s one thing to stop touching your face. It’s another to stop touching the things that touch your face

Many of us are frantically washing our hands countless times a day to try and ward off the chances of getting coronavirus.

However, heath experts recommend to make sure to clean another daily items consistently like we do our hands - our phones. Our phones are almost like an extension of our hands therefore are a breeding ground for germs.

Tests done by scientists show that the virus can live for two to three days on plastic and stainless steel. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended cleaning all “high-touch” surfaces daily, including phones, keyboards and tablet computers.

But cleaning your phone improperly can damage it. As compiled by New York Times, here are some ways to properly clean your phone safely.

The don'ts

PHOTO: FILE

Any sort of moisture can interfere with your phone’s function. Apple recommended that people avoid using spray cleaners or heavy-duty products. No bleach, no aerosol sprays. You need your phone to work, even if you want it clean.

It's also important to avoid dunking your phone into any sort of liquid, anti-bacterial or otherwise.

The do's

PHOTO: FILE

A gentle wipe with a product that has 70 percent isopropyl alcohol will do the job. Technology experts recommended Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, as well as household disinfectants registered by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Wear disposable gloves to clean and wash your hands thoroughly after you’re done. Like your phone, reusable gloves might harbor virus particles, rendering them effectively useless.

#Coronavirus: 6 ways to effectively work from home

Sharing photos through texts, instead of passing the phone around, and using devices like headphones and technology like Bluetooth to keep your phone away from your face is also highly recommended.

Don't forget your phone case!

PHOTO: FILE

Wipe your phone case down, in and out, through and through. Let it dry before reassembling it.

Why should you clean your phone like your hands?

Coronavirus is an outbreak is fast-moving and research is, by nature, slow to catch up. Experts do not know how long the virus can cling to a surface, but evidence suggests it could be “hours to days.”

PHOTO: FILE

Phones are, well, gross. A 2017 study published in the journal Germs found a host of bacteria, viruses and pathogens on 27 phones owned by teenagers. The scientists wrote that they “hypothesise that this may play a role in the spread of infectious agents in the community.”

Safe is always better than sorry.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.