How to Clean Your Phone: A Step-By-Step Guide

Did you know that cell phones have over 17,000 bacterial gene copies on them? This might have you feeling a bit grossed out. Even prior to the pandemic this is cause for concern, as the bacteria has the potential to make you sick.

But before you go dunking your phone in water and bleach, think again. While chemicals like bleach can definitely be heavy-duty germ killers, they can damage your phone!

So how can you clean your phone so you don’t have to worry about those germs anymore?

Read on to find out how to clean your phone in a safe and efficient way.

Turn Off Your Phone

Before you start cleaning your phone, you need to turn it off first. This ensures that if any liquid accidentally gets inside the ports, it won’t malfunction.

This is true for all smartphones, even those that are water-resistant. To decrease the risk of damage, it’s best if you avoid getting liquids in your phone, period.

You’ll also want to remove it from its case and unplug all the attachments so you can completely clean all surfaces on your phone.

Wash Your Hands

Another thing you’ll want to do is wash your hands thoroughly before cleaning your phone. Otherwise, you’ll just get more germs on it after cleaning, which will defeat the purpose of even doing so in the first place!

While most of us know how to wash our hands, it never hurts to have a refresher. You’ll want to wet your hands, lather them with soap, and scrub for at least 20 seconds (hum the birthday song; its length is around 20 seconds long). Then rinse off the soap and dry your hands off completely.

Use Antibacterial Wipes

If you’ve got something like Lysol wipes in your house, these are perfect for cleaning your phone! Grab a sheet and wipe down the entire outside of your smartphone.

If you’re wondering how to clean your phone screen, you can use the wipes still. Make sure to wipe gently to ensure you don’t accidentally scratch the surfaces and/or screen.

If you have a cracked screen, you might want to get that repaired first before you start cleaning your phone. The liquids can get in the cracks and possibly damage your phone further!

Now let your phone air dry for at least 15 minutes. Not only does this give the antibacterial wipes more time to work their magic, but it also ensures that you’re not putting your phone back into its case wet, which can cause it to grow mold or mildew.

Use an Alcohol-Based Disinfectant Cleaner

If you don’t have antibacterial wipes, then you can use an alcohol-based disinfectant cleaner instead. Make sure it has at least 70% isopropyl, as this is the strength needed to kill germs effectively.

Get a microfiber cloth and spray it with the cleaner. Now wipe your phone thoroughly with the cloth.

Like with the antibacterial wipes, you’ll want to allow your phone to dry for at least 15 minutes before you touch it again.

How to Clean Your Accessories

In addition to cleaning your phone, you’ll want to clean your accessories as well. Here’s some advice on how to get a completely clean phone!

How to Clean the Case

The way to clean your case will depend on what material it’s made of.

Plastic is more durable, so it’ll be easier to clean. Simply make a bleach or dish soap solution, soak your case for 5-10 minutes, and then scrub it with a sponge or toothbrush to get rid of dirt and grime. Then rinse it off completely.

For all other materials, you’ll want to use a dish soap or vinegar solution. These are gentler!

You can clean your case thoroughly once a month and then use things like antibacterial wipes once a week for maintenance.

How to Clean Your Earbuds

First, pop off the silicone covers if there are any. Soak them in a dish soap solution for at least 30 minutes. After that, dip a Q-tip in the solution and scrub them to get rid of excess dirt and grime.

You can then rinse the covers and leave them to air-dry overnight.

To clean the earbud mesh cover, dip a Q-tip in isopropyl alcohol and rub it over the mesh. Make sure you don’t use too much alcohol since it can drip in and damage your earbuds.

Now dip a microfiber cloth in the isopropyl and wipe the outer surfaces of your earbuds. You should also clean the cords if you don’t have wireless earbuds.

Lastly, let your earbuds air-dry for at least 15 minutes.

How Often to Clean Your Phone

Now that you know how to clean your phone, you might be wondering how often you should do so.

In general, you’ll want to clean your phone and its accessories once a week. However, if you use your phone quite a bit, you’ll want to bump it up to a few times a week, or even every day if you’re out and about daily. On the other hand, if your phone’s pretty neglected, you can get away with a less frequent cleaning schedule.

The important thing is that you clean it on a regular basis so the bacteria doesn’t get a chance to multiply and thrive, which can make you sick.

Know How to Clean Your Phone Right

After reading this article, you should now know how to clean your phone in the correct fashion, as well as your case and accessories.

Make sure you clean them on a regular basis since your phone is a hot touchpoint. Considering we’re in the middle of a serious pandemic, it wouldn’t hurt to step up your cleaning schedule so you can get peace of mind about staying healthy!

If you’ve already tried some ways to clean your phone prior to reading this post, then it might not be functioning correctly. In that case, we’re here to help! Start a smartphone repair with us now and we’ll get you back up and running again!