Keeping Your Devices Sanitized

Want to fend off coronavirus? We’ve assembled five tips and a simple recipe to keep your devices germ-free. There are lots of steps that help prevent the spread of coronavirus—social isolation, masks, hand-washing. But there’s another crucial step that will help out.

“The most important step is one that should be taken throughout the year, not just when word of a brand-new virus is spreading. That’s cleaning your cell phone,” said Alex Rodas, co-founder of GroovyTek.  “Most people handle their cell phones hundreds of times in a day, and that means they’re touching dangerous germs every time they handle their phones or iPads.”

According to GroovyTek, while it may be tempting to just swipe a microfiber cloth across the surface, that is not enough to effectively remove potentially harmful germs.  Here are some smart steps you can take today: 

• UV Sanitizer. Are you paranoid about germs? Maybe you like to call it being extra careful. No matter what label you’d like to put on it, there are lots of products available for your peace of mind. If you’re willing to fork out the dollars for it, there are extra-scientific methods of germ removal. UV sanitizers provide cases that you can place your phone inside. When you close the case, it sanitizes your phone with ultraviolet light that removes all germs. 

• Use rubbing alcohol and water. Coming up with your own solution—60% rubbing alcohol, 40% water—might be the ticket. Mix ? cups of rubbing alcohol and ? cup of aloe vera gel. If you shake it up in an old bottle, you can spritz it onto your cell phone or iPad. You can use that microfiber cloth with this solution. Make sure to wash that cloth in hot water once you’re done with it, though!  

• Use Lysol wipes. Lysol wipes are a great sanitizer. Using any old disinfectant wipe doesn’t work. The materials used may be far too abrasive for a device with a screen made of delicate glass. But Lysol confirms that their wipes are good for TVs, smartphones, and more. 

• Power down and unplug. Before you spray any kind of liquid on your phone, especially if you use the rubbing alcohol and water method, make sure to power it down and unplug it. Electrical shorts and other damage, the kind that makes your phone incapable of even turning on, could occur. 

• Be mindful of how you’re handling your phone. Are you using it in the bathroom? Or leaving it on a bus seat? Are you touching handles and poles on public transportation and then handling your phone? Any of these things will defeat the purpose of proper sanitation. If you clean your phone, and then immediately continue the same bad habits that created the danger zone in the first place, you won’t get very far.

“Using these tips to keep your electronics germ-free is a big step toward staying away from viruses—whether it’s flu season or coronavirus that you’re worried about,” adds Munro. 

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