Best Ways to Sanitize and Kill the Viruses Living on Your iPhone
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Whether it’s keeping the screen pristine or regularly cleaning out ports, most iPhone owners do their part to keep their device in good shape. But how can an iPhone affect your own physical health?
With recent attention turning to cleanliness as a high-priority concern, there are now more reasons than ever to wonder whether your smartphone might play an integral part in the spread of the coronavirus.
Some studies have shown that smartphones often carry more bacteria and germs than bathroom surfaces, like toilet seats.
But thankfully, there are a few important tools that iPhone owners can utilize to maintain a healthy lifestyle and keep their devices clean.
Ultraviolet Phone Sanitizers
For some users, the thought of applying chemicals to their devices is a bit extreme. Use Clorox near the sensitive circuits of an iPhone? No thanks!
In some cases, harsh cleaning solutions can damage the oleophobic coating of a screen, allowing fingerprints to stick to the glass surface longer. And so iPhone owners are flocking to safer alternatives like UV sanitizers. These devices bathe your iPhone or Android device in ultraviolet light, killing 99.9% of germs, bacteria, and viruses.
These devices often run on rechargeable batteries, so you can use them just about anywhere. Best of all, the cleaning process takes only 15 minutes and doesn’t produce any waste. UV sanitizers can cost up to $160, but this model costs just $37.95.
Common Disinfecting Wipes
As obvious as this might sound, sanitizing wipes are a powerful tool for maintaining device safety. Sanitizing wipes rely on special chemicals that are designed to break down and destroy local germs. These include chemicals like hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl alcohol, or ethanol, as well as quaternary ammonium compounds.
Apple updated its cleaning guidelines in early March regarding what is safe to use on Apple products. That includes 70% isopropyl alcohol and your everyday Clorox or Lysol wipes.
Prevention
One of the best ways for germs to get onto a phone is through its owner. If the user fails to wash their hands while in the bathroom, then uses their iPhone, then it’s quite likely that whatever germs they were exposed to will transfer to the device itself.
It’s certainly worth spending time investing in disinfecting wipes and UV disinfection devices, but it’s even more important to keep yourself germ-free so that those viruses won’t return to your just-cleaned device. Make sure to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, avoid touching your face, and follow proper health protocols when possible.
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