The Wonders Of Disinfecting Your Phone

Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, we've all been told to wash our hands often, avoid close contact with others, and disinfect our work space. But what about our phones? Could they harbor the virus?

I'm sure most of you would say no, how could it when I'm the only one touching it, right? That would be true, but what if you touch a door handle or counter that has the virus on it? Then, you touch your phone -- see where this is going?

According to medical experts speaking on Good Morning America last week, COVID-19 can live on an inanimate surface like metal, glass or plastic, all of the materials used to make phones, for up to nine days. Plus, they have suggested that as many times as you wash your hands, you should consider wiping down your phone. Remember, this is the device you touch most often with your hands and face, which means that any bacteria, virus or other germs that makes its way onto your phone or case could easily transfer to your skin.

Professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Arizona Charles Gerba told nypost.com that the phone is virus vulnerable because we touch dirty surfaces, then pick up our phones.

You do not have to sneeze on a cell phone to transmit disease-causing organisms. What we found out in studying virus movement on surfaces in office buildings is that you touch a surface with a virus on it and then you place it on your cell phone. You then go home or to another location and you touch your phone again and, say, touch a table moving it to another location — great way to spread viruses around an office.

Now since you can't use just any cleaner on your phone and other electronic devices, you have to be careful. Using harsh cleaners is a bad idea because manufacturers put anti-scratch, anti-fingerprint and other coatings on many newer phones, and harsh cleaners can break that down.

With that in mind, Apple announced this week on its website that it's OK to clean your phone with disinfectant wipes like Clorox, or any wipes that have 70% isopropyl alcohol. Of course, you can always use any type of micro fiber. Samsung has yet to comment on using wipes on their devices.

So with all the precautions you're following already, there's one more important one you should add to your list, and that's cleaning your phone daily.