These days our phones hold almost our entire lives, but did you know these devices hold way more germs than your toilet seat? If you didn’t, it might be time to ask the question “how dirty is your phone?”, and boy do we have some answers for you.
Wiping your phone screen doesn’t actually get rid of the germs that your phone carries, in fact, research at the National Centre for Cell Science has found that a smartphone has about 250,000 germs per square inch. Studies have shown that 1 in 6 phones contain the E.coli bacteria which is a bacteria found in faeces (yuck!). This means your phone is perhaps your dirtiest possession that you own and it’s more than likely dirtier than…
- Your dogs’ food bowl
- A public toilet seat
- The bottom of your shoes
- and much much more!
So how does our phone get so dirty?
Every time we use our phones, we are touching the screen which transfers any bacteria from our hands to our phone. Some of the ways our phones contract so many germs include:
- Sweat
- Placing your phone on any surface
- Using our phone during or after going to the bathroom
- Using the phone after eating
- Playing with your pets
- After or during cleaning
- While on public transport
Keeping your phone clean
After many hours of research I’ve come to the conclusion there’s no long-term solution to keeping bacteria off your phone. Unless you have a wash proof phone that you can wash under water a few times a day, you can try these short-term solutions to keeping the number of germs to a minimum.
- Use a microfiber cloth and spray the cloth with a small amount of a water and vinegar solution, then wipe over your phone
- Using a cover for your phone
- Washing your hands thoroughly after any activity such as the ones above before touching your phone
As you can see, these methods will only reduce the number of bacteria on your phone and as with anything, you need to be careful when using any liquid on your phone. Your best bet would be to invest in a waterproof phone that can easily be washed with water, but these aren’t the cheapest devices to snap up. So I recommend washing your hands properly after any activity before touching your phones.
Happy texting!
How dirty is your phone? Let us know in the comments below!
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