The Cell Phone Hygiene Tips You Need

Did you know that the average person touches their phone upwards of 2,500 times a day?

This might not seem like a particularly worrying statistic. However, when you pair that concept with the fact that our phones are distressingly dirty and we tend to touch our faces an average of 20 times an hour, one thing becomes clear. It’s time to make sure our phones aren’t making us sick.

We could stop using our phones as much. We could try to touch our faces less. As humans who use hand motions for healthy communication in today’s modern world, these options may not be feasible.

Today, let’s talk about cell phone hygiene and how to keep ourselves safe in our increasingly mobile world.

Cleaning Your Cell Phone: Staying Safe and Connected, Too

We tend to overlook how truly dirty our phones can get, but they’re one of the most bacteria-infested objects we touch on a routine basis. Think about it: You probably put your phone down on various public surfaces without thinking too much about it (restaurant tables, bathroom counters, grocery store shelves and more). Your phone also carries any germs that you have on your hands. These germs — including Salmonella, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus—are everywhere. You need to take a proactive stance to make sure that you don’t get infected.

Here are the phone hygiene habits you need to keep you and your loved ones healthy and happy:

Wash your hands. Our hands are part of us. How could anything on them be harmful? This familiarity can lend itself to a false sense of security. Our hands pick up germs from everything we touch, from doorknobs to receipts, crosswalk buttons, and even other people’s hands. Make sure that you’re not transferring those microbes to your phone by washing your hands with an antibacterial hand soap regularly. (Pro tip: Select an alcohol-free waterless soap that also moisturizes, so you’re not setting yourself up for dry, itchy skin.)

Wipe your phone clean regularly. Make a habit of using a trusted cleaner to give your phone itself a clean slate. The FCC recommends doing so by turning off your phone and using a microfiber cloth and a trusted antimicrobial disinfectant to gently remove any invisible contaminants from all surfaces of your device.

Keep your phone to yourself. We tend to feel pretty free to let other people handle our phones, from sharing pictures to contact info and more. Consider this your invitation to stop doing that! Your phone is personal (and other people’s hands have as much bacteria on them as yours do).

Keep your phone in your pocket. It might take effort to reduce your habit of putting your phone down on any nearby, convenient surface, but it’ll be worth it. Take your phone out to use it, then place it back in one easy-access, secure location.

Don’t touch your phone at the table. Put your phone away and wash your hands before you eat, and refrain from reaching for your phone until you’re done eating. Even if you’re eating with a fork, it’s crucial to avoid any possibility of cross-contamination that could put you in an unsafe scenario. As an added bonus, this will help you concentrate more on your food, your conversation, or any entertainment you might be enjoying while you eat your meal.

Our MicroGold® Products Work to Protect You And Your Technology

Your phone may not look dirty, but as we’ve discovered, it can be a breeding ground for bacteria and viruses. It’s also an instrument that we can’t live without, so we want to keep it clean AND disinfected; our all-purpose cleaner does just that. We also want to keep our hands clean as they are in contact with our cell phones throughout the day.  So treat your hands to a moisturizing, antibacterial hand soap. Trust us: You’ll feel healthier, safer, and your hands will feel softer—it’s a win all around.