Here’s good reason to clean your cellphone regularly: A pre-pandemic analysis of 56 studies, published in Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, found a wide array of viruses, bacteria, and fungi living on the surfaces of 68 percent of mobile phones. The most commonly found germs were bacteria, mainly Staphylococcus (“staph”), which can cause serious infections. Other germs detected included Candida (a type of fungus that can cause infections such as dermatitis and vaginitis) and E. coli.
The researchers also pointed to previous studies reporting that users touch their phones up to 2,617 times a day and for an average of three hours a day.
WHAT TO DO: Clean and disinfect your phone and its case after each time you use it in public. Follow the manufacturer’s guidance for cleaning or follow this advice from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
- Use a lint-free cloth slightly dampened with soap and water.
- Disinfect touch screens and other nonporous surfaces by gently cleaning them with an alcohol-based wipe containing at least 70 percent alcohol.
- Don’t spray cleaners directly onto the device.
- Avoid aerosol sprays and cleaning solutions that contain bleach or abrasives.
- Keep fluids and moisture away from any openings on the device.
