But I carry my cell phone everywhere with me, in a warm dark pocket which must be ideal for germs. I use it after I handled money which who knows how many people came in contact with.
Only recently though did I start thinking about this. And there are some articles that say that phones are dirtier than toilet seats. Should I start disinfecting my cell phone and if so how and how often? What should I do if I dropped my phone?
What about laptops?
The problem is that both devices have a lot of small crevices and are hard to impossible to disassemble. Smartphones also have a touchscreen with a coating that could be damaged by disinfectants. I saw that there is a device that disinfects the phone with UV-light but I don’t know how effective that is or if it can damage the phone.
Are there any recommendations from scientists? I really want some factual advice on this.
The only rational way to protect yourself is to give up your cellphone entirely, because germs. Or if you insist on keeping it, following advice to swab it with a water and rubbing alcohol solution in the suggested proportions (as mentioned in one of the linked articles) should ease fears of cellphone pathogens.
And welcome to the SDMB! Do remember to replace your laptop on a regular basis, as it is no doubt as contaminated as your cellphone. :eek::smack:
*I am an M.D., but more importantly have a Masters’ degree in Science.
I take it out of the case throw the case in the sink and wash and dry it, then I use a lysol wipe on the cellphone and let it stay wet for a few minutes, wipe the case and put it all back together. After the screen is dry I use a little microfiber towel to push off the lysol residue as it can wreak havoc on typing on the phone otherwise. I only do this maybe once or twice a week, depending on how often I handle the phone/my activities. If anything it just keeps the phones exterior and case very tidy and smooth.
Gee, what with lysol and stuff people here recommend, I don’t really know what to say. Except, perhaps, that you’re way more likely to die from the results of phobic obsession than from some phone-transmitted disease. Just think of Gödel!
Just remember what happened to the Golgafrinchams. They thought they didn’t need telephone sanitizers, and found them tedious and annoying. They got rid of their telephone sanitizers. Then they all died of a plague due to unsanitized telephones.
Not so much the germs here, lysol wipes are just convenient cleaners, they have surfactants as well. It just keeps the phone clean, no fingerprint buildup, dirt or lint (becomes greasy) or crotch steam on the phone. If you do it every day that may be a phobia and a big waste of time.
The first step to curing a phobia is admitting you have a problem.
If you can come up with a single instance of a human being contracting a disease – any kind of communicable disease – from their own phone, you have my apologies in advance.
I just throw mine into the dishwasher along with the dirty dishes. Ask me again why I go through so many cell phones per year. I must be doing something wrong.
I was an early adopter. I remember my cellphone ringing in a restaurant and people turning to look. I’ve never cleaned my phone, other than wiping off the occasional splash of food or drink that lands on it. I view Imgur for ten minutes each morning. I’m rarely ill, for what that’s worth.
I’ve had cell phones for over 20 years, smartphones for nine. I’ve never felt a need to disinfect my phones. I’ll clean my phone’s screen if I get too many greasy smudges on it.
Phones are pretty much a smooth surface. I wipe mine with Zeiss lens wipes. Now your remotes. THERE’S a nasty little collection of dead skin cells. Doctor’s Brushpicks. They dig that stuff right out.
NOw, old-fashioned phones - you were breathing right into the mouthpiece whenever you used them. Not only that, other people casually used them too. A modern cell-phone, you just hold it near your ear and nowhere near your mouth. Not only that, but it’s rare that anyone else ever uses it.
There is loads of bad stuff in this world to worry about - cell phone bugs are way way down the list.
Me too. Sometimes I even skip the cell phone step and just touch my face directly after handling money. I also sometimes use my cell phone while sitting on the toilet.
I think maybe this is not really a GQ question, since there’s no firm factual answer. Me, I’ve never disinfected my cell phone. I’ll rub the screen clean on my shirt if it’s got an exceptional quantity of face/ear grease on it, and I think I may have used Windex once or twice, but that was entirely about visual clarity/cleanliness, not any kind of sanitary concern.
Not likely, but if you’re concerned, check the owner’s manual.
