by This post may contain affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission. Read our full disclaimer here. Our opinions are not affected by affiliates and are our own.
Did you ever get in the car at the end of your shift, pull out your phone and think, “wow this must be covered in bacteria”. Well if you don’t, you should! Disinfecting or sterilizing your phone can help reduce transmission of flu and coronavirus! These are some of the best ways to disinfect your phone screen. Protect yourself from the flu, coronavirus, rhinovirus and more!
READ NOW OUR ARTICLE ON WHY YOU SHOULDN’T BE AFRAID OF CORONAVIRUS!
- Why Disinfect Your Phone?
- Stopping Bacteria Transmission to Your Phone
- Best Practice Tip – Allow For Drying Time
- Guide to Disinfecting Your Phone
Why Disinfect Your Phone?
Typically at minimum I disinfect my phone at the end of every shift. Occasionally I will disinfect it more often depending on what’s floating around the floor that day. Keeping your phone clean is important for your family’s and your own safety. Disinfecting and sterilizing your phone can help keep you, your family and your patients healthy.
According to several articles (including this one), your phone’s screen is one of the dirtiest surfaces you will touch all day. With recent spikes in illnesses like coronavirus, the flu, and common colds (rhinovirus), it is more important than ever to remember to stop transmission. Click here to skip directly to Ways to Disinfect Your Phone Screen!
Working in hospitals (especially for us nurses) or any other professions where you have constant contact with other people or surfaces (such as shared computers) can help to harbor bacteria and germs. These germs and bacteria will gather on common surfaces you touch and these include your phone, wallet, keys, and car interior. Regularly sanitizing these surfaces is important, especially in flu season.
If you’re more interested on some more in-depth explanations and facts, check out the Center for Disease Control’s section on the subject!
Stopping Transmission to Your Phone
- Wash Your Hands (before & after everything)
- Wear Gloves
- Sneeze or Cough Into Your Arm
- wash your hands after sneezing or coughing
- Use Hand Sanitizer Regularly
- Wipe Common Surfaces with Antiseptic Wipes Regularly
- computer keyboards
- computer mice
- light switches
- door handles
- car interiors
- phones
- eating surfaces
- Avoid Touching Your Face
- Avoid People Who Are Sick (as much as you can)
- Avoid Sharing Drinks
- Wipe Equipment After Use
- Allow For Proper Drying Time
Disinfecting Your Phone
We’ve established that disinfecting your phone is a good choice. Here are some of the best ways to disinfect your phone screen. These will not only keep germs and bacteria from spreading, but keep your phone screen disinfected!
Sterilizing UV Light (The Germ Eater)
This product is quite literally a germ eater. For those who don’t know UV light is often used in sterilization processes due to its ability to use UV-C waves to kill or inactivate microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, germs). UV-A/B waves are the typical waves that are talked about, because those types of light cause sunburn. UV-C are shorter waves that cause disruption in the DNA nucleotides of germs causing them to inactivate or die. You can read more about UV-C rays here!
PhoneSoap 3
This simple device uses those UV-C waves to completely sanitize your phone. PhoneSoap claims to kill 99.99% of all bacteria and germs and also offer USB and USB-C port charging while your device is being disinfected. This device supports most phones and can even be used for other commonly used devices such as keys.
The video we linked below shows how effective these types of products can be, especially on phones!
The PhoneSoap 3 is a premium product coming in at a premium price. For those who are looking for a more budget option we found this on Amazon!
This Cell Phone Sterilizer by MIKOSI claims to sterilize your phone in 5 minutes. They claim you can also use it for watches, glasses, toothbrushes, jewelry, and bluetooth earphones.
Disinfecting Wipes
These Sterile Alcohol Prep Pads are easily one of the best ways to quickly disinfect your phone screen. They are quick, easy and portable allowing for rapid cleaning. These wipes use 70% Isopropyl Alcohol to kill bacteria and are even approved for antiseptic use.
Carry a few of these around with you and wipe away as needed! Just remember to allow for proper drying time.
You can also use some more powerful wipes like these that we use at the hospitals!
Disinfecting Spray
Another great way to disinfect your phone screen is to use a microfiber cloth and cleaning solution. Spray your phone screen, be careful to avoid sensitive areas (like microphone/speakers) and wipe dry with a microfiber. This cleaning solution is one we found on Amazon, but you can make your own is isopropyl alcohol and a spray bottle.
Allow For Proper Drying Time
One of the most common mistakes for anyone using antiseptics or disinfectants is that they won’t allow enough time for drying. Drying is the most important part of the sterilizing process by far because that is when the actual disinfecting is happening!
For example, Clorox Bleach requires 2 minutes of dry time (at least), with up to 10 minutes to kill some of the trickiest bacteria! Always check the dry times required to kill certain types of bacteria and viruses on the packaging.
You can find some good information from the CDC on disinfecting here!
