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Wet wipes doused in 70 per cent isopropyl alcohol can be useful to clean phones, but major phone makers such as Apple have previously cautioned against the use of isopropyl alcohol on their devices. Photo: Getty Images

What’s the best way to clean your phone of coronavirus? Alcohol wet wipes, UV sanitisers, soap and water – the pros and cons

  • The virus that causes Covid-19 can remain on glass, metal and plastic for up to seven days, which is why we should regularly clean our phones
  • As well as wipes or soap and water, there are devices that claim to get rid of pathogens with UV light – but how effective are they against the coronavirus?
As Covid-19 continues to take its toll on the world, people are stepping up their personal hygiene practices, such as washing their hands more and wearing face masks. Yet one item often gets neglected during this cleanliness routine: the smartphone.

Our phones are an inextricable part of our lives. We are constantly scrolling on them for social media updates from our friends, the occasional game, or to check for messages or news updates.

And while the average person touches their face a lot – an average of 23 times an hour – it turns out that we touch our smartphones even more. Research from the University of Illinois in the United States shows that we hardly ever put our smartphones down.

The dirty smartphone represents a massive gap in our defences. After setting our phones down to wash our hands, we typically pick the device up again without cleaning it, reintroducing bacteria and viruses to our hands. So, just how dirty is the typical smartphone?

A study by researchers at the University of Hong Kong indicates that the coronavirus can remain on glass surfaces for two days. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

According to scientists at the University of Arizona, a smartphone has on average 10 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. A separate study by researchers in Britain found the hands and phones of 16 per cent of participants were contaminated with E coli, an illness-causing bacteria that originates from faecal matter.

A study by researchers at the University of Hong Kong indicates that the coronavirus can remain on glass surfaces for two days, and on stainless steel and plastic for between four and seven days. Given that smartphones are made from glass, metal and plastic parts, not cleaning them can have dire consequences.

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Modern smartphones are generally water resistant, which means that an occasional clean with soap and water isn’t a problem. Of course, you probably don’t want the hassle of washing it multiple times a day, which is where wet wipes – doused in 70 per cent isopropyl alcohol – can be useful.

Major phone makers such as Apple and Samsung (though the former has recently changed its guidance) have previously cautioned against the use of isopropyl alcohol on their devices. While most users have reported no problems in using it, there are some who claim that regular cleaning has damaged the oleophobic (oil-repellent) coating on their phone screens. If this concerns you, apply a screen protector to your device.

For those who don’t want to use alcohol or water, there are also devices that claim to eradicate invisible pathogens with ultraviolet (UV) light. Known as “UV sanitisers”, products such as PhoneSoap and SterilCase bathe a smartphone with UV light in a case for five to 10 minutes.

PhoneSoap 3 UV phone sanitiser. Photo: PhoneSoap

UV light is electromagnetic radiation, with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light. UV light is categorised into three wavelength bands, UV-A, UV-B and UV-C. UV-A is the most common form of light that reaches the Earth’s surface, while UV-B is what causes tanning and gives you sunburns.

UV-C has the highest energy of the UV light bands, and its effect is well understood. Specifically, it can destroy nucleic acids and scramble bacteria DNA. With their DNA broken, bacteria can’t function or reproduce.

Hospitals and laboratories use UV light to keep their facilities sterile, while UV lamps are used to clean water on an industrial level by inactivating microorganisms.

In response to a Post query about the effectiveness of UV light against Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes Covid-19, a PhoneSoap representative said: “PhoneSoap cannot claim that our products kill Sars-CoV-2.” However, the representative said the coronavirus was similar to influenza A (H1N1), and tests showed PhoneSoap removed 99.99 per cent of that virus from surfaces.

A smartphone has on average 10 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. Photo: Getty Images

Finally, UV cleaning is a slow process when compared to a chemical method such as using an isopropyl alcohol wipe. A proper clean with a UV sanitiser, however, takes 10 minutes or more – depending on factors such as the strength of the UV source and the level of contamination.

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