How Many Germs Are There On Your Phone? The phone is the king of all gadgets. People use it for work, fun, chatting, and looking for useful info. But did you know that phones are host to a huge amount of bacteria? Some studies reveal that there are more germs on the phone than on the toilet seat.
To be more precise, it’s 25,000 germs on a square inch. This article talks you through ways germs reach your phone and effective methods of killing them.
How do bacteria end up on phone?
The biggest culprit that brings germs on phone is your hands. You touch lots of surfaces, then remove your phone from the pocket to check a text or read the breaking news. The microorganisms that got on hands from other surfaces will easily pass onto your phone.
In this way, your hands become a linking chain between the dirty environment and your gadget.
Your hands are a source of bacteria themselves. They are house to a lot of microbes that pass onto your phone. Luckily, most of these microorganisms are not harmful to your health. Hence, the presence of hundreds of thousands of bacteria on your gadget doesn’t mean yet it is contaminated.
Still, some of the germs may be of a more dangerous nature, like the influenza virus. The transmission route for this pathogen is very easy. You just need to shake hands with a sick person who has sneezed prior to meeting you. Sometimes, you are the contaminating agent for your phone.
If you are sick, one cough or sneeze in the direction of your phone can install the virus on it.
Another way bacteria can end up on your gadget is by touching raw food, which can host health-threatening germs. You prepare the meal, then you suddenly got a call you can’t reject. You answer it without washing your hands, which allows the food-borne bacteria to land on your phone.
Some raw food can contain such bacteria as Salmonella or E. Coli. You don’t want them to get inside your body. That’s why you have to wash your hands and disinfect the phone after using it during food preparation.
How to prevent bacteria on phone?
While bacteria transmission takes place incredibly easily, there are some ways you can stop it. First of all, your hands have to be free of germs when you touch the gadget. To ensure it, you have to wash your hands as often as possible.
The more sanitizer gets on your hands, the fewer chances bacteria have to multiply and spread. Another recommendation is to avoid taking the phone in the bathroom. The bathroom hosts a huge amount of germs, especially the toilet.
While flushing, toilets spread lots of germs in the air, making some of their lands on your phone. Your wisest decision is to go to the bathroom without your phone.
How to clean a phone?
When it comes to cleaning phones, some methods are effective. You can sanitize it with disinfecting wipes, which kill most of the microbes. If you don’t have disinfecting wipes handy, you can use a microfiber cloth. Keep in mind that microfiber cloths don’t kill germs.
They just pick them up from the surface, while those remain alive. So it’s important that you throw the cloth into the trash bin after using it. Washing it at a high temperature may also do the trick, allowing you to use it multiple times.
Another disinfecting method that works is a mixture of water and rubbing alcohol. Use a ratio of 60% water and 40% alcohol for a guaranteed result. Dip a towel in the mixture and run it gently across the phone.
Never make the towel dripping with a solution since you don’t want too much moisture to end up on the phone.
How Many Germs Are There On Your Phone? – Bottom Line
You shouldn’t underestimate the bacteria living on your phone. While most of them are harmless, there could be some pathogens that can trigger the disease. You have to take all preventive measures to keep germs from ending up on your phone.
And if they did, use disinfecting wipes, microfiber cloths, or a mixture of water and rubbing alcohol to kill them. Wash your hands as often as possible to stop the transfer of bacteria from the skin to phone.