Cleaning your cell phone: This is how it’s done!
One wipe and everything is gone? Not quite, because in the worst case you leave nasty scratches on the display. To make sure that doesn’t happen, we’ve collected a few tips for you here.
We usually clean our cell phones when we want to sell them. But between buying and selling, a lot of dirt and grime can accumulate in the sockets, edges and borders. Most of the time it is harmless, but in some cases it can affect the functions of your smartphone, such as when there is dust in the charging socket.
What to do: How to get your phone clean again
You can usually find out the best way to clean your phone on the manufacturer’s website. There are countless smartphones on the market. Some, especially cheap phones, have to stay away from wet water like the devil from holy water. Others may well come into contact with water.
1. Switch off the device and disconnect all cables.
Actually self-evident, but often forgotten for reasons of time and convenience: Turning off the smartphone and unplugging charging cables. This avoids unwanted actions on the display and/or damage to the cables. If necessary, remove the SD and SIM cards and batteries if you have the opportunity to do so.
2. Take a lint-free cloth and remove the coarsest dirt.
A microfiber cloth is best. Make sure that the cloth is clean and dust-free and remove the coarsest dirt.
3. Remove stubborn stains with a little distilled water.
Be careful with this step! If you have stains like makeup or dried food on your smartphone, lightly dampen the microfiber cloth and wipe the stains away. The cloth should not be soaking wet and should not get into the openings. Why you should use distilled water and not rubbing alcohol or other substances is explained further down in the text.
4. Remove dust in sockets and openings with special tweezers
Has nasty dust settled in the charging or headphone jack or the speakers? Then the correct way to remove it is by using special tweezers. These have delicate syringes that you can use to get the dust out of the openings. However, a little dexterity is required.
Biggest mistakes you can make when cleaning your phone
1. Use the wrong liquids
High-percentage cleaning alcohol – also called isopropanol – can destroy the display. Apple recommends a maximum of seventy percent isopropanol. Many displays are equipped with a grease-repellent layer that is destroyed when aggressive chemicals such as soaps are used.
Water can penetrate the interior and wreak havoc, especially on phones that are not certified with IP67 or IP68 protection (protection against dust, contact and water). If your smartphone still suffers water damage, then you can find suggested solutions in our article on cell phone water damage. (Minor spoiler: you shouldn’t use rice 😉)
So leave your eyeglass cleaning cloths, soaps, bleach, glass cleaner or abrasive cleaners in the cleaning cupboard – these chemicals have no business on a smartphone.
2. Use compressed air
Compressed air against dust? Sounds logical, but both Apple and Google advise against it.
3. Use too much pressure
Don’t take out your stress, frustration or anger on your smartphone. It needs your love when cleaning, not pressure. 😢
4. Use wrong materials
Kitchen paper has a very rough surface, under which nasty dust or sand grains can hide, scratching the display. Moreover, it’s hard to get into the corners and edges with it.
5. Use wrong wiping techniques
You can also leave scratches on the display with circular movements. It is better to wipe the display up and down.
Disinfect cell phone: Necessary or nonsense?
The corona pandemic has made us more wary of pathogens – it’s logical that many people now want to disinfect their cell phone screens more often. UV devices, special disinfectants… Sales platforms such as Amazon or eBay are full of mysterious miracle cures. But they do little to help.
One reason for this is that coronaviruses are transmitted via the air and not via surfaces. Secondly, we use our smartphones so often – according to the Techniker Krankenkasse health insurance fund, we tap our screens around 2,500 times every day – that we would no longer be able to keep up with disinfecting them. Secondly, we rarely give our smartphones into other hands, unlike cash, for example.
And even if there are viruses on the display: These first have to find their way into the body, and in sufficiently large quantities. In addition, the display is not a good habitat for infectious bacteria and viruses. A damp wipe with distilled water from top to bottom is sufficient. Friction in your pocket also removes some pathogens.
Don’t forget to clean your cell phone case!
Even the cleanest cell phone is useless if you put it back into the dirty cell phone case after cleaning. Here you can be a little more generous with the water, which may well come from the tap, unless it is a leather case. The only thing you have to do is dry it afterwards.
Genuine leather covers can be cleaned with a shoe polish for leather shoes, for synthetic leather covers a little damp water and a microfiber cloth is sufficient.
Conclusion: A microfiber cloth and distilled water – that’s all you need!
As you can see, cleaning your cell phone is no science. Leave the chemicals in the cupboard. With our instructions, your phone will be sparkling clean again without any damage. With regular cleaning, you can extend the life of your smartphone and contribute to more sustainable mobile phone use. And if you do need a new mobile phone or a new mobile phone subscription, you can compare and find the best deals at alao.
This article was published on 5 April 2022 and updated on 2 December 2024.
