With the coronavirus in full force, chances are that you are taking all the necessary precautions given by health experts to keep yourself virus-free. You may be following all the advice, such as washing your hands regularly, not touching your face and coughing into your elbow. However, have you stopped to think how you can also keep your high-touch personal items coronavirus-free? Here are some guidelines provided by cleaning experts at TidyChoice.
The danger on your devices
As reported in the New York Times the coronavirus can live on surfaces like plastic and metal for up to 3 days. Time Magazine states that your mobile device may likely hold up to 10 times more bacteria than your toilet seat. Even if you wash your hands regularly, your devices could easily pass the virus onto yourself and result in infection. Given how often we touch and use our devices it is important that we keep them coronavirus-free.
Sanitise And Disinfect Your Devices
Cleaning is not always enough. To properly protect yourself from Coronavirus you need to sanitise and disinfect your devices. Sanitising reduces numbers of bacteria and viruses to safe levels whilst disinfecting aims to destroy harmful microbes (bacteria and viruses), minimising your exposure to potential viruses.
Use Of Alcohol
Alcohol is effective in killing bacteria as the molecules found in alcohol have water and fat-loving properties. Bacteria cell membranes have water and fat-based sides. The alcohol molecules bond and breakdown the protective membranes of bacteria. It essentially leaves the bacteria exposed so it dies.
Steps
Before you begin to clean your device, make sure that it is turned off and you take off any protective items. Gently wipe down the back and edge of your device with isopropyl alcohol wipe or Clorox disinfecting wipe. After this, wipe down your screen gently with a microfibre cloth to absorb any excess moisture.
Do not use any abrasive materials such as paper towels or towels as the oil repelling coating on the screen may become damaged. Avoid using bleach too as this may damage your device. Apple states that you can use isopropyl alcohol wipe as long as it has no more than 70% alcohol in it.
Other precautions
If your device has been resting on a surface then wipe down the surface too as this minimises the risk of the bacteria/virus spreading across surfaces. If the surface that your device is on is used for food then you must use a disinfectant solution and afterwards rinse it with warm water.
After you have wiped down all your devices wash your hands with soap and water as to remove any chemicals left on your hand. In accordance to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) you should wash your hands for 20 seconds, the same amount of time it takes to sing happy birthday twice, which leaves them as clean and safe as possible.
About the author
Sulemaan is a digital marketer at TidyChoice, a cleaning service platform based in London, UK. Sulemaan writes extensively about cleaning tips and tricks as well as best practice. You can find more cleaning tips and tricks on the TidyChoice blog.
