Spring Clean Your Gadgets

Spring is in the air, but gunk is in your gadgets: The smudges and crumbs you can see and the creepy-crawly bacteria that you can’t. Studies show that infection-causing E coli and Staphylococcus aureus, fecal matter (yep), and just plain dirt are hanging out on your tech.

- Chandra Steele

This information might make you want to dunk everything into a vat of bleach, but that wouldn’t be the best thing for you or your devices. Instead, grab some microfiber cloths, Q-tips, distilled water, isopropyl alcohol, and dish soap, and read our guide to getting your gadgets to gleam.

SMARTPHONE AND TABLET

Protest if you will, but you’ve probably used your smartphone or tablet in less than-sanitary places (we are talking about the bathroom). You wash your hands, but then you pick up your phone or tablet—and all the germs that have now attached themselves to it. It’s a gross fact that phones tend to have 10 times the bacteria that toilet seats do.

To scrub a phone or tablet that does not have a screen protector, you have to take extra care, since it might have an oleophobic (fingerprint-resistant) coating that could come off. The gentlest way to clean it is to take distilled water and a microfiber cloth to wipe down the phone. Use Q-tips to clean around crevices.

If your device has a screen protector—tempered glass or just thin plastic—get some isopropyl alcohol, distilled water, a spray bottle, and a microfiber cloth. Pour one part alcohol and one part water into the spray bottle, and then spritz a lint-free cloth with the solution, and wipe down the phone.

To keep your phone or tablet clean on a regular basis, keep some wipes (such as Wireless Wipes) handy, and swab it down daily. If you want to be fancy, then carry Well-Kept Screen-Cleansing Towelettes with you and use those. They come in small patterned packages that fit neatly into pants pockets or purses.