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The World Health Organization has explained how people should wash their hands to safeguard against infection and to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. However, the benefits of smearing hands with sanitizers is an exercise in futility if people then pick up their phones and expose themselves to germs all over again.

Phone screens are a hotbed of different types of germs. Phone hygiene, therefore, becomes an imperative to ward off contagious germs. Apple recommends using felt cloth, the type used to clean spectacles.

The iPhone 7 and upwards, which are water-resistant, can be cleaned using a cloth dabbed with soapy water, as long as the different orifices of the devices are covered. Other manufacturers do not specify water-tolerance, but most new models are partially resistant to fluids, meaning that cleaning your phone display with a wet cloth is the least you could do.

Samsung and Apple advise against using cleaning fluids as they could potentially damage fingerprint-resistant coatings on their screens. Some new phones have in-display fingerprint sensors which make the task of cleaning your phone more complex. However, this could be remedied by using a screen protector, which in turn, could be wiped clean using diluted alcohol.

The back and sides of the phone should also be cleaned thoroughly. Germs will invariably accumulate on phone screens. The best possible remedy seems to be washing one’s hands before and after touching one’s phone, especially when in public spaces or commuting to work.

Users given to making a lot of phone calls are advised to use headphones or Bluetooth earphones to prevent the germs on phone screens from coming in contact with their faces. Bluetooth earphones aren’t germ-proof either, but their exteriors can be cleaned with cotton swabs dipped in antiseptic fluids or isopropyl alcohol.

Be careful to not get any inside your audio device as it could damage the circuitry. Boozy headphones can make one grin from ear to ear.