Your phone is dirtier than a toilet seat: Here’s how to clean it without damaging it

 Let’s be honest: you’d never lick a public toilet seat, but you might as well be doing just that every time you tap your phone. Studies confirm what common sense already suggests: your smartphone is a breeding ground for bacteria, viruses, and even parasites, yet most people never clean it properly. Worse, when they do, they often use harsh chemicals that strip protective coatings, corrode materials, and turn a $1,000 device into a smudged, less-responsive mess.

The good news? Keeping your phone germ-free doesn’t require expensive gadgets or toxic cleaners; you just need a little know-how and the right tools.

Why are our phones so filthy? It's because we take them everywhere—bathrooms, gyms, grocery stores, public transit—and then press them against our faces, hands, and food. Research from Bond University found that mobile phones harbor everything from E. coli (yes, fecal bacteria) to antibiotic-resistant pseudomonas and even parasites like entamoeba histolytica.

In one study, 98% of healthcare workers admitted their phones were contaminated, yet 57% never cleaned them. As Dr. Lotti Tajouri, a molecular biologist who led the research, put it: “The mobile phones are our third hand. Those ‘third hands’ need to be ‘hand-washed’ or sanitized the same way as we ought to do with our two normal hands.” If you skip this step, you’re undoing every handwashing session....<<<Read More>>>...