“Your devices, including smartphones and laptops, need daily hygiene to prevent the spread of the deadly virus”
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, has kept everyone on their toes. The disease, which has no cure at the moment, can only be prevented by basic hygiene. Alongside all the precautions like social distancing and washing your hands intermittently, don’t forget to clean your phones, laptops, and other devices. Reports have shown that your personal gadgets can be a hotbed of bacteria and viruses, which may increase chances of disease and infection. Therefore, it’s imperative to clean your gadgets such as phone and laptop regularly.
Here’s how you can clean your phone and laptop
- Use a simple solution of soap and water, and a cloth to clean your smartphone or laptop.
- While cleaning, make that you use mild liquid soap and a clean, soft, microfibre cloth that won’t scratch your phone or leave fibres on it.
- Do not use alcohol-based solutions, hand gels, wipes, or any other chemicals to clean your phone or laptop. It can spoil the device’s oleophobic layer.
- Before starting the cleaning, remove your phone or laptop from charger and case, if any.
- Don’t wet the cloth with liquid soap, just dampen it and gently rub on the surface of the phone/ laptop. Avoid spilling the liquid on keys, charging port, or speaker grills.
- Now, dry your device by wiping it with a dry, clean, and soft cloth.
- It’s important to clean the phone case as well. Use the same mild soap and water solution to clean the case, and ensure that it’s completely dry before putting it back on your device.
- Try to clean your device at least once a day and don’t forget to wash your hands when you’re done with the cleaning.
- Additionally, avoid keeping your handset and handkerchief in the same trouser pocket.
Other precautions
There are some other precautions that you can take to avoid contracting COVID-19 coronavirus through your smartphone or laptop. Of course, you should also use earphones/ headphones to take calls. This will reduce the chances of virus transferring from the phone’s screen to your face.
Additionally, rely as much on AI voice assistants such as Google Assistant and Siri to get the job done. This will prevent you from getting in touch with the infectious device. Last, but not the least, avoid sharing your devices with other people or touch someone else’s smartphone and laptop. In case it’s unavoidable, use sterile gloves, clean devices after use and wash your hands properly via soap or hand sanitiser.
