HOW TO DISINFECT YOUR DIGITAL DEVICES FROM VIRUSES AND GERMS

We touch our electronics all day, which can lead to a lot of germs and grime.

- CHANDRA STEELE

Before we knew that COVID-19 is an airborne virus, we were one step away from dunking everything into a vat of bleach. But just because we’re past the part of the pandemic where we wiped down all our groceries and made our hands desert-dry with sanitizer doesn’t mean that our electronic devices shouldn’t be kept clean.

Even though we’re less fanatical about disinfecting them, they still harbor plenty of germs and should be cleaned regularly. So grab some microfiber cloths, cotton swabs, distilled water, isopropyl alcohol, and dish soap, and read our guide to getting your gadgets gleaming—after you unplug or turn them off, of course.

HOW TO CLEAN A PHONE OR TABLET

Phones and tablets have oleophobic (fingerprint-resistant) coatings that can come off, so manufacturers generally recommend wiping them down with distilled water and a barely textured microfiber cloth, then using cotton swabs to clean around crevices, like the edges of the screen and buttons.