CREDO Tip: How to disinfect your phone and other household items

Six months ago, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, and our lives have been forever changed in the months since. We’ve contended with a public health crisis and economic downturn unseen in generations. Some of us may have lost our jobs, fallen ill or even tragically lost a loved one to the virus.

We’ve also built resiliency to cope with this crisis. We’ve learned to stay home, wear masks and social distance to remain healthy. And we’ve been reminded that proper hygiene, including washing our hands and disinfecting surfaces, is important to stop the spread of contagious diseases.

Last April, we published a wildly popular CREDO Tip on cleaning your phone. We wanted to update you on what we’ve learned since then and some new technologies to clean your phone and other everyday items around your house.

Cleaning your phone and household items manually

When we first published “Your phone is dirty. Here’s how to clean it,” scientists and public health officials were still learning how the coronavirus was transmitted. In the months since, official sources like the CDC and the WHO have concluded that the primary way the virus spreads is through respiratory droplets from close person-to-person contact. That’s why the advice and mandates to wear masks and remain socially distant are so important. 

However, the CDC does warn that “it may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this isn’t thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”

That means, here at CREDO, we’d rather not take any chances. In addition to washing your hands regularly and avoiding touching your face, we continue to recommend these steps to clean your devices (and other household surfaces):

1. Unplug and power down your device. Use a good, lint-free microfiber or lens cleaning cloth to remove oil and fingerprints. If your phone case is waterproof, wash it thoroughly with soap and water and let it dry completely.
2. Don’t spray any disinfecting liquids directly on your device, as they may damage your device or its coating. Instead, dampen the corner of your cloth in your cleaning solution and gently wipe your phone. 
3. Apple suggests using 70 percent isopropyl alcohol or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes to disinfect your phone. Avoid bleach and don’t submerge your phone in liquids. (Read more from Apple.)
4. Samsung recommends using a “hypochlorous acid-based solution (containing 50-80ppm) or an alcohol-based solution (containing more than 70% ethanol or isopropyl alcohol)” gently applied to your device using a microfiber cloth.
5. You can apply these methods to other items and surfaces around your house, like remotes, glasses, door knobs, kitchen counters, light switches, and other high traffic areas

Cleaning your phone and other household items with a UV-C device

Since publishing our previous article, many ultraviolet sanitizing devices have become much more readily available on the market. These devices work by shining a type of ultraviolet light — UV-C light — that can destroy the genetic material of viruses and bacteria. Simply place your phone or other household item in the UV-C sanitizer, and in a minute, your device should be virtually free of germs. In addition to phones, you can use these devices to sanitize earbuds and headphones, remotes, sunglasses, keys — just about anything that can fit into the UV-C device.

But does UV-C light kill the coronavirus that causes COVID-19? According to the National Academies of Sciences, “Probably. UV light has been shown to destroy other coronaviruses, so it will probably work on the novel coronavirus.” But we can’t stress enough, please avoid using UV light on your body, as it can damage your skin. 

So which UV-C sanitizer should you choose? 

At CREDO, we recommend the HoMedics UV-Clean Sanitzer. This device is portable, faster than any UV sanitizer on the market and kills up to 99.9% of bacteria and viruses at the DNA level. It’s also environmentally friendly and mercury and chemical free. 

Whether you’re brand new to CREDO or an existing member wanting to add a line, for a limited-time we’re offering a free HoMedics UV-Clean Sanitizer! Plus, we’ll give you a discount on a new CREDO phone or a Visa Prepaid Card with your new line of CREDO service. As always, our friendly experts are available to talk M-F 6:30am-7pm PT at 1-877-762-7336.