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Perhaps a silly question, but how do you prefer to clean your phone? I was thinking that a nice UV light station would be the lowest effort cleaning solution, a

Perhaps a silly question, but how do you prefer to clean your phone? I was thinking that a nice UV light station would be the lowest effort cleaning solution, and less irritating than rubbing it with an alcohol sheet everytime I get home.

Simon_says 6y ago
Wash with soap and water anytime you wash your hands.
- dogma1138 6y ago
  That is if your phone is IP rated.
  - Simon_says 6y ago
    Yea, goes without saying -- or if you have a waterproof case. But if you don't have either of those, you shouldn't be using your phone in a non-sterile environment.
m4rtink 6y ago
I wonder about the built in cameras - would they be damaged by the close by concentrated UV source or not ?
- dogma1138 6y ago
  Cameras have UV and IR filters usually I would be more worried about the screen if it’s an OLED as UV can degrade the organic molecules in the screen. It might also damage the color filters in LCD screens but I doubt any consumer grade UV lamp can easily reach those levels. In general I wouldn’t trust consumer UV bulbs (especially the generic Chinese ones), it’s not worth the risk you have very little way of verifying the actual frequency range and power of those bulbs so they can range from non effective at all to Chernobyl without you being able to tell. The potential risk from a “true” UV bulb and a high power at that is much greater than COVID you can easily get eye damage including blindness as well as really bad burns and potentially cancer from a high enough dose of UV. The ~400nm UV sources used for curing resins and nail polish might be your safest bet but I wouldn’t bet that these would be as effective as using sanitizers or water and soap.
dTal 6y ago
I keep a bottle of 70% IPA on hand at all times. Whenever I go from a red zone to a green zone, I squirt a nice big splash all over my hands. For a normal candybar smartphone, it shouldn't be too much trouble to pick up the phone while doing this and treat it like a third hand. In my case, I own a Cosmo Communicator which has a qwerty keyboard, which means I have to be a little less liberal with the alcohol, and I usually use a tissue. But it still takes less than 10 seconds. Squirt, wipe, done.
- dogma1138 6y ago
  IPA can ruin the surface of some phone screens, it likely won’t damage the screen itself but the layer that protects the screens from fingerprints and other residue can be washed off with alcohol. That said it would probably still be better than UV as the UV might actually damage the screen especially if it’s an OLED one. Overall if your phone is IP rated some dish soap and a moist cloth is probably the best option.
- gavisann 6y ago
  FYI, IPA can remove the oleophobic coating from the screen.
raverbashing 6y ago
I use a regular spray disinfectant (not too much), think window cleaner or bathroom cleaner and a paper towel But again, it's not too much, just to wet the surface and wipe well

Simon_says 6y ago

Wash with soap and water anytime you wash your hands.

dogma1138 6y ago
That is if your phone is IP rated.
- Simon_says 6y ago
  Yea, goes without saying -- or if you have a waterproof case. But if you don't have either of those, you shouldn't be using your phone in a non-sterile environment.

m4rtink 6y ago

I wonder about the built in cameras - would they be damaged by the close by concentrated UV source or not ?

dogma1138 6y ago
Cameras have UV and IR filters usually I would be more worried about the screen if it’s an OLED as UV can degrade the organic molecules in the screen. It might also damage the color filters in LCD screens but I doubt any consumer grade UV lamp can easily reach those levels. In general I wouldn’t trust consumer UV bulbs (especially the generic Chinese ones), it’s not worth the risk you have very little way of verifying the actual frequency range and power of those bulbs so they can range from non effective at all to Chernobyl without you being able to tell. The potential risk from a “true” UV bulb and a high power at that is much greater than COVID you can easily get eye damage including blindness as well as really bad burns and potentially cancer from a high enough dose of UV. The ~400nm UV sources used for curing resins and nail polish might be your safest bet but I wouldn’t bet that these would be as effective as using sanitizers or water and soap.

dTal 6y ago

I keep a bottle of 70% IPA on hand at all times. Whenever I go from a red zone to a green zone, I squirt a nice big splash all over my hands. For a normal candybar smartphone, it shouldn't be too much trouble to pick up the phone while doing this and treat it like a third hand. In my case, I own a Cosmo Communicator which has a qwerty keyboard, which means I have to be a little less liberal with the alcohol, and I usually use a tissue. But it still takes less than 10 seconds. Squirt, wipe, done.

dogma1138 6y ago
IPA can ruin the surface of some phone screens, it likely won’t damage the screen itself but the layer that protects the screens from fingerprints and other residue can be washed off with alcohol. That said it would probably still be better than UV as the UV might actually damage the screen especially if it’s an OLED one. Overall if your phone is IP rated some dish soap and a moist cloth is probably the best option.
gavisann 6y ago
FYI, IPA can remove the oleophobic coating from the screen.

raverbashing 6y ago

I use a regular spray disinfectant (not too much), think window cleaner or bathroom cleaner and a paper towel But again, it's not too much, just to wet the surface and wipe well