6 Tips for Cleaning Your Cell Phone

How to Clean Your Phone

Your trusty smartphone goes everywhere with you, which probably means it gets pretty dirty, too. Cleaning your phone is something that most of us will need to do at some point. You might find a build up of lint in the charger port, or in extreme cases, have to deal with a spill. If you have found yourself wanting to know how to clean you phone, you have come to the right place. In this article, we will go over six different tips how to clean your phone.

Remember: when cleaning your cell phone it is a good idea to power it off, especially if you are cleaning the charger port or headphone jack.

Lint in the Charger Port

This is probably going to be number one for most people looking for tips on how to clean their phone. With most of us keeping our phones in our pockets or at the bottom of handbags, there is a good chance that dust and debris will get wedged in there. You’ll know you need to clean your charger port when the cable does not seem to sit right, and maybe even comes loose when you move it.

So, how do you clean your charger port? Follow these steps:

• Power your phone off.
• Get a sewing needle or pin, or the SIM removal pin (basically something sturdy and metal, reasonably long and thin enough to get in the gap). Avoid using micro screwdrivers as they have notches at the end that can damage the port.
• In good light, very carefully work your pin around the dirt at the bottom of the charger port. Try to avoid touching the charging terminals and work around them to scrape as much of the lint out as possible.
• You may find this takes several attempts to get it all out, and you will need to blow on it to loosen some of the fluff and remove it.
• A mini vacuum, the type that can be used to clean keyboards, can help to loosen the dirt, but is unlikely to get everything out. You will need to use a pin to remove the bulk of the lint.
• Do not use any liquid to remove the lint from the charging port.

Cleaning Out the Headphone Jack

Similar to the charging port, headphone jacks can attract plenty of fluff and lint. Before you know it, your favorite headphones will not seem to fit in the socket anymore! Although more people are moving over to Bluetooth headphones, it is useful to know how to clean your phone’s headphone jack:

• Using a sewing pin or toothpick, gently scrape the bottom of the port until all of the lint is removed.
• You may find that this takes several attempts and requires you to blow on the hole to encourage the loosened fluff to come out of the port.

Cleaning the Camera Lens

Chances are your phone has a high-quality camera, and you use it to capture all kinds of images, from nights out, to food, to family vacations and holidays. But do photos you take on your phone look a bit blurry or soft around the edges? If so, then you probably need to clean your camera lens.

Cleaning a phone camera lens does not require quite as much care as cleaning a real camera lens. Real DSLRs and digital cameras need gentle care and some special equipment. Thankfully, your phone camera does not. Follow these steps to clean your phone's camera:

• Using a fine cloth (a microfiber or lens cleaning cloth for glasses), wipe down the lens. You’ll probably need to give it a good wiping for around 30 seconds to a minute.
• Open your camera app to see how it looks. If there is still some distortion then continue to rub the lens until it is gone.
• If there is dirt stuck on the camera lens then you can use a moist (not wet) cloth, or even a touch of saliva to remove any dirt.
• Before taking an image, you can rub the lens on a t-shirt or fine cloth to remove any grease or grime that might distort the image.

Disinfecting Your Phone

As your phone goes everywhere with you, chances are it is harboring all kinds of dirt and bacteria. Giving your phone an occasional wipe down with some kind of antibacterial is a good way to make sure you are not going to get anything nasty from your device:

• Use a store-bought antibacterial wipe to clean the screen and body of the phone. Avoid touching the charging port with anything damp or wet.
• You can also make a soap and water solution and use a fine cloth. Wring the cloth out so it is damp, not wet, and then wipe down your phone.
• Dry the phone off once you have cleaned it.

Cleaning Your Phone Case

Using a phone case is a great way to ensure your phone avoids any nasty shocks, and prevents damage to its expensive frame. However, phone cases are probably the biggest sources of built-up dirt and grime.

Premium phone cases, such as leather phone cases, will come with their own cleaning instructions, so make sure to follow the manufacturer's recommendations.

However, in general, especially for plastic or silicon cases you can follow these guidelines:

• Remove the phone case from the phone.
• Make a soap and water solution; you can use dish soap.
• Using a fine cloth, remove the dirt and grime completely.
• Dry the case with a towel and make sure it is totally dry before putting it back on your phone.

Phones With Removable Panels

Many top-end phones are sealed units, so there is nothing to see here for owners of iPhones, most Samsungs, and other flagship phone models. However, some models require the removal of a panel to access the battery or SIM tray.

If the panels are removable, chances are there is some space for dirt to get in:

• Power off the phone.
• Remove the panel and the battery.
• As this is an area with battery terminals and such, avoid using damp cloths. The best option is to use a dry cloth or towel and carefully wipe down the area to remove all lint and residue.
• Once you have cleaned your phone and you’re satisfied that all of the residue has been removed, reassemble your phone and switch it on.

It’s as easy as that!

We hope these tips for cleaning your phone have been useful, and help you preserve your phone for a long time.