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2016 Goals: Clean Your Tech (the Right Way)

Continuing on with our 2016 Goals series to help you interact with your technology in a healthier way this year, let’s discuss how gross your gadgets are. Because, seriously, you wash your hands with abandon. You carry sanitizer and aren’t afraid to use it. You even get your annual flu shot. But do you clean your tech? […]

Continuing on with our 2016 Goals series to help you interact with your technology in a healthier way this year, let’s discuss how gross your gadgets are. Because, seriously, you wash your hands with abandon. You carry sanitizer and aren’t afraid to use it. You even get your annual flu shot. But do you clean your tech?

Crickets.

Though we’ve all “cleaned” our smartphones on our pants, the leg-wipe doesn’t really cut it. The dirty truth is that your devices can host nasties including e. coli and staph, and your keyboard may be dirtier than your toilet seat. Eww.

But wait—don’t squirt Purell on your iPhone yet (I know your finger is on the trigger!). Tech is sensitive stuff, and those delicate components need to be cleaned the right way. Here are some key tips:

Mix it yourself cleaning solution. A fifty-fifty blend of rubbing alcohol and water will disinfect your stuff. That’s all you need. Put it in a spray bottle and you’re good to go.

If you want to skip the DIY, here are some of my favorite wipes:

AM Wipes | Spruce & Co. | Well-Kept | Whoosh | Wireless Wipes

Spray a microfiber cloth, not the device. Liquid can easily get into crevices and damage your devices. Always spray on a cloth, not directly on your gadgets, and be sure that cloth is damp, not soaked.

Dust with dryer sheets. Those anti-static sheets are gentle enough to use on computer parts without messing up your computer’s electrical system. Speaking of—avoid vacuuming your computer. Vacuuming can mess up the electrical system.

Blow out dust with canned air. Blast out crumbs and dirt from headphone jacks and between keyboard keys.

Cover your keyboard. A simple silicone keyboard cover like this one is easy to whip off and wash (and it’s, ahem, dirt cheap).

Try a UV light. A product like this Verilux wand can sanitize your stuff almost magically with the power of UV light.

For more on cleaning your tech, check out Smart Simple Solved how-to for making a tech cleaning kit, and this Digitwirl video below!

How do you clean your tech? Let me know in the comments!

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