Are there chemicals that could damage the camera/screen/USB port, what are the things one should I avoid when cleaning?
97% iso is probably the best thing to use just don’t soak your phone use qtips and microfiber cloth. Hot glue is a semi risky way to clean ports of residual lint and dirt but rinse with iso first then fully dry before applying hot glue. Let glue set then peel.
Actually lower percentages work better, if we’re talking about disinfecting
We’re usually not. It’s to dissolve gunk. And on the topic of iso, 99% is pretty much not 99% after opening the container
Really? we had 99 percent to clean a laser machine lens at a leather shop. I never really thought about it.
Lenses for a laser is better to clean with 99%iso due to it barely leaving any residue when evaporating, but even that is a compromise.
What you really want is pure (“100%”) alcohol/ethanol to leave even less of trace. Unfortunately most people or companies can’t buy pure ethanol due to the nature of alcohol laws, so a substitute like isopropyl is used instead since its usually "good enough "
We’re talking about not shorting the electronics 3%water won’t normally make sparks
You might be, OP is not. Neither am I. We’re talking about cleaning a phone, the outside of the phone, not a bare circuit board. Phones are almost universally water resistant, so being worried about shorting electronics is silly.
No it’s not, those ports are not all sealed. Most are water resistant not water proof.
Yes it is. I have literally never heard of anyone ever breaking their phone by cleaning it 70% alcohol. And I said water resistant already, so I’m not sure why you’re implying I said water proof
Because based on the description, the original poster is asking how to clean out the ports. Not wipe them down on a surface level. Clean them as in most likely the device is not charging properly. This requires flooding the port.
Other people have already given sensible suggestions, but I’ll mention one group of chemicals that can damage your phone: bases.
If your phone has aluminium parts, highly concentrated bases will begin to gradually dissolve them. Hopefully nobody was thinking of using dishwasher tablets to make a soap solution for your phone. That’s a bad idea, since the resulting solution has a very high pH-value (base). What about the powder used for washing clothes? Same thing. Even regular hand soap is basic, but it’s nowhere near that extreme.
Exposure time also matters. If you just wipe the phone with a damp cloth, the time will be very short. If you really want to damage the aluminium parts with hand soap, it’s going to take an absurdly long time to do anything. However, those dishwasher tablets are a different beast.
Temperature matters too. These kinds of reactions happen faster if you heat up the solution.
With soaps and indeed many bases you also have to remember they are made to lower surface tension. Which means soap gets in smaller holes than plain water your water resistant phones were tested with. So very careful with the wetness if you use those.
Use a 97%+ isopropyl alcohol wetted cloth or cotton ball, don’t immerse the phone.
I use a alcohol swab on my phone everyday after work. I get em in bulk and just wipe my phone down. Quick and disposable so I can take a bunch with me when I travel.
I clean my phone using window cleaner and a paper towel. Modern phones aren’t that sensitive so I really don’t think you need to worry much about what you use. Just maybe don’t spray liquids directly into speakers/mic or USB ports.
I’m seeing a lot of comments for super high concentrations of isopropyl alcohol to disinfect. As a public service announcement, 70% Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) a Better Disinfectant than 99%
Okay. This isn’t about disinfecting. This is about electronics safety. The higher the better
I was almost surprised at the ridiculous reply, then I realized it was from a moderator, and it made a lot more sense.
That embarrassing for you?
Imagine being a mod and a troll. Thanks for making Reddit 2.0!
What do you mean, which community do you mod?
99% isopropyl alcohol is ideal as a solvent or cleaning agent for industries that produce water sensitive items, therefore rapid evaporation and low water content is favorable. 99% USP IPA provides the lowest presence of water and in some forms is free from denaturants. Computer technicians, medical device manufacturers, printed circuit board manufacturers, and soldering and rework technicians prefer immediate evaporation for work with sensitive devices such as integrated circuit adapters, computer chips, and circuit boards. 99% IPA evaporates cleanly and minimizes residual substances. Rapid evaporation reduces shelf life but is more effective against sticky residues, grease, and grime than 70% concentrations. Because isopropanol is hygroscopic, acetone may yield better grime fighting results for inks or oils.
The URL you shared recommends using 99% IPA for electronics.
I’m specifically commenting on disinfecting, and the electronics being mentioned are things like circuit boards, not phones, which are almost universally water resistant.
Rubbing alcohol on a towel, clorox if it’s something gross. Wipe where needed, don’t let anything soak. Small pick-like tools for ports
There’s a putty for clearing out any mesh grills or small holes, stubborn edges, getting gunk out of earbuds, etc. that you can buy so you don’t have to worry about poking something with tweezers or a toothpick.
Some fine point tweezers are usually useful for getting lint out of the USB port, I have done it fairly aggressively and not done any damage yet.
The best option is to look at the manufacturer for your phone. They should have instructions for your model. These iPhone instructions are a good general guide, but there might be specific recommendations for whatever model you’re cleaning.
Ngl. I came here expecting how to properly delete/shred data from a smartphone e.g. when selling or otherwise giving it to someone else
I pretty much use this stuff on everything. Spray it on the cloth, though, not the screen.
For the ports, I just use compressed air.
IIRC you should be careful not to spray that for too long or it can spit some weird liquid too. Shitty brands can do that.
But it says it’s the world’s best, so no need to worry about what shitty brands do
/s
I just do a spritz onto a tack cloth
Any brand can do that. You need to use a dedicated electronics air blower. You can get them on Amazon for under $50
Compressed air is not a good idea for any port or internal component
Do u use those little brushes?
I use a powered electronics cleaner that is capable of spraying dry air
Is that better than a can of compressed air?
Yup! They are designed for electronics. DataVac is the big brand but I bought a cheap AirTec model on Amazon and it worked fine. There are plenty under 50 that have good reviews that are probably fine
No argument there, but out of curiosity aren’t the cans of compressed air also designed for electronics?
Not really, no. They are designed for cleaning in general, but that’s like saying “aren’t q tips designed for ears?”
Use soap and water. If that’s not enough, 99% Isopropyl Alcohol does a great job for cleaning and disinfecting without damaging the device.
Avoid using anything that scours or anything that will react chemically with the glass, metal or plastic on your device (no mineral oils, solvents etc.)
Do NOT use soap and water on ports. Isopropyl alcohol is probably the only safe option
The majority of phones are waterproof now and will disable the port if it detects water. Soap and water has been safe for a hot minute.
Soap changes the surface tension of water and will be able to penetrate the phone when otherwise it wouldn’t be able to.
If you’re submerging it, sure, but you don’t have to do that to clean something with soap. Soap and water on a cleaning rag isn’t going to hurt anything.
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Who cleans their phone? Who disinfects their phone?
I wipe my screen if it’s dirty, and once every month or so I’ll take it out of the case to clean the gunk out.
I clean my phone with alcohol fairly often. Phones are great at spreading bacteria, cleaning them regularly prevents that.
Just… Stop touching things covered in germs. 🤷♂️
That’s literally impossible
I’d love to do a fecal swab test on your phone. I wonder how many times you’ve put it in your mouth to hold it. I wonder how many times you’ve ate shit.
I’d love to do a fecal swab test on your phone.
Yep, you’d definitely find some. just like everywhere else.
I wonder how many times you’ve put it in your mouth to hold it.
What? WTF? Never. Not in the nearly 30 years I’ve owned a cell phone have I EVER put it in my mouth. Why would you do that? I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone do that.
I wonder how many times you’ve ate shit.
Well, let’s not get into details. But it’s ironic that the same world with a profoundly unhealthy obsession with a germ-free environment is the same one that has normalized anal sex, ATM, and analingus.
I tend to stay away from both extremes, wash my hands well, keep up with my vaccinations, and don’t stress over the fact that literally every single thing I touch is contaminated. The number of people who get sick (particularly with fecal coliform) from their phones is inconsequentially small.
Yes, your phone is dirty; but if you clean it, you’ll be eliminating a tiny fraction of a percent of the bacteria and viruses you’re exposed to every single day of your life.
You do you, but cleaning phones is almost entirely the product of fear mongering by the media. I didn’t think anyone actually bothered.
what did you do? why the fuck do you need to clean it
Phones are nasty. Clean your phone.
do you live in a sterile lab, or do you like, ever go outside and touch grass?
just curious
I smear my balls all over everything. I don’t give a fuck
