Submitted 3 days ago by xavi@sh.itjust.works to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
Are there chemicals that could damage the camera/screen/USB port, what are the things one should I avoid when cleaning?
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.
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
99% Isopropyl Alcohol for the whole thing.
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 power used for washing clothes? Same thing. Even regular hand soap is also 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 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.
I clean my phone using window cleaner on a paper towel. Modern 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.
Yeah, window cleaner or alcohol in general has the advantage that it dissipates, making it much less likely for it to get into the electronics and shortcircuit something.
Isopropyl alcohol is nearly nonconductive, I’ve used it and a detail brush to clean motherboards with zero issue. Its not going to do anything to your phone.
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.
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.
For the outside, I just use an antibac wipe. For the ports and grills, I bought a set of anti-static tweezers for this purpose.
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
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.
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
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, every go outside and touch grass?
just curious
I smear my balls all over everything. I don’t give a fuck
Depends, my phone is IP69K so I washed it with hand soap, warm water and a towel dry lol
No, don’t use soap! It changes the surface tension of water and can allow to enter your phone when it otherwise wouldn’t be able to.
I’ve done that with all my phones since BlackBerry
well I usually use luke cold water
Lol don’t depend on it.
I had a Samsung Galaxy S23 that got water damage after I did this at least once everyday for months, not covered by warranty. I did that because I was germophobic af triggered by covid, now i just use those wet wipes to wipe off the germs.
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
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. 🤷♂️
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.
Forester@pawb.social 3 days ago
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
Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Actually lower percentages work better, if we’re talking about disinfecting
0x0@infosec.pub 3 days ago
We’re usually not. It’s to dissolve gunk
Forester@pawb.social 3 days ago
We’re talking about not shorting the electronics 3%water won’t normally make sparks