Simple Tricks To Clean Your Smartphone From Common Messes

It is common for your phone to get dirty since, admit it, we take our smartphones all around. The dirt comes from everywhere. It could be anything like your kids’ stickers, your delicious lunch or the dust in your bag.

And if you take a shower every day, it would be quite unfair for your phone when you don’t know how to clean it. Here are some tips to quickly give your phone a deep cleaning.

1. Dirt in the charging port

Since wireless charging is not too popular for smartphones, we still have to take good care of our charging ports. Dust, lint or other debris that stays in our bags can easily get in the charging port and hinder the charging.

You only need a toothpick or a SIM removal tool to deal with this. Use a flashlight to shine the charging area and dig the toothpick into the port carefully. Remember to move to the toothpick in soft scooping motion along the edges of the charging area. However, be gentle to not damage the port. It is better if you can use a plastic toothpick instead of wooden toothpick since the latter one can be split easily. This way can be done for both USB C-ports of Android and Lightning ports of Apple.

2. Dust in the speaker

Smartphones nowadays are added with stereo speakers in order to have better sound. However, this means our phones have a lot more small holes than they used to. So before applying the above tips to this issue, try spraying compressed air into the holes to remove all the obstacle first. If this doesn’t work, be prepared that you may face with harder dust. At this point, use a SIM removal tool or a sewing needle to carefully poke into the hole and remove the dust stuck inside. Of course, move the tool in a soft scooping motion to take out the dust.

3. Food leftovers on the phone screen

Using phones while having a meal seems to be the most common things an adult has ever done. It could be things like reading news, chit-chatting with friends or handling emergency work. Whatever you do, if you don’t pay enough attention, your meal could easily end up on your phone. Even if it is some kind of sauce or oil, absorb the area with a tissue to avoid any spreading and wipe out all the remains.

However, you still have to deep cleanse the area later by a cloth or clean towel. First, put some dish soap on the towel and rub it under the water to create some foams. You don’t need to much water or foams there, just get enough to clean the phone easily. Then wipe down your phone to take out any excess of your food leftovers.

Lastly, spray a mixture of distilled water and white vinegar to sanitize your phone. If you prefer something else, try some alcohol or ammonia-free cleaner.

4. Unidentifiable stickiness

Sometimes, you may suddenly find some unknown sticky residue that has been on your phone for quite a time. Usually, you can remove the stain by rubbing your fingers over and over. A wet cloth with soap may also help in this case to soften the stain.

However, if the stain is still hard to clean, you can use a plastic spudger or an edge of a plastic card to remove the stain out without leaving any scratch on your screen. A tip for a heavy stain like sticker residue is to use a cotton ball dipped in nail polish remover and wipe the phone screen. But remember to be careful since removers with acetone may be too strong for some parts of the phone, especially the painted surface.

5. Make-up stain on the phone screen

After talking on the phone, you may leave your creamy make-up or your skin oils on the phone screen unintentionally. If you are at home, you can use removal spray on the screen and then wipe down with microfiber cloth. If you are outside, even only a microfiber cloth can help your phone to be clean again.

An oleophobic screen protector can also help to reduce the face grease or fingerprints on your phone. However, this doesn’t work well with a full make-up face on a hot day. So, to avoid the issue thoroughly, users are suggested to turn on the phone speakers to stop putting phones close to their faces.

6. Dirty phone cases

As the cover of your phones, phone cases can get dirty quite easily. To extend the lift of your phone cases, you should apply the following steps to clean it up. If your case gets dull, soak it with dish soap and warm water and then scrub it with a toothbrush. The toothbrush with hard bristles can take out what’s on your case. If there is dried food or ink stain on your cases, try out some method all-purpose cleaner. For more difficult circumstances, you can rub the dirt with a cotton ball dipped in 70% or higher alcohol.

With fabric cases, a toothbrush is still helpful since you can soak it with soapy water and scrub the cases. In another way, baking soda is usually suggested to cleanse the persistent dirt.

7. Dirty charging cable

Though most charging cables are white, they might quickly pick up dirt, dust or soot if you take them along everywhere. Use a cloth napkin or clean towel to dip in warm soapy water and gently wipe down all the dirt in the cable. Remember not to soak the cable directly into the water if you still want to charge your phone the next time. The all-purpose cleaner would help with tougher marks.