How to Clean an iPhone

What You Will Need:

• Microfiber or other similar lint free cloth.
• Cool water
• iPhone
• Safe and quiet spot

The Cleaning Process:

1. Disconnect all USB cables from your iPhone. The iPhone should never be cleaned while it is attached to a computer or any other device.
2. Turn your iPhone off. To do this, depress the “sleep/wake” button (if you do not know where this button is, refer to your iPhone instruction manual). After about 3 to 4 seconds a red slider will appear on the screen. With your finger, drag the red slider across the screen. Your iPhone should now be off. Again, if you are having difficulty with this procedure, refer to your instruction manual.
3. Dampen (Dampen, not soak!) the corner of a soft microfiber cloth with a trickle of water (Some people prefer distilled because it carries less impurities). Never apply water or cleaning solutions directly to your iPhone.
4. With the damp corner, gently wipe the iPhone, paying special attention to the touch screen, but avoid wiping the ports. If your screen is especially dirty, you should attempt to remove surface dirt with a soft brush or compressed air first as you may inadvertently drag the dirt across the screen and cause scratching.
5. Once your phone has been cleaned to your satisfaction, use the dry portion of the cloth to remove any moisture that remains on your phone.
6. When your iPhone is completely dry turn it back on by depressing the “sleep/wake” button. The “Apple” logo should appear on the screen.
7. Depending on how much you use your iPhone, this cleaning process can be done daily, or every couple of days or weekly, in order to keep your iPhone looking its best and performing well.

Cell phones are an object that is touched frequently, moreso even than doorknobs and light switches, so they probably have a multitude of bacteria on them. The above method will work to remove some of the bacteria, although it is the act of rubbing (think: scrubbing) with the cloth that will actually help to kill bacteria. However, sometimes cell phones can encounter especially germy situations, such as a trip to the gym or hospital, or being dropped in a public bathroom. In these cases, extra sanitation may be required if not for your physical health then at least for your peace of mind.

The best way to sanitize your iphone is to inveset in a UV phone cleaner. These cleaners are basically a box with UV lights that will kill the majority of bacteria on your phone, although they won’t remove makeup smudges unfortunately, so you will still need the Regular Cleanings process above for that. Look for these cleaners online or at home goods stores. One popular brand is called Phone Soap.

There are smaller handheld UV sanitizers and even UV light bulbs that can be purchased instead, however be sure to fully read any product labels to ensure they are safe to use on your iphone.

In case you’re wondering, in order to achieve the same or similar result using the sun you would have to leave the phone in direct sunlight for at least 30 minutes (which isn’t good for the electronics to be heated that much) and rotate it to ensure every side/surface is exposed to 30 minutes of sun. In other words, don’t try this, it can damage your phone and really isn’t feasible. An iphone is an investment worth protecting by going to a store and buying a UV phone cleaner instead.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any chemical cleaners that can be used on an iphone to remove bacteria. In order to keep all components safe, the only options are to gently rub the phone with the cleaning cloth to remove and hopefully kill what bacteria you can, or invest in a UV cleaner. Keep in mind, the more you rub the phone with the cloth, the more you wear you will be putting on the iphone, in particular causing the oleophobic coating to wear off faster than it otherwise might have.

• Before attempting to clean your iPhone, always refer to your user’s manual to make sure you are familiar with all the features and recommendations pertaining to your specific iPhone, including any manufacturer precautions with regard to cleaning.
• Your iPhone should come with its own cleaning cloth, in which case, we recommend that you use their cloth, and follow any recommendations provided with the cloth, for cleaning your iPhone.
• NEVER use any type of commercial or chemical cleaners on your iPhone—not even plain soap! The only thing you should dampen your cleaning cloth with is PLAIN WATER.
• Again, be very careful not to saturate your iPhone with water—the cleaning cloth should barely be damp—or you will damage your iPhone.
• If your iPhone does sustain water damage and will not turn on (or acts erratically when it is turned on) contact Apple iPhone Customer Support immediately to find out what can be done to remedy or repair the situation.
• You may want to consider purchasing an iPhone case to help keep your iPhone clean and minimize the frequency of regular cleaning.
• NEVER attempt to clean the iPhone touch screen (or any other part of the iPhone) with any kind of liquid or aerosol cleaners, especially ones containing alcohol, ammonia or other abrasive ingredients. These common household cleaners (including window cleaners such as Windex®) can damage the sensitive touch screen!
• Of course, you should NEVER immerse your iPhone in water, but also be careful to keep your iPhone out of excessively moist or damp environments (i.e. indoor pool areas, health club saunas or steam rooms, steamy shower rooms, etc.). Excessive moisture can damage the delicate inner workings of the iPhone. If your iPhone does get wet, unplug all cables, turn the iPhone off and allow it to dry out completely. After it is dry, try to turn it on and see if it works. If it does not turn on, or acts erratically when it does, contact Apple customer support to see what can be done to remedy the situation. You can contact customer support by using the contact information provided with your iPhone materials, or by going to their website.