Researchers have found a smartphone screen to be three times dirtier than a toilet seat

If you are reading this story on a smartphone screen, we suggest you wash your hands and clean your device after reading. A research conducted by Insurance2go has found a smartphone screen to be three times dirtier than a toilet seat. The research has found that, “More than a third of people (35%) have never cleaned their phone with wipes, a cleaning fluid or a similar product.” The research was conducted using three popular smartphones - an iPhone 6, a Samsung Galaxy S8 and a Google Pixel. The devices were tested for aerobic bacteria, yeast and mould. The screens of the three handsets exhibited a combined total of 254.9 colony-forming units per cm2. 

This makes the displays the filthiest part of the smartphone. Averaged out, it means that each smartphone display has an average of 84.9 colony-forming units per cm2 on each screen. To put things into perspective, a toilet and flush was found to have just 24 units whereas an office keyboard and mouse were found to have just five. The test found the back of the smartphones had an average of 30 units (making it slightly dirtier than a toilet), the lock button had an average of 23.8 units (almost the same as the toilet), and the home button had an average of 10.6 units (twice the amount found on the office keyboard and mouse). 

Dr Shirin Lakhani of the skin clinic Elite Aesthetics said, "Our smartphones are a really big source of skin contamination and skin problems; namely acne. Skin friction, heat and pressure to the skin all contribute to skin problems caused by smartphones." Gary Beeston, Sales and Marketing Manager at Insurance2go, said, "Our phones are never far from our sides; we take them everywhere with us. Therefore, it's inevitable that they'll pick up a few germs along the way. In our experiment we took the germs that are normally lurking on our phones invisibly and placed them in ideal growing conditions to help people see the potential hidden germs. Perhaps we don't realise quite how infectious our phones can be considering we're holding them against our faces!” So, the next time you decide to take your phone with you to the toilet and decide to answer a phone call remember, even though the phone hasn’t come in contact with your faeces, doesn’t mean the bacteria from the faeces isn’t already on your smartphone. 

There are ways in which you can keep your smartphone clean. Not taking it with you to the toilet can be a good start. You can also use alcohol wipes to disinfect your phone. Alternatively, you can also purchase smartphone cleaning solutions online and use them to keep your phone clean. 

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