And with 80 per cent of people surveyed by Dr Tajouri admitting to using their phone in a public toilet, we can start to understand how they get there.<\/p>\n
“Mobile phones behave like biological magnets,” he says, adding their warm and moist conditions act like “five-star hotel accommodation for microorganisms”.<\/p>\n
If you’re understandably grossed out, keep reading to find out the best way to clean your phone, and how often you need to be doing it.<\/p>\n
What lives on our phone and is it harmful?<\/p>\n
In the 95 phones Dr Tajouri and his team analysed, they also found super bugs<\/strong> (germs that are very hard to treat), antibiotic resistant genes<\/strong>, and virulence factor genes<\/strong> (these increase a pathogen’s ability to cause disease).<\/p>\n He says micro-organisms thrive on phones because they are high-touch surfaces<\/strong> that deliver the right “breeding ground” conditions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n “We load them with all sorts of microbes through our fingers \u2026 and when we talk into them, we drop little droplets of saliva.<\/p>\n “Moisture with heat is the perfect condition for multiplication.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n We transfer these germs back to our faces<\/strong>, Dr Tajouri says, by touching our lips, eyes and nose on average 25 times in an hour.<\/p>\n “Eighty per cent of common infections are associated with hands. Mobile phones negate handwashing<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n Immunocompromised people are most at risk of illness from their phones, Dr Tajouri says.<\/p>\n “That includes infants, the elderly, and of course people with chronic disease like diabetes.”<\/p>\n Meena Jha, head of technology at Central Queensland University, says while having germs on your phone doesn’t “automatically make you sick”, we do need to be practising good hand and surface hygiene.<\/p>\n “I wouldn’t describe the phone as inherently dangerous. But it’s about recognising it’s a frequently touched surface that can catch microbes.<\/p>\n “We should be cleaning them<\/strong>, and we often forget.”<\/p>\n Who is cleaning their phone anyway? Research shows 80 per cent of people admit to using mobile phones in public toilets. (Pexels: Miriam Alonso)<\/p>\n Not me (until recently), but I’m in good company.<\/p>\n According to Dr Tajouri’s research, most participants never or rarely clean their devices<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For example, a survey he conducted with hospital staff in Queensland found 52 per cent admitted to using their mobile phones in the toilet, and 57 per cent said they never cleaned them.<\/p>\n How to clean your phone without damaging it<\/p>\n Before cleaning your phone, you need to unplug it <\/strong>(if it’s being charged) and remove any protective cases and accessories<\/strong>, explains Dr Jha.<\/p>\n “For most modern phones, a soft microfibre cloth is the safest starting point,” she says.<\/p>\n If you want to disinfect it, Dr Jha recommends no higher than 70 per cent isopropyl alcohol wipes<\/strong>, which is in line with most guidelines backed by major manufacturers.<\/p>\n “Use it gently, and the most important thing is to not spray anything directly onto the phone.”<\/p>\n She says any cloths or wipes should be damp, not dripping wet<\/strong>, as you want to keep moisture away from charging ports and speakers.<\/p>\n![\"close](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/d76d1afebbe9f29c8f8d0fd8868b8abd.jpeg\")
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