Clean your smartphone and tablet - how it works

Use your smartphone or tablet every day, grease, dirt and bacteria accumulate on it. This practical tip shows you how to clean the display properly.

Tips & tricks: Clean your smartphone and tablet

1. To clean the touchscreen, we recommend using a microfiber cloth. You can get such a cloth in online retail for less than 10 euros.
2. With the microfiber cloth, you should clean the display in slow and circular movements without putting too much pressure on the screen. Remove coarse dirt beforehand so that you don't scratch the display.
3. There are also mini display cleaners for when you're on the go, which you can attach to the back of your device.
4. The CyberClean display cleaning compound, which is particularly suitable for smartphones with a physical keyboard, is also useful. The elastic mass removes dust and dirt as well as germs and bacteria and can also be used for smaller spaces in small keyboards.
5. If you want to clean ports or sockets on your device, you should use a toothpick or cotton swab. Larger cotton fluff should be removed before cleaning, however, so that it does not get caught in the small openings of your device. You should be as careful as possible to avoid damaging the hardware. Avoid touching copper and gold-colored contacts.
6. Do not use harsh detergents such as alcohol or dish soap. You should also dry-clean your smartphone or tablet. Liquid penetration can damage the sensitive hardware.
7. Special antibacterial wet wipes or hygiene sprays are suitable for removing bacteria and germs. You can get both online or in the drugstore.
8. As a preventative measure, it is advisable to use a screen protector or a cell phone or tablet case. In general, you should wash your hands regularly if you work a lot with your smartphone and tablet - all sorts of bacteria accumulate on the display.

Cleaning your smartphone: is this really necessary?

• On average, we tap the smartphone and tablet display over 2, 000 times a day. In between we take hold of the handrail in the bus, the deposit machine in the supermarket or the toilet door at work.
• This means that a wide variety of germs not only get on the display, but also on our body. This usually happens unconsciously when we touch the nose with our hands, scratch our faces or hold the cell phone to our ears and mouth to make calls.
• In a test with several smartphones, SWR Marktcheck found various intestinal bacteria and mold on the displays after just one day. Among other things, these can cause diarrhea and infections. Regular cleaning of the display is therefore highly recommended.

In the next practical tip, we will show you how to clean your keyboard.