Cleaning and Care

Keeping a phone and its earbuds clean

A phone is handled all day and almost never cleaned. Grease from skin smears the screen, pocket fluff packs into the charging port and the speaker grilles, and earbuds collect wax on the parts that sit in the ear. This department has the small tools for each job, and every page in it follows what Apple and Samsung say on their own support pages about cleaning their phones and earbuds. The guide to cleaning your phone safely sets that advice out in full.

What is in cleaning and care

• Phone cleaning kits put brushes, sponge tips, picks and often a cloth together in one set, for the phone, earbuds, a keyboard and a laptop. See phone cleaning kits.
• Port and earbud brushes are small soft brushes and sponge tips for charging ports, speaker grilles and earbud mesh. See port and earbud brushes.
• Screen sprays and cloths are microfibre cloths, small spray bottles and screen wipes for fingerprints and smears. See screen sprays and cloths.
• Dust plugs sit in the charging port or headphone socket to keep fluff out. See dust plugs.
• UV sanitisers are boxes and wands that shine ultraviolet light on a phone. See UV sanitisers.

What the phone makers say

Apple and Samsung say much the same. Turn the phone off and unplug it first, and take the case off. Use a soft, lint-free cloth, dry, or slightly damp with water. Never spray anything straight onto the phone, and keep liquid out of the openings. Cleaning products and abrasive materials wear down the screen's oil-repelling coating. To disinfect, both allow a 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipe or cloth, gently on the outside; neither allows bleach. Both say not to use compressed air.

For ports, Apple's advice for its earbud cases is a clean, dry, soft-bristled brush, and nothing put in a port that could damage the metal contacts. So use the softest tool in any kit, keep it dry, and keep metal tips out of a phone's charging port.

How to choose

For the screen alone, a microfibre cloth does most of the work. For a phone and earbuds together, a kit or a small brush with a sponge tip covers the ports, grilles and the earbud case. If fluff keeps building up in the port, a dust plug stops it coming back.

Questions people ask about phone cleaning

Can I use antibacterial wipes on my phone?

Apple says a 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipe, a 75 percent ethyl alcohol wipe or a disinfectant wipe can be used gently on the outside of an iPhone, with no bleach or hydrogen peroxide. Samsung allows a cloth with 70 percent isopropyl or ethyl alcohol.

What about earbuds?

Wipe them, never wash them, use nothing sharp on the mesh, and hold them face down while you brush so loosened wax falls out. Samsung says not to use alcohol on its earbuds.

More to look at

• Phone cleaning kits
• Port and earbud brushes
• Screen sprays and cloths
• Dust plugs
• Ear tips
• Earbud cases and covers
• Guide: How to clean your phone safely