Dear Kid,
It’s March, and for many of us Spring Cleaning is in the air (and by Spring Cleaning is in the Air I mean I am sneezing up a storm as evict Dust Dragons that have been in the house as long as we have).
I know that you guys do a reasonable job of keeping your room hygienic (and by Hygienic I mean the health squad hasn’t condemned the place), but I’m going to go out on a limb here and take a wild guess that none of your electronic devices have been cleaned. Ever.
Fortunately for you, Real Simple magazine had an article about this very subject. Even more fortunately for you, I not only read the article, I have consolidated the important points into this blog. You’re welcome.
Technology Spring Clean Up
Cell Phone
Let’s deal with the most disgusting part first. Your cell phone probably has fecal matter on it. Ewww. How? you ask. Many people take their cell phone into the potty with them. According to scientific data which I just made up, college students are 10 times more likely than their parents to take their cell phones into the bathroom with them. Once in the bathroom, you (eventually) flush which causes gazillions of contaminated droplets to spew out of the toilet, into the air, and go searching for somewhere nice to land. Like your hands and your phone.
Wash your hands.
If your phone happens to claim it’s waterproof and you feel up to testing that theory, wash your phone.
If not, use wipes made for wireless devices. Frequently.
Laptop
You’ve probably been using your hands to type on your laptop. Which would be fine if your hands weren’t covered in dirt and oil and germs, and if other people’s germs weren’t circling in space just waiting to land on your keyboard and spring onto your paws. When you think about it, the world is pretty germ-y.
Do not (repeat do NOT) use glass cleaner on your screen. Not now, not ever. You can use a specialty screen cleaner (if you are loaded with money and time) or a damp cloth (if you are not).
You’re supposed to use Sophisticated UV Wands to clean the keyboard. Since I do not own (or intend to own) such a device, I use a wipey-thing. But that is not Officially Approved so don’t blame me if it doesn’t work. Compressed air is also handy for getting crumbs out of keyboard cracks. Not that any of us would ever eat near our computer.
Remote Control
Another Top Spot on the Ick Patrol. Compressed air can be nifty here too. Then Swipe with a Wipe.
Earbuds
Wipe with a damp cloth that has a little soap on it. Follow up with a damp cloth that does not have soap on it. Dry. Do not even think about contemplating all the disgusting things on your earbuds.
Room Key
OK, it’s not electronic and Real Simple didn’t say a thing about it, but I feel pretty confident guessing it has never been cleaned and needs to be. Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about damaging its touch screen or shorting out its circuits, so just wash the darn thing with soap and water.
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