How To Clean Spills off of My Smartphone?

Phones grow more technologically advanced with each new generation. With smartphones, you can access email, search engines, social networks, music, games, and other convenient applications; however, the more advanced these phones become, the more susceptible they are to damage.

Spills on a Smartphone

If liquid gets into the wrong places, it will completely ruin any electronic device including smartphones. Since most cell phone warranties do not cover damage due to water, it is crucial to clean spills off of a smartphone in the appropriate way.

Stay Calm

The important thing to remember is not to panic. Of course you love your iPhone and you’re ready to do whatever it takes to save it, but often mistakes are made that could have been avoided if cleaning had been done more calmly and meticulously.

• Do not try cleaning up the spill too hurriedly or in a panic as it could lead to causing more damage.
• Before even starting to clean the phone, it is good practice to remove any external devices or chords that may be attached to the phone. Then immediately turn off the phone.
• Do not forget to remove the spill container or any other potential hazards that could cause more damage to the cellular device.

 

Don’t Sweep

Do not sweep the liquid off of the smartphone. Wiping a spill will only smear the liquid and it may push the liquid deeper into the phone, closer to the water-sensitive circuit boards.

• The most effective way of cleaning fresh spills off of a smartphone is by taking a soft rag and dabbing it over the spill, which will have a sopping effect. Making sure to dab lightly and deliberately. Let the rag do the work.
• If the spill seeps down into the phone’s keyboard, then turn the phone over on its side so that the liquid has a chance to run down out of the phone.
• If worse comes to worst, you can always dry the remnants of the spill with a blow dryer. It will induce evaporation. Do not overuse the blow dryer because the heat could damage the phone, too.
• Allow the phone to air dry for 24 hours, then turn on the phone and see if it works.

 

Use the Right Smartphone Cleaning Chemicals

Even after you have allowed the phone to become completely dry, spill residues may still have stained the phone screen. These stains may not necessarily be bad for the phone, but they make the screen cloudy and distort the image.

To get these stains off you will need to use chemical cleaning agents, but the wrong cleaning agents may cause serious problems in the phone.

Among the long list of things you should never use include acetone-based products (i.e., Alax), cleaning alcohols, or ammonia-based products like Windex.

Water is a polar molecule that has the ability to clean many spill residues. For touch stains, you can use a mixture of vinegar and water. Half of the solution should be water and the other half should be vinegar.

Vinegar works well because it is comprised of acetic acid, which is a polar and acidic molecule. It can gently remove stains, whereas other popular cleaning agents are too aggressive and can damage the smartphone’s screen or plastic, protective layers.