How to spring clean your phone

It’s not just the “deep state” that’s collecting dirt from your devices. Your phone is bugged. Research suggests that a smartphone has 25,000 germs per square inch, which is filthier than a public toilet, the soles of shoes, your dog’s dinner bowl and your little brother’s laptop (the less said about internet history the better). Ninety-two per cent of phones have bacteria on them with 16 per cent containing E.coli, bacteria found in faeces. In short, you should be using a healthy dollop of sanitiser every time you pick up the phone.

But help is at hand. If you’re into dust- busting, use a dry microfibre cloth to wipe the grime from your screen in a gentle circular motion — turn your phone off first.

For a deeper clean, a screen cleaner and microfibre DIY kit are in order, as the diluted alcohol solution kills the germs on your mobile’s surface. An environmentally friendly Ecomoist screen cleaner kit comes with a 50ml bottle and wipe, while Whoosh screen shine is the weapon of choice used by high-street brands such as iSmash.

Your novelty phone case may look sweet but it too is a den of filth. For a silicone model remove the phone and apply a damp, lint-free cloth — once again only using specialist phone cleaners. If it’s leather, use a clean cloth with warm water and mild soap to gently clean the case — but please note that there’s a risk to the colour of the leather.