Keeping Your Phone Clean and Safe From Germs
The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened our awareness to cleanliness, of not only what we’re touching, but the hygiene of the world around us. As we return back to our offices and enter the world of hybrid working, we need to bring attention to how we keep our communication devices such as our desk phone clean. FYI YOUR PHONE IS DIRTY!
Because our phones are in close proximity to our faces, hands, and can often be used by other people, it’s super important that we take the care and cleaning of them seriously.
Your Phone Is Dirty!
When you neglect to clean your desk phone, your putting your health at a real risk. Germs are harboring and before you know it, your phone as become a breeding ground of nasty disease. GROSS!
Studies have found that 60% of illness resulting in missing work, come from unsensitized office equipment that is harboring harmful E. coli or staphylococcus bacteria. What does that mean for your business? It means that the small investment of keeping your area clean, can increase your business, and lower your health care costs as well as PTO time taken by your staff.
Additionally, this study tested desk phones for dangerous pathogens, finding over 25,000 germs per square inch on the devices that most of us use at work multiple times a day. That’s disgusting.
Even though we’re armed with this information, we seem to not be that concerned with cleaning our personal equipment. It’s time to stop being lazy and start being healthy!
Getting your phone clean
You can clean a phone in many different ways. Some are easy and some take a little more attention, but they’re all impactful
1. Alcohol Wipes
Using 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes is by far the simplest way to go. They’re quick and easy and these days we all have them laying around. So bust them out and get to wiping!
2. Alcohol Spray
What’s the next best thing to wipes? Antibacterial spray and a clean cloth
3. Soap And Water
Not the easiest method, but it will work for you in a pinch.
DON’T neglect to clean ports and speakers
DON’T use bleach, and abrasive Wipes
Antimicrobial Phone Solutions
Another solution is to invest in antimicrobial-treated IP desk phones, of which Mitel is a pioneer. Our new 6920t and 6930t editions of the Mitel 6900 IP Phones are treated with a silver-based antimicrobial compound from BioCote® that inhibits the growth of bacteria and viruses by 99.9%. Rather than killing existing bacteria, this reduces its growing in the first place.
Perfect for use in healthcare, hospitality, sports, education, retail environments and beyond, the phone’s antimicrobial treatment is permanent and protects against microbe growth for the duration of the product’s lifetime. Other design features include removing crevices, smoothening the surface and minimizing mic holes to give microorganisms fewer places to gather and grow.
