These Phones Can Survive Bleach Spray -- Your Body Cannot Medical and scientific authorities agree: Don't ingest or inject household disinfectants. If you're worried about COVID-19 getting on your phone, though, check out how we cleaned these ultra-rugged devices.
By Sascha Segan
This story originally appeared on PCMag
Yesterday, President Trump suggested that doctors "inject" disinfectant to cure COVID-19, which is toxic and would severely hurt people, according to all medical authorities and the people who make Lysol. Bleach and human bodies aren't compatible.
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Disinfectants also can really harm your cell phone, unless they are ruggedized. I'm in the middle of reviewing Kyocera's new DuraXV Extreme flip phone for Verizon, and I also have a Sonim XP3 flip for AT&T and Sprint. If you're paranoid about cleaning your phone, these are some excellent choices, because the super-rugged devices can be scrubbed, hosed down, and even sprayed with a Clorox bleach-based cleaner. Take a look in this fun video:
If you do use something truly sudsy on your rugged phone, you should rinse it immediately. I found it takes quite a lot of rinsing to get the residue out of the keys. After that, the speakerphone will be a bit muted until it dries out properly. After a day or so, the phones are back to being as good as new.
Neither Sonim nor Kyocera recommend that their phones get power-washed or receive bleach treatments. Bleach will almost certainly degrade the rubber keys and seals that keep the phones environment-proof. But Kyocera does say its phone is compatible with "a mild dish cleaner." I used liquid Dial soap and that went well. Medical experts, including the Mayo Clinic, suggest using soap, not household cleaners, to remove the virus from your hands. However, you also should not ingest soap.
Both phones I have with me are perfectly happy after their adventure with the Clorox spray. Your body will not be similarly thrilled if you ingest a household disinfectant. Neither, for that matter, will your iPhone. Apple recommends using alcohol wipes or Clorox wipes on the outside of your iPhone, gently. I have a video showing that too, embedded below.
We'll have a review of the Kyocera DuraXV LTE up soon, but rest assured it's a solid voice phone worthy of respect.
