When people in New York City were asked which they thought was dirtier — the sole of your shoe, a toilet seat or a cell phone — the answer was overwhelmingly the toilet seat. But they were wrong — your cell phone is filthier. Research has shown that mobile phones are a technological petri dish for tens of thousands of germs.

Nowadays most of us are never without our cell phones. We use them regularly in restaurants, on buses, in the bathroom, at the gym, and every other time and place in between. When we’re not holding our phones to our ears, we’re gently cupping them in our hands, keeping them warm by playing games and checking email.

Think about all the places you take your phone. Now think about all the places you set it down. Cell phones have been proven to carry germs, bacteria, and bathroom unmentionables—which is no surprise, considering it goes everywhere with you. In other words, your phone is pretty disgusting.

Phones should really be cleaned once a day, but if you can’t get around to making that happen, cleaning it once a week, or even once a month is better than nothing.

Unfortunately, you can’t just spray some Windex on your phone, use an antibacterial wipe, or wash it with soap and water. Disinfecting wipes are effective at killing germs, but they can corrode and remove the protective “oleophobic coating” on the glass screen — which repels oils from your fingers and face. And the actual towelettes or cloths can also scratch the phone.

Sure, a screen protector can protect your screen, but there are lots of other parts of your phone that can potentially get damaged by too much liquid. So even though those pre-moistened wipes are convenient, they’re really not a good choice.

Your phone has to be cleaned without the use of harsh chemicals and water, since both can damage most phones.

Here’s what to do instead:

  • Use a cleaning kit like iKlear. The alcohol and ammonia free solution is meant to clean and protect the display and exterior surface of your smartphone and LCD devices. Be sure to use one of the three included microfiber polishing cloths. The kit also comes with on-the-go single wet wipes. Buy it on Amazon for $22.00
  • To clean, sanitize, and charge your phone simultaneously, check out PhoneSoap. Just place it in once a day to eliminate all the grossness. https://www.phonesoap.com/ or check it out on Amazon.com for about $60.00
  • If you don’t want to spend money, you can create your own DIY solution. Grab a lint-free cloth and fill a spray bottle halfway with distilled or bottled water. Fill the other half with 70% isopropyl alcohol. Mix it together, lightly spray the cloth, and rub it all over your phone. The DIY cleaner is for once-a-week disinfecting – not everyday cleaning. Overuse with this solution can result in some slight damage to the screen’s coating, so you don’t want to do it more than once a week. For daily cleaning, you can just use a dry lint-free cloth (which Apple recommends).

Finally – your phone is clean and ready to get dirty again!!!