Cleaning your touchscreens and remotes

In light of recent events I thought I would touch on cleaning of your touchscreens and remotes. Coronavirus can be spread by contact, it is more commonly spread by close contact with an infected person, but caution should be shown since the virus can rest on a surface. Studies have shown that the virus is still detectable on cardboard for up to 24 hours, and on plastic and steel for up to 72 hours. Now in these cases the amount of the virus, and thus the risk of infection, decreased rapidly over these timescales. But much like we are washing hands frequently, and making sure to keep door handles and other high-touch surfaces routinely disinfected, we should also consider the interfaces to our control system.

• Don’t use any kind of abrasive cloth or kitchen roll. A soft lint-free cloth will give you the best finish with no risk of scratching the touchscreen
• Do not use any kind of domestic cleaning product or spray or bleach. A solution of water and 70% or greater isopropyl alcohol will ensure no nasties remain on the surface
• Make sure you remove the battery or disconnect the power before cleaning. Mainly just to ensure you don’t start turning all the lights on and off, opening blinds and starting playlists!! But also in the case of a remote control should you get any fluid leaking into the electronic parts this will have a chance to dry before causing damage
• Apply the solution to your cloth not directly to the device. You do not need much. Be weary of allowing moisture to sneak in through microphone ports or down the side of hard buttons
• Dry the remote or touchscreen with another lint free cloth and leave to stand
• Reattach batteries or power supply when you are sure everything is dry

If you would like to read more information on cleaning practices during this COVID-19 outbreak please see the guides on the gov.uk website (link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-decontamination-in-non-healthcare-settings/covid-19-decontamination-in-non-healthcare-settings)