How to Safely Clean Electronics: 5 Essential Tips to Disinfect Every Device

By Ecolink Team

February 24, 2025

Have you ever stopped to think about how many germs your phone harbors? What about your work computer?

The truth is, our electronics are dirty. Due to our devices being high touch points, it’s estimated that cell phones carry 10 times more bacteria than toilet seats. Yuck.

But before you take a Clorox wipe to every device you own, it’s important that you know how to safely clean electronics without breaking them.

Read on to learn 5 essential disinfecting tips for each type of electronic device.

Importance of Safely Cleaning Electronics

What is your phone’s biggest enemy?

Water.

If you want to avoid putting your phone in rice and hoping it turns back on, you’ll want to avoid using water or too much liquid on your device to ensure a safe clean.

Would you rather pay $9.99 for a proper cleaner or thousands for a new circuit board?

The choice is yours.

Here are the best cleaning tools you’ll want to gather to protect your device:

1 Microfiber cloth or a lint-free cloth

Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) wipes OR an IPA mixture (70% isopropyl alcohol & 30% water)

Cotton swabs

Compressed air

But before you start scrubbing every device in sight with alcohol, make sure you read the next section to learn about proper cleaning protocols for each of your devices.

How to Safely Clean Electronics | 5 Tips for EVERY Device

You cannot clean your phone the same way you’d clean your computer mouse. Why?

Because every device’s wiring, body, and other characteristics are different,

The best universal cleaner on the market is isopropyl alcohol. Here, we’ll give you 5 essential tips for using it to clean (almost) every device in your office:

Tip #1: How to Clean Phones & Tablets

Using a 70% isopropyl alcohol and 30% water mixture, lightly dampen your microfiber cloth—do NOT soak it.

Next, gently wipe down the outside of your phone. If you want to avoid damage, make sure to avoid the charging port, speakers, and any other open areas.

Let air dry.

Tip #2: How to Clean Headphones

Remove ear pads before cleaning your headphones and wash separately, following the instructions in your headphones’ manual.

When it comes to cleaning the body of your headphones, follow similar steps as your phone/tablet. NEVER spray or place the IPA directly onto the device, and always make sure to avoid any openings.

Tip #3: How to Clean Laptops & Desktop Computers

Always make sure your laptop/computer is turned off before cleaning.

Instead of using IPA, we recommend misting water onto a microfiber cloth and gently passing it over the screen.

Tip #4: How to Clean Keyboards, Mouse, Circuit Boards & Other Accessories

If you want to clean keyboards and other accessories, we recommend using compressed air to blow out any dust hiding between the keys and other crevices.

If you’d like a deeper clean, you can dip a cotton swap into an isopropyl alcohol/water mixture and gently rub along the crevices, careful to not drip any into the device.

Tip #5: How to Clean Televisions

While you probably don’t touch your TV screen as much as your tablet, it’s important that you follow proper cleaning protocols to remove any dust or lingering smudge marks without creating more of a mess.

The best way to clean your TV is to take a clean microfiber cloth with water sprayed onto it, gently moving it in the same direction over your screen. Avoid using harsh chemicals.