As the coronavirus outbreak continues, Apple has updated its recommendation on how to disinfect its products. Follow along for how to clean and sanitize your Mac, keyboard, mouse, and other Apple devices.
Up until now, Apple recommended steering away from the use of disinfecting wipes and alcohol on some of its products, saying that it could damage the oleophobic (fingerprint resistant) coating on devices like iPhone and iPad.
With the spread of coronavirus growing, Apple has changed its guidance and now says it’s OK to use Clorox or Lysol wipes on any of its products.
How to clean and sanitize your Mac, keyboard, mouse, iPhone, other Apple devices
- Apple has updated its official recommendation, which now says that it’s OK to “gently wipe the hard, nonporous surfaces of your Apple product, such as the display, keyboard, or other exterior surfaces” with 70% isopropyl alcohol or Clorox or Lysol disinfecting wipes.
With that in mind, Apple still says these tips apply to all of its products:
- Use only a soft, lint-free cloth. Avoid abrasive cloths, towels, paper towels, or similar items.
- Avoid excessive wiping, which might cause damage.
- Unplug all external power sources, devices, and cables.
- Keep liquids away from the product, unless otherwise noted for specific products.
- Don’t get moisture into any openings.
- Don’t use aerosol sprays, bleaches, hydrogen peroxide, or abrasives.
- Don’t spray cleaners directly onto the item.
This is the latest guidance from Apple, and it looks like it supersedes the previous guides on specific products, even those that are linked in the new overarching guide. Many of the individual device cleaning support pages haven’t been updated since last year.
If you’re wanting to play it extra cautious and think you’ll be wiping down your iPhone or iPad with wipes quite a bit, throwing on a screen protector is an easy way to protect the oleophobic coating.
As we noted in our previous guide on sanitizing iPhone, a recent study from the Journal of Hospital Infection found that coronaviruses “can persist on inanimate surfaces like metal, glass, or plastic for up to nine days,” but that they’re easily wiped out with something like isopropyl alcohol or disinfecting wipes. Apple recommending them now as safe to use certainly makes life easier.
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